Candace Parker spent nearly two decades building a basketball resume only a few players can match. From dominating at Tennessee to becoming the #1 overall pick in 2008, Parker is still the only WNBA player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. Now, just two years after her retirement, she has added a Hall of Fame ring to her accolades, and her reaction proved just how much it meant.
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“This is so nice… Oh my gosh. Okay, I got it on this one. I’m married to the game. Let’s go. Married to the game,” she said as she put it on her ring finger in a clip posted to Instagram by the WNBA and the Hall of Fame.
Candace Parker was named one of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductees for 2026, and she arrived in Springfield for the enshrinement on the weekend of August 14 and 15.
On August 14, Parker and her fellow inductees received their rings, as well as the signature orange Hall of Fame jackets, and will be formally inducted into the Hall the next day.
The moment became even more special for the three-time WNBA champion because her entire family was on the stage at the enshrinement gala, including her three children, older daughter Lailaa and her two sons, Airr Larry and Hartt Summitt. In fact, it was Lailaa who put the Hall of Fame jacket on her mother after she took to the stage.
This is a major accomplishment for Parker, who has already been honored with another Hall of Fame honor earlier in 2026. On June 27, she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, along with fellow players Elena Delle Donne, Amaya Valdemoro, and Isabelle Fijalkowski, coaches Cheryl Reeve and Kim Muhl, ESPN contributor Doris Burke, and posthumous veteran honoree Barbara Kennedy-Dixon.
Delle Donne is also joining Parker in the Naismith Hall of Fame as two of four inductions for women’s basketball. She was the first WNBA player to score 50% from the field, 40% of her three-pointers, and 90% from the free-throw line. She also became the first and only Chicago Sky player to win the MVP award.
Besides Parker and Donne, the 1996 USA Women’s National Team, which helped launch the WNBA 30 years ago and won gold at the Olympics, and another Tennessee legend, Chamique Holdsclaw.
Meanwhile, Parker making it to the Basketball Hall of Fame just months after her Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction is a reminder of just how much she has impacted the game during a record-breaking career.
Candace Parker holds a career built on championships and historic firsts
Candace Parker entered the WNBA as the #1 overall pick in 2008, and immediately showed that she was one of the greatest players in league history. She scored the only 30-point debut in league history, then proceeded to go on an outstanding run, becoming the only player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP of the WNBA in the same season, adding another MVP award later in her career, culminating in the 2016 Finals MVP as she led the LA Sparks to a championship.
As her career continued, so did the success. She became the only player to win a championship with three teams, winning one with the Chicago Sky in 2021 and the Las Vegas Aces in 2023 after leading the Sparks in 2016. She was also the winner of the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year award, showcasing just how versatile she could be.
When it comes to versatility, perhaps the best example is her time at Tennessee. There, she led the Volunteers to two national championships and became a two-time College Player of the Year. During her time there, Parker was listed as guard, forward, and center, becoming a trailblazer for position-less basketball.
Yet, some had realized how special Parker was from the very beginning. Per the New York Times, longtime Chicago sportscaster Laurence Holmes revealed how impressive Parker was during her college basketball days.
“Candace was everything. She had all the tools. She was tall, she was strong, she could shoot, she could dribble. So when we would see highlights of her in high school, it was kind of like, man, there’s this young lady out in Naperville that can ball.”
Now add a stellar international career, including two Olympic Gold medals in 2008 and 2012, as well as winning the FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship, and it’s clear just how important Candace Parker is to the women’s game.