Candace Parker began June in a shooting slump.
In back-to-back games between May 31 and June 3, she shot a combined 5-for-15, scoring in single digits in consecutive games for the first time since 2020.
But over the course of the last eight games, Parker not only erased any whisper of a slump, she made history multiple times over.
Wednesday afternoon, she capped a month in which she became the first player in WNBA history to record three career triple-doubles becoming the first player in the league to eclipse 6,000 career points, 3,000 rebounds and 1,500 assists. Her season-high 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists leading the Sky to a 91-83 win over the third-place Connecticut Sun.
“It’s amazing to play this style of basketball,” Parker said. “I love playing fast, playing reads, playing off of different plays and being able to have multiple players to feed the ball to. It’s fun. That’s why I came here.”
Parker’s career, beginning when she played at Naperville Central high school, has been marked by historic feats and championships.
She won two state titles at Naperville Central, before winning two consecutive NCAA Championships in 2007 and 2008 under coach Pat Summitt. She was drafted first overall by the Los Angeles Sparks one day after putting up 17 points and nine rebounds to lead Tennessee to its 2008 title. She played through the final games of that title run with a shoulder that kept dislocating.
She is the only player in the WNBA to win Rookie of the Year and league MVP in the same season and the third basketball player to do so along with Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld.
She was named league MVP a second time in 2013, won her first WNBA championship in 2016, amassed five All-Star selections and was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2020 before signing with the Sky in 2021 free agency.
This 14-5 Sky team, riding a four-game winning streak, is the team they expected to be last year during the regular season, had an ankle injury not plagued Parker early in the year.
The Sky (13-5) opened the month last in the league in three-point shooting percentage and are closing it third, shooting 35.9% from deep and leading the league in field-goal percentage (47%). Wednesday afternoon they set a new league record, shooting 83.3% in the first half of their win over the Sun, the highest field-goal percentage in a half in WNBA history. Parker shot 64% and was almost perfect from three-point range making 4-of-5 attempts for a new season-high scoring mark.
The Sky went 11-2 this month, propelling them to second in league standings, a game behind the Las Vegas Aces.
Parker, who received her seventh All-Star nod, will headline the WNBA’s first All-Star Game in Chicago next weekend.
Parker returned to Los Angeles where she lives almost immediately after leading the Sky to its first WNBA championship last year. This year, she’s basking in a lot of the love she missed after leaving.
She threw out the first pitch and sang Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the seventh-inning stretch of Tuesday night’s Cubs game. In her reflections on the way Chicago has embraced her and the Sky over the last year, she was brought back to memories where her future hall of fame career began.
“Last year, when we were on the brink [of winning a championship], I knew what [Chicago embracing us] could be,” Parker said. “In Naperville, our basketball team was completely embraced, especially my senior year. The gyms were full, home and away. We were able to play at UIC to go down state and we filled out Redbird Arena. It’s super special to play here, and I know from being a Bulls fan, if you win here, it’s super cool.”
