As DeWanna Bonner notched a pair of free throws in Game 5 of the 2022 WNBA semifinals, sending the Sun to the WNBA Finals and closing the curtain on the Sky’s season, Candace Parker was visibly frustrated.
The two-time WNBA champion was looking to make Chicago the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Sparks—the franchise that she started her WNBA career—did in 2001 and ’02. Even with the defeat on her home court, Chicago gave Parker the dream of a lifetime: playing in her hometown while also winning a title in the city where she fell in love with the “orange ball.”
But as the final buzzer sounded inside Wintrust Arena on Sept. 9, the speculation of whether Parker would in a Sky uniform for the 2023 season became a resounding topic. (She only signed a two-year contract with Chicago ahead of the ’21 season.) What’s more, Parker’s mindset ahead of the ‘22 season was that it would likely be her last, though she left a small crevice of opportunity, stating “I don’t know what future holds” in an interview with NBA TV’s Kristen Ledlow.
