Candace Parker

Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Parker is the younger sister of former NBA player Anthony Parker and was the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft. In high school, Parker won the 2003 and 2004 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year awards, becoming just the second junior and the only female to receive the award twice. A versatile player, Candace mainly plays the forward position, but while in college, she was listed on Tennessee's roster as a forward, center, and guard. Parker may be best known for being the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game and the first woman to dunk twice in a college game—she set both milestones as a redshirt freshman on March 19, 2006. She also became only the second player to dunk in a WNBA game on June 22, 2008. Prior to her first WNBA game, Parker had signed long-term endorsement deals with Adidas and Gatorade. In leading the Lady Vols to two consecutive national championships, Parker was named the Final Four's most outstanding player in both occasions, and was a two-time consensus national player of the year. Parker has won a WNBA championship (2016), two WNBA Most Valuable Player Awards (2008, 2013), a WNBA Finals MVP Award (2016), a WNBA All-Star Game MVP (2013) award, two Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012), and the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award (2008). Parker has also been selected to six All-WNBA teams and three All-Star teams. Parker won the 2009 Teen Choice Awards as the favorite female athlete in the sports category, and was a guest star on various Nickelodeon Shows, such as Figure It Out and Nicky, Ricky, Dicky and Dawn. Parker became the first player to win the Rookie of the Year and the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award in the same season.