WNBA champion Candace Parker announces retirement after 16 seasons

Three-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Candace Parker announced Sunday that she's retiring after 16 seasons.

"The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it’s time," Parker wrote in a social media post. "My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it."

Parker, 38, had told The Associated Press in November she wanted to play another season if she could get healthy from a foot injury that kept her off the court last season. But she cautioned that she didn't want to "cheat the game," or herself, and expressed the same in announcing her retirement ahead of the Las Vegas Aces' attempt to win a third title in a row.

"I promised I’d never cheat the game & that I’d leave it in a better place than I came into it. ... I always wanted to walk off the court with no parade or tour, just privately with the ones I love," she wrote. "What now was to be my last game, I walked off the court with my daughter. I ended the journey just as I started it, with her."

Parker played her first 13 seasons in the league with the Los Angeles Sparks, establishing her dominance early as a No. 1 pick who won Rookie of the Year and league MVP in the same season. Parker was the first WNBA player to accomplish that feat, averaging 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists while helping the Sparks to a 10-win improvement in 2008.

Parker earned her second MVP award in 2013 and won her first title in 2016 with the Sparks. She'd go on to win a second title with the Chicago Sky in 2021 and a third with the Las Vegas Aces last season. She's the only player in league history to win a championship with three different teams.

"The memories Candace Parker created for a generation of women’s basketball fans will remain