Retirement could have been on Candace Parker’s thoughts earlier than this season, however on the court docket she is exhibiting no indicators of being finished.
Parker on Sunday turned the third participant in W.N.B.A. historical past to report a number of triple-doubles in a profession, ending with 16 factors, 13 rebounds and 10 assists within the Chicago Sky’s 82-73 win over the Washington Mystics. At 36 years 33 days previous, Parker is the oldest participant to report a triple-double within the league.
She accomplished the triple-double within the closing minute with an help to Courtney Vandersloot, who final 12 months joined Sheryl Swoopes as the one participant in league historical past with a couple of triple-double. Vandersloot’s effort, solely the second postseason triple-double in W.N.B.A. historical past — Swoopes had the primary — helped Chicago beat top-seeded Connecticut in a semifinal sequence.
“She was adamant about me getting my tenth help,” Parker mentioned of Vandersloot in her postgame information convention. “So that’s why I really like this group. You already know, I feel we play for an additional, we get hype for others’ successes and we have fun it, and I feel that’s big.”
Parker practically went out as a champion final 12 months. After taking part in 13 seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks, she returned to her dwelling state and helped ship a W.N.B.A. title to the Sky. However her daughter, Lailaa, persuaded her to play in 2022, Parker mentioned in an interview with Kristen Ledlow on NBA TV’s “WNBA Weekly.” By way of 5 video games, Parker is averaging 14 factors and eight rebounds and capturing 49.1 p.c from the sphere.
Parker’s feat Sunday is all of the extra spectacular given the shortage of triple-doubles in W.N.B.A. historical past: Sunday was the eleventh within the league’s 26 seasons. The Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu turned the youngest participant to report a triple-double final season.
With two faculty nationwide titles at Tennessee, two Olympic gold medals and two W.N.B.A. titles, Parker has gained at each stage, and her Chicago workforce appears to be like poised to contend once more this 12 months. The Sky retained a lot of final 12 months’s roster, together with Kahleah Copper, the 2021 finals most useful participant who made her season debut Sunday, and so they added Emma Meesseman, who gained finals M.V.P. in 2019 with Washington.
Chicago prevailed Sunday in a matchup that includes two Most Beneficial Participant Award winners: Parker (2008 and 2013) and Washington’s Elena Delle Donne (2015 and 2019). Delle Donne completed with 17 factors, 7 rebounds and three steals. Six Chicago gamers, together with Copper and Meesseman, completed in double figures.
