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Candace Parker broke records and glass ceilings in basketball, becoming the first WNBA player featured on the cover of the best-selling videogame NBA 2K.
Candace Parker, undeniably one of basketball's most decorated players, will rightfully appear on the Mount Rushmore of basketball: the cover of the NBA 2K22 videogame. With a 14-season professional career as one of the most consistently dominant athletes, Parker was an obvious choice for the WNBA 25th anniversary special edition cover. She was the first woman to win the McDonald's All-American slam dunk competition as a high school freshman. At the University of Tennessee, she earned a communications degree and multiple Player of the Year awards. In 2008, Parker started her WNBA career with the Los Angeles Sparks as the first overall draft pick, won a gold medal on the USA Olympic basketball team and became the first WNBA player to win MVP and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season. She even outdid Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld, the only other players with the same distinction, because she did it while pregnant with her daughter, Lailaa. As a free agent in 2021, she came home to play for the Chicago Sky and helped lead the team to its first championship title. Parker's iconic presence extends beyond the court as an analyst for NBA and NCAA at Turner Sports. Her podcast, Moments with Candace Parker focuses on what Parker considers her most significant achievement: parenting.