Candace Parker, one of the biggest stars women’s basketball has ever known, is a playbook for keeping your eye on the prize.
In 2016, Parker led the Los Angeles Sparks to their third WNBA championship title and a first for the star athlete, delivering 28 points and 12 rebounds in a nail biting Game 5 win against the Minnesota Lynx. She was awarded WNBA Finals MVP that year, adding to her already impressive accolades of WNBA Most Valuable Player (2008, 2013), WNBA All-Star Game MVP (2013), two time Olympic gold medalist (2008, 2012) and the 2008 WNBA Rookie of the Year award.
The “female Michael Jordan” isn't just about winning awards; these days, she's keeping her eye on the one who stole her heart. Parker welcomed her daughter Lailaa Nicole ("Lai)" with then husband Shelden Williams in May 2009. A dream, per Parker, she’s had “as long as I can remember.”
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“We are very excited to be expanding our family. This is such a life changing moment for us, we feel blessed to have a healthy and beautiful baby girl,” Parker told PEOPLE at the time.
In a 2015 open letter to her baby girl, as part of Time magazine’s “Letters to Mom,” Parker wrote:
“For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of being a mother. Life stood still from the moment I heard your first heartbeats and felt your first kicks. May 13, 2009 really rocked my world,” she wrote.
Parker admitted that, like most parents, she didn't always know if she was doing the parenting thing right.
“There’s no manual or pamphlet that comes with raising a child. Especially as a mom/professional basketball player, there were so many things I did that would probably make child experts cringe," she shared.
"But from breast-feeding at half-time of my basketball games to taking your first steps in a hotel room, we made it work. Parenting is the toughest and most rewarding job in the world. Your father and I have done the best we can in maneuvering our way through uncharted territory.”
Thankfully, Lai has been a team player who just as excited about going on this unchartered adventure.
“Throughout my career, I always wanted to share this amazing journey with you. And at times, I really feel like you think you are a part of the team. When we got back to the States after my team won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, for example, everywhere we went—from the grocery store to the nail salon—you told everyone that you won a gold medal. Then, one day before you had show and tell at preschool, I noticed your backpack was unusually heavy. Lo and behold, in the very bottom, I see something gold and shiny. You looked me dead in my eyes and said with a straight face, ‘We’re a team, right Mom?’ “
She concluded, “All I wish is that one day, you can truly understand how I feel about you. Because being your mother is my greatest accomplishment, and I will always have your back. We’re a team, right Lai?”
Team Love always win.
