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.
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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.
