Saturday WBHOF Induction Awaits Parker

One of the most decorated players in University of Tennessee women's basketball history, Candace Parker is being inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville this weekend.

Parker will be enshrined in a ceremony starting at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday at the Tennessee Theatre. Tickets are available here.

Her induction class includes three other legendary players, Elena Delle Donne, Amaya Valdemoro and Isabelle Fijalkowski; two veteran coaches, Cheryl Reeve and Kim Muhl; ESPN color analyst Doris Burke; and posthumous veteran honoree, Barbara Kennedy-Dixon.

Parker becomes the 11th UT player and 17th person overall affiliated with the Lady Vol program to be enshrined in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. She follows players Cindy Noble and Patricia Roberts (2000), Holly Warlick (2001), Cindy Brogdon (2002), Daedra Charles and Bridgette Gordon (2007), Jill Rankin (2008), Nikki McCray (2012), Chamique Holdsclaw (2018) and Tamika Catchings (2021). Other inductees with UT ties include coaches Pat Summitt (1999), Mickie DeMoss (2018) and Carolyn Peck (2023), and administrators Gloria Ray (2010), Joan Cronan (2019) and Danielle Donehew (2025).

Parker, whose No. 3 banner hangs from the rafters above The Summitt court in Food City Center, averaged 19.4 points and 8.8 rebounds from 2004-08, redshirting her first year before becoming the school's No. 3 all-time career scorer (2,137 points) and the No. 8 all-time rebounder (972 rebounds). The 6-4 native of Naperville, Ill., could play guard, forward or center and propelled Tennessee to back-to-back NCAA crowns in 2007 and 2008, creating a buzz with her ability to dunk the basketball. She threw down seven during her career and recorded two during an NCAA Tournament game vs. Army in 2005.

Parker was a three-time WBCA All-American and All-SEC performer from 2006-08, a national player of the Year in 2007 and 2008, the SEC Player of the Year in 2007, the SEC Tournament MVP in 2006 and 2008, and the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 2007 and 2008. She also won the Honda Sports Award for Basketball in 2007 and 2008, the Honda-Broderick Cup Athlete of the Year Award in 2008 and the 2008 ESPY Award for female athlete of the year. During her time in orange, Tennessee won an SEC regular season title in 2007 and tournament trophies in 2005, 2006 and 2008.

Right after winning the 2008 Final Four, Parker was chosen No. 1 overall in the WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. During a career that saw her win WNBA titles with the Sparks (2016), Chicago Sky (2021) and Las Vegas Aces (2023), Parker was a seven-time WNBA All-Star and seven-time All-WNBA First-Team Selection. She won WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2008, WNBA MVP in 2008 and 2013, WNBA All-Star Game MVP in 2013, WNBA Finals MVP in 2016 and WNBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2020. She remains the only player to earn the WNBA Rookie of the Year and MVP awards in the same season.

In addition to her other 2008 successes, Parker helped the U.S. Olympic Team to a gold medal in 2008 in Beijing and later did the same in London in 2012. She is a 2019 inductee into the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame and is slated to go into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later this summer along with Holdsclaw.

Parker remains connected to the game. She is a broadcaster and analyst for TNT and Amazon Prime, and she also serves as president of adidas women's basketball.

University of Tennessee Athletics

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