Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker was named the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player. The honors cap off one of the greatest individual years in the history of women’s basketball.
In 2008, Parker won her second NCAA Championship with the University of Tennessee, was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, won an Olympic gold medal in Beijing, and led the Sparks to the brink of a berth in the WNBA Finals.
Parker also joined some elite company on Friday as she became the first women’s basketball player and only the third basketball player ever to win Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in the same year – joining Wilt Chamberlain (1959-60) and Wes Unseld (1968-69).
