Chicago has no shortage of sports legends, but on Monday night the city added another to its rafters. The Chicago Sky retired Candace Parker’s jersey during halftime of their game against the Las Vegas Aces, honoring a player whose brief time in her hometown left an outsized mark.
The ceremony felt like a homecoming and a family reunion rolled into one. Parker’s relatives were there, as were her former teammates and even her high school coach. Common and Jennifer Hudson — both proud Chicagoans themselves — sat in the audience, and Derrick Rose sent in a video tribute. All of it was for a woman who grew up just down the road in Naperville and went on to become one of the most decorated players in the history of women’s basketball.
“My heart will always belong to the state of Illinois, the city of Naperville and the city of Chicago,” Parker told the crowd. “It’s not just where I’m from, it’s the core of who I am.”
Parker spent most of her Hall of Fame career with the Los Angeles Sparks, where she won two league MVPs, Rookie of the Year, and her first WNBA championship. But her two seasons in Chicago were transformative. In 2021, her first year with the Sky, she led the team to its first and only championship — Chicago’s first pro sports title since the Cubs won the World Series in 2016.
The bond Parker built with that group of teammates has endured. Kahleah Copper, the Finals MVP from that run and now with the Phoenix Mercury, flew in just to be there. “I wouldn’t have missed this day for anything,” Copper said, before hopping a late flight back to Los Angeles for her own game the next day. Parker herself wore jeans adorned with images of her Sky teammates.
For Parker, the championship was more than just another accolade. It was the fulfillment of a childhood dream steeped in Chicago sports lore. “I grew up in the ’90s … and it was like eat at Portillo’s, eat at Giordano’s, go to Grant Park in June because the Bulls were going to win the championship. Those three things were for sure,” she said. “To be from here, to win a championship here, it’s nothing like it.”
Parker left the Sky after the 2022 season and joined the Aces, winning one more title before retiring due to injuries. She had already started her second act, building a broadcasting career and taking on an executive role with adidas as president of women’s basketball. Still, she made clear on Monday night that Chicago will always be home.
“I wasn’t drafted here … but somehow I found my way back here,” she said. “To play here was an honor. And so to see (the jersey) go into the rafters, it means so much. It really does. I’m super grateful.”
For Chicago, Parker’s number in the rafters is more than a tribute. It’s a reminder of a hometown legend who came back, won big, and made the city proud.
