NFL
By: Stephen Garner
The victory lap of a month that was July for Candace Parker saw her receive her flowers in a multitude of ways, shining a bright light on the amazing career she’s enjoyed.
It also brought along representation for women in the sports realm.
Candace Parker’s big-time July was a month of extreme gratitude for two-time MVP, two-time gold medalist, six-time All-Star, and last year’s defensive player of the year.
Candace Parker been gettin her flowers all wk & im HERE 4 it 🤘🏾 pic.twitter.com/gjdySzHzvT
— Stephen PridGeon ☯️🏁 (@StayTrueSDot3) July 15, 2021
Not only did she add to her already decorated career in terms of accolades, but she received unique off-the-court recognition as well.
Here’s how it went ⤵️:
Slam Magazine?! 🤯
She’d start the month with an appearance on the cover of the legendary Slam Magazine, becoming the third woman to do so (preceded by Chamique Holdsclaw in October of ‘98, then Maya Moore in July of ‘18)
Honestly, long overdue. One of the best ever gets her first SLAM cover. @Candace_Parker @wslam
Original: https://t.co/6o4Mw8YuJq
Black Metal: https://t.co/XA93QgN6zl
Gold Metal: https://t.co/wlf8BAFMYJ pic.twitter.com/Lsw3UDEjkv— SLAM (@SLAMonline) July 12, 2021
An honor that only an exclusive group of hoopers can claim, she’s rightfully now a member which is, independent of gender, a testament and ode to her greatness.
NBA 2K? 🎮
She became the first woman to ever grace the cover of NBA 2K!
Extremely proud and humbled to be the first female cover athlete in the history of @NBA2K
I’m honored to work with a company that’s investing in women and betting on us to succeed. I’m hopeful there will be many more badass females to follow 💪🏽💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/WJan4YE7Qt
— Candace Parker (@Candace_Parker) July 14, 2021
As the efforts to elevate women and support them continue to ramp up, this was a great leap in representation.
All-Star Selection 🌟
She’d then cap the month off with yet another All-Star selection.
ALL ⭐️ STAR ⭐️ STATUS pic.twitter.com/zlCy5uL960
— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) June 30, 2021
This now makes for the sixth of her illustrious career.
Her feats of July are now added to all that she’s already accomplished on the floor.
In all, it was refreshing to see someone with such a powerful platform have a month-long moment of appreciation.
She continues to be a role model for young women as well as young athletes, and further etches her name in the history of basketball.
Continue to give her her flowers! Also continue to up the representation of women in sports as, collectively, they’re deserving of so much more.
Clap for her 💐
As she’s returned home to Chicago to play the role of Hometown Queen with the Sky, she’s been a revalation.
She’s averaging 13.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 3.8 APG, and 1.3 BPG and has the Sky firmly planted as a team that will have a say-so in the outcome of the WNBA’s 25th season.
She’s brought an element of savvy veteran play and high IQ decision-making in managing their games from the post as a secondary playmaker, as well as flashes of her wit in transition with outlet passes and ballhandling wizardry reminiscent of her days at Tennessee.
Offensively, it’s no secret that she can still fill it up as a scorer or facilitator, making this team that much tougher to defend as they become less dependent on Courtney Vandersloot to manipulate every entity of their offensive production.
It is, however, her defense that serves as maybe her most impactful addition to this team, which is a dynamic she’s developed later in her career.
Coming off of a defensive player of the year garnering effort in last season, she has shown her acumen for the game and the many intangibles she possesses to uplift this team to elite territory as a contender.
As she continues to bring her hall of fame abilities to the table for the Sky, there remains no limit to what this team can do as we inch closer to the conclusion of this season.
Respect her greatness!
*All stats and information used come directly from basketball-reference or WNBA.com unless stated otherwise and are accurate as of 8.11.21*
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