The 3-time WNBA champion and 2-time Olympic gold medalist Candace Parker announces retirement

Candace Parker, a three-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, retired Sunday after 16 seasons.

"I promised I'd never cheat the game & that I'd leave it in a better place than I came into it," Parker posted to Instagram. "The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it's time. My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it."

Parker had surgery and missed the remainder of 2023 due to a left foot ailment. July 7 was her last Hall of Fame game.

Parker, 38, won NCAA titles at Tennessee in 2007 and 2008 before being drafted No. 1 in the 2008 WNBA. She became the only player in league history to win titles with three separate teams: the Los Angeles Sparks (2016, Finals MVP), her hometown Chicago Sky (2021), and the Aces (2023).

Her honors include two-time league MVP (2008, 2013), 10-time All-WNBA, seven-time All-Star, Defensive Player of the Year (2020), and two-time Olympic gold medalist (2008, 2012).

Parker was one of the league's finest scorers -- her five seasons averaging more than 20 points per game are tied for second -- but her game was defined by her versatility as a big with guard abilities.

She concludes her WNBA career with 6,574 points (16.0 per game), 3,467 rebounds (8.5 per game), 1,634 assists (4.0 per game), and 619 blocks (1.5 per game) in 410 regular-season games, the first player in league history to rank top 10 in all four categories.