Candace Parker Net Worth, Bio, Background, NBA Career, Awards and Husband

Best known for being the first woman to dunk in NCAA, Candace Parker net worth increased after winning WNBA Finals MVP twice and a number of other prestigious awards.

Synopsis

Candace Parker is a versatile player who mainly plays for forward however, she has played in center and guard too. The winner of 2003 and 2004 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year awards during her high school, she plays for Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Associations (WNBA). Candace Parker net worth rose after she became popular first woman to dunk in WNBA. Apart from being named First Four’s most outstanding player, she has also won WNBA Championship (2016), WNBA Most Valuable Player Awards twice, WNBA All-Star Game MVP and so on.

Birth and Background

Candace Parker was born on April 19, 1986 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents are Sara and Larry Parker. She grew up with two older brothers Anthony Parker— a former NBA player and Marcus Parker— a doctor.

The Parker family moved to Naperville, Illinois when Candace was 2. She grew up in the family that loved basketball. So, she started playing from her early age with the family influence. Candace’s father played basketball at the University of Iowa in 1970s who influenced, helped and encouraged his soccer player daughter to switch to basketball.

Amateur Career

Parker attended Naperville Central High School. During her days in high school, she led the college basketball team to Class AA state titles in 2003 and 2004. It was in 2001 when Parker dunked for the very first time when she was a 15 year old sophomore becoming the first female to dunk. In 2004, she became the first female to win the slam dunk contest at McDonald’s All-American Game. Moreover, she led USA Junior World Championship team to win gold in the same year.

Parker got into the University of Tennessee and redshirted her first season in 2005 due to knee injury. Again in 2006 NCAA Tournament, Candace Parker net worth rose as she became the first woman to dunk twice. The Rookie of the Year, Candace Parker helped Lady Vols win SEC Tournament championship. However, in the later season she got into trouble with foul and was out of half of the games.

She was also the fastest player in Lady Vols history as she scored 1000^th career point in 2007 sophomore contributing to Vols win in SEC Tournament again. Moreover, she helped Vols to NCAA women’s title for which she bagged Most Outstanding Player second time in a row.

Professional Career

Candace Parker net worth heighted as Los Angeles Sparks selected her in 2008 WNBA Draft. In her debut game, she broke rookie record scoring 34 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. Parker missed the 2009 WNBA season due to her pregnancy and delivery. The following year, Parker again took a break because of her shoulder injuries. So, she played only her first 6 games in 2010 season.

Parker resigned with Sparks in 2012. In 2013, she contributed to Sparks earn second seed in the Western Conference. The Sparks team hired Brian Angler as Parker announced in 2015 that she will be missing undetermined seasons to rest.  The next year, Parker resigned with Sparks in 2016 as free agent. She averaged 15.3 points per game and became team’s second option. Parker had the best performance in 2016 finals scoring 24 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists.  After contributing to first championship of Sparks, she signed multi-year deal with Sparks in 2017.

Apart from these, Candace Parker net worth hiked as she was also the member of USA Women’s U18 team that won gold at FIBA Championships in 2004. She also got into USA Basketball Women’s National Team training camp in 2009. Leading the USA Team in rebounds and blocks, Parker helped her team to win gold at 2012 Summer Olympics.

Awards and Achievements

From the college days, Candace Parker net worth has raised steeply because of her award winning performances. She is the winner of USA Today High School Player of the Year twice in 2003-4. The other awards she won during her high school are: the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award and Gatorade Female Basketball Player of the Year Award. She was also entitled with Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year, WBCA All-American and McDonald’s All-American.

Later in her college freshman year, she was named 2006 Kodak All-America team. Leading the Vols to SEC Tournament, she became 2007 SEC Player of the Year and also won Most Outstanding Player honor. She received University Division I Academic All-American of the Year in women’s basketball for 2008 which raised Candace Parker net worth.

the fifth player to earn multiple WNBA MVP awards, Parker became the 2013 WNBA Most Valuable Player during Western conference. She won the MVP award for averaging 15.3 per game in 2016. For assisting Sparks win their first championship in 2016, she won Fianls MVP and WNBA Top 20@20.

Husband and Family Life

Candace Parker married Shelden Williams—NBA player and Duke University college basketball player on November 13, 2008. They have a daughter, Lailaa Nicole Williams born in 2009. Later, after 8 years of marriage, the couple split and three years after they divorced.

Net Worth and Salary

The versatile player and the first woman to dunk, Candace Parker net worth rose as she played within the USA as well as internationally. Her net worth is 2 million USD because of her excellence in her professional career.

 Candace Parker was influenced by her family’s involvement in basketball. With the support of her family and her perseverance, Candace Parker got into the height of success.