Candace Parker

Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an All-American basketball player for the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks. She was drafted to the team from Tennessee in 2008. She may be best known for being the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game and the first woman to dunk twice in a college game -she set both milestones as a redshirt freshman on March 19, 2006. She also became only the second player to dunk in a WNBA game on June 22, 2008.

A versatile player, she is mainly a forward, but was listed on Tennessee's roster as a forward, center, and guard. She was a starter on the Lady Vols basketball team, winners of the 2007 and 2008 NCAA championships.

Candace won the 2009 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice award as the favorite female athlete in the sports category.

WNBA

Just after the NCAA victory, Parker was selected as the first pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She plays alongside Lisa Leslie and former Lady Vol teammate Sidney Spencer. Shannon Bobbitt (Parker's teammate at Tennessee) joined the Sparks after being drafted in the second round.

On May 17, 2008, in her debut game against the Phoenix Mercury, she recorded 34 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. Her 34 points broke the record for a rookie in a debut game. The record was previously held by Cynthia Cooper, who scored 25 points in her debut game in 1997.

On June 22, 2008, she became the second woman in WNBA history-after her teammate Lisa Leslie-to dunk during a regulation WNBA game against the Indiana Fever. The dunk was on the same basket as the dunk of her teammate. Parker was named the Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Month for the month of May 2008. She received the same honor for July 2008.

On October 3, 2008, she was named the Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Year as well as Most Valuable Player for the 2008 WNBA season. She became the first WNBA player to win both the Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player in the same season. In addition, she also joined Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld as the only professional American basketball players to win both ROY and MVP trophies in the same season.


The Brawl

On July 22, 2008, in a game on the road against the Detroit Shock, Parker was involved in a bench-clearing brawl with 4.2 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the Sparks' 84-81 victory. The brawl began when Parker and Shock forward Plenette Pierson tangled arms as they headed up the floor following a successful free throw by Los Angeles Sparks guard Marie Ferdinand-Harris, causing both players to tumble to the floor. Pierson quickly rose to her feet and moved aggressively toward Parker making contact with Parker's upper body with her knees. Parker then tackled Pierson to the ground and threw a punch. Ten players (five from each team) including Parker, Pierson, Milton-Jones, Lisa Leslie and Shock assistant coach Rick Mahorn were ejected for their actions. Parker was suspended for one game.