The Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday won their third WNBA championship, and it was a special one for Candace Parker.
Parker was named Finals MVP after leading the Sparks to a 77-76 victory with 28 points in the series clinching game over the Lynx. When asked by ESPN's Holly Rowe what winning the championship meant to her, Parker emotionally replied, “This is for Pat.”
Prior to being selected No. 1 overall in the 2008 WNBA Draft, Parker played collegiate basketball at Tennessee under legendary head coach Pat Summitt, who passed away earlier this year after a battle with early onset dementia. Summitt is the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history (men or women) with 1,098 victories. She led teams to eight NCAA championships and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.
Summitt is surely looking down on Parker with a smile on her face at what Parker was able to accomplish on Thursday.
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