Candace Parker, the graceful 6’4″ power forward for the Los Angeles Sparks, was once a redshirt freshman for the historic University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball program. Her coach was Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in the sport, a no-nonsense teacher and motivator that won 8 championships during her 38-year tenure patrolling the sidelines in Knoxville. Together, they won two of those championships in back-to-back fashion in 2007 and 2008. Those years helped cement Summitt’s infallible legend, and propelled Candace Parker as one of the greatest talents the sport had ever seen. Summitt pushed Parker to be better, and during her 3 seasons at Tennessee, Parker blossomed into the #1 pick of the 2008 WNBA Draft. The Los Angeles Sparks had found their heir apparent to Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie.

Last night, Parker’s Sparks faced off against the Dallas Wings with every intention on improving upon their hot 13-1 start. However, things didn’t go as planned, and the Sparks found themselves down 22 points late in the game.

That’s when Parker invoked her inner Summitt.

The 2-time MVP willed her team back from the deficit with a dazzling 31-point performance, 25 of which came during a furious 2nd half. The Sparks would erase the Wings’ lead, and eventually claim a 4-point victory, which Parker spoke on in an emotional post-game interview.

June 29, 2016