For Candace Parker, coming to Chicago was a team decision, made with her daughter Lailaa.
A photo of the two from the 2016 Finals and Parker’s first WNBA title in Los Angeles proved to be the deciding factor.
“I asked her if it was okay if I came to Chicago, and she was like, ‘I want another picture. Like I want another picture like that,’” Parker said.
“And it’s crazy because she came out to the court and said, ‘we did it,’ and it was just like, surreal. She’s grown up. I owe everything I am to her, just because she’s been my motivation and my reason for everything.”
Candace Parker and her daughter Lailaa ❤️🥺 pic.twitter.com/QbGWiDgAk2— ESPN (@espn) October 17, 2021
Candace Parker and her daughter Lailaa ❤️🥺 pic.twitter.com/QbGWiDgAk2
With Lailaa staying in Los Angeles for most of the summer, Parker said it’s been tough for the two to be apart.
“We’ve gone through this together. You know?” she continued. “She sacrifices for her mom so that I can live my dream. I just am so thankful for her, that she’s here for the big moments, but she’s also here when I don’t want to get up and go work out. She sees those moments.”
It wasn’t an easy journey to the playoffs for the Sky, who went 16-16 in the regular season and entered as the No. 6 seed.
Their title is proof that sometimes it’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish. And Parker wants little kids out there to know that eventually, time will tell their story.
“I think that’s something that I’ve lived by,” she said. “I think everybody up here has had that moment where they’ve felt like they have to tell their side of the story, and you don’t have to. Like just put your head down, continue to work, do what’s right, be a good person, work hard, give energy, and the world will give back to you.
“I think that’s my message with all of this is, you don’t have to yell from the rooftops who you are or what you do. Let time tell. Just enjoy the moment.”