Candace Parker gave an emotional shoutout to Pat Summit after leading the Chicago Sky to the WNBA Finals
I'm not crying, you're crying.
For the first time since 2014 the Chicago Sky are heading back to the WNBA Finals.
They beat the Connecticut Sun — WNBA’s #1 overall seed — in four games to advance through the semis. Parker, obviously, was a huge part of that run.
Eight months ago we found out Candace Parker was leaving the Los Angeles Sparks — the only team she’d ever played for in the WNBA — for her hometown Chicago Sky.
Eight months later, here she is going to the Finals with her new team.
She was asked about that journey after the game and talked about the ups and the downs the team had been through with injuries all season long.
But she didn’t really get emotional until she started talking about her former coach, Pat Summitt.
The former Tennessee Volunteers coach passed away in 2016. Parker said everything she does on the court is in her honor and visibly got choked up during the postgame interview.
"I want to always bring honor to [Pat Summitt]. In these moments, I always remember her."
—@Candace_Parker after leading the @chicagosky to the @WNBA Finals pic.twitter.com/IeActBp0xX
— ESPN (@espn) October 7, 2021
“This team is special. We’ve battled through adversity; we believed in each other. I want to always bring honor to Pat [Summitt]. In these moments, I always remember her.”
What a moment. Summitt would certainly be proud of Parker in this moment doing what she’s doing for her hometown.
She’s still got another step to take, though. The Finals are waiting. We’ll see how things turn out.
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