Before Candace Parker played a single game for the Sky, she was planning what she’d wear to Wintrust Arena for the home opener.
Parker was sitting on the TNT set with fellow Chicago-area native, Dwyane Wade when she posed an idea to him.
“I want to do something special going home,” Parker said to Wade. “I think I’m going to rock all jerseys but I don’t want to rock all professional jerseys. I want to rock some high school ones.”
Parker started making a list right then. She also tapped Wade and Hall of Fame Pistons star and St. Joseph’s legend Isiah Thomas to make lists of their own. She didn’t want to overlook anyone.
The first one she wore was Michael Jordan’s Bulls jersey. She followed Jordan’s by showing up Thursday night in Wade’s No. 25 Richards High School jersey.
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Right now, Parker has the jerseys of Thomas, Kevin Durant and Simeon star and Chicago high school basketball icon Ben Wilson on deck. She plans to wear her brother Anthony Parker’s high school jersey at some point, too.
She’s going to leave wearing her own Naperville Central jersey to her daughter, Lailaa.
Parker said she’s trying to get her hands on some tough throwback jerseys. She wants to honor the men and women who inspired her career, but she wants to do it by honoring where their careers started. That is, if she can find them.
She purchased Wade’s Richards jersey online and is working to find a Cappie Pondexter Marshall high school jersey.
“I’m having a hard time finding Cappie Pondexter’s high school jersey,” Parker said. “I just cannot rock a Phoenix Mercury jersey to a game.”
Pondexter’s WNBA fashion has been significantly influential in the way we see players in the WNBA show up to games today. Before teams were documenting players' walk-ins for social media, Pondexter was showing up flexing for nobody but herself.
Her drip was never slacking. You’d often see her in the latest exclusive sneakers paired with a dress one day and an oversized pair of sweats with a sport coat the next. Nothing was off-limits style-wise for Pondexter.
Today’s WNBA players are keeping that same energy. Whether it’s Diamond DeShields walking in wearing a white pinstripe suit with a chain-link belt or Lexie Brown donning a “not settling for anyone’s dusty ass son” graphic tee, the walk-in has become a moment to make a statement.
The Sky are back at Wintrust Arena Saturday at noon when they host the Sun for their second of two consecutive matchups.
Thursday night’s 81-75 win was a grind. The team came out and faced offensive lulls in the first half. Their second in the league defense never wavered.
The Sky held the Sun’s second-leading scorer, DeWanna Bonner to just 10 points. An offensive resurgence in the second half, that led to five Sky players finishing in double digits scoring, helped the Sky to their fourth straight win.
Parker had 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists and one steal in front of a capacity crowd that included her parents and Lailaa.
She didn’t share how she’s showing up to Saturday’s game, but one thing’s guaranteed Parker will be representing Chicago.
“I grew up watching all of those hoopers,” Parker said. “Coming back that’s what I wanted to do and it’s been a lot of fun reminiscing on watching them play.”
