Delisha Milton-Jones

DeLisha Milton-Jones at the 2007 WNBA All-Star game.
No. 21, 8 – Los Angeles Sparks
Forward
Personal information
Born	(1974-09-11) September 11, 1974 (age 37) Riceboro, Georgia
Nationality	United States
High school	Bradwell Institute
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
College	University of Florida
NBA Draft	1999 / Round: Supplemental / Pick: 4th overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Sparks
Pro career	1999–present
League	WNBA
Career history
1999–2004	Los Angeles Sparks
2005–2007	Washington Mystics
2008–present	Los Angeles Sparks
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-SEC (1996, 1997) First-team All-American (1997) SEC Player of the Year (1997) Wade Trophy (1997) University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame WNBA All-Star (2000, 2004, 2007) WNBA Championship (2001, 2002)
Medals Women's Basketball Competitor for  United States Olympic Games Gold Sydney 2000 National team Gold Beijing 2008 National team FIBA World Championship Gold 1998 Germany National Team Gold 2002 China National Team Bronze 2006 Brazil National Team

DeLisha Milton-Jones (born September 11, 1974), née DeLisha Milton, is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Milton-Jones played college basketball for the University of Florida. In her twelve-season WNBA career, she has played for the Washington Mystics and Los Angeles Sparks (twice). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a two-time WNBA champion, and has been selected to the WNBA All-Star Game three times.

Early years[link]

Milton-Jones was born in Riceboro, Georgia in 1974. She attended Bradwell Institute in Hinesville, Georgia, where she played high school basketball for the Bradwell Tigers. Milton-Jones graduated from Bradwell in 1993.

College career[link]

Milton-Jones received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where she played for the Florida Gators women's basketball team from 1993 to 1997. She was a four-year letterman, and led the Lady Gators to four NCAA Tournament appearances. As a senior in 1996–1997, she was recognized as an All-American by the Associated Press, Kodak and the Basketball Times; she was also the winner of the Wade Trophy, recognizing the best women's basketball player in NCAA Division I.

Milton-Jones was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2007.^[1][2]

Professional career[link]

Milton-Jones is well known for the unusual length of her arms, which give her an eighty-four inch wingspan—typical of that of a seven-foot person. She was a member of the U.S. national women's basketball teams that won the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China,^[3] as well as the U.S. women's teams that won world championships in 1998 and 2002.

In the WNBA, she played for the Los Angeles Sparks from 1999 to 2004. She was traded to the Washington Mystics in exchange for Chamique Holdsclaw and a first-round draft pick in the 2004 off-season. In 2003, she won the Euroleague Championship with team Ekaterinburg in Russia. In the 2005–2006 season, she won the Euroleague with Gambrinus Brno of the Czech Republic and for the season 2006–2007 she signed a two year contract with Ros Casares Valencia of Spain. During the 2008–2009 WNBA off-season, Milton-Jones played for Ros Casares Valencia in Spain.^[4] for whom she also played during the 2007-08 off-season.^[5]

She is a two-time WNBA champion and has been selected to the WNBA All Star Game multiple times. In her WNBA career, she has scored 3,944 career points (16th all-time). On April 22, 2008, Milton-Jones was reacquired by the Los Angeles Sparks in a trade for Taj McWilliams-Franklin.^[6]

Coaching career[link]

She became the second woman (after Ashley McElhiney) to coach a men's professional basketball team when, in 2005, she took over the ABA's Los Angeles Stars.

She appeared in the 2000 movie Love and Basketball as Delisha Milton. In her free time, she likes to relax by cooking, cleaning and playing tennis.

Europe[link]

• 2001-2002: Lavezzini Basket Parma
• 2002-2004: UMMC Ekaterinburg

Awards and honors[link]

Milton-Jones has received numerous awards and honors, some of which are listed below.

Gold Medals[link]

• 2000 & 2008 Olympic Games
• 2007 Tournament of Americas
• 1998 & 2002 FIBA World Championship
• 2002 Opals World Challenge
• 1999 U.S. Olympic Cup
• 1997 World University Games
• 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival

Bronze Medal[link]

• 2006 FIBA World Championship

Collegiate honors[link]

• 1997 SEC Player of the Year
• 1997 State Farm Wade Trophy
• 1997 First-team All-American
• 1997 First-team All-Southeastern Conference
• 1996 First-team All-Southeastern Conference
• 1995 Second-team All-Southeastern Conference
• 1994 Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team
• SEC Player of the Week (February 27, 1995; December 15, 1996; January 5, 1997; January 26, 1997)

WNBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Postseason[link]

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	College basketball portal
	Olympics portal

• Florida Gators
• List of Florida Gators basketball players
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• List of University of Florida alumni
• List of University of Florida Olympians

References[link]

External links[link]

• WNBA player profile of Delisha Milton-Jones
• USA basketball bio of Delisha Milton-Jones
• WNBA mini-interview with Delisha Milton-Jones

Candace Parker

WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks  – No. 3
Guard/Forward/Center
Born	(1986-04-19) April 19, 1986 (age 26) St. Louis, Missouri
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg)
High school	Naperville Central High
College	Tennessee
Draft	1st overall, 2008 Los Angeles Sparks
Profile	WNBA Info Page
WNBA Teams
Los Angeles Sparks (2008–present)
Non-WNBA Teams
UMMC Ekaterinburg (2009–present)
Awards and Honors
Wade Trophy winner (2007) USBWA Player of the Year (2007, 2008) Wooden Award (2007, 2008) Naismith Award (2008) Honda-Broderick Cup (2008) WNBA Rookie of the Year (2008) WNBA MVP (2008) 1× WNBA All-Star (2011)
Medal record Competitor for  United States Women's Basketball Gold 2008 Beijing National Team

Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) is an All-American basketball player for the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks and UMMC Ekaterinburg of Russia. She is the younger sister of NBA player Anthony Parker. She attended the University of Tennessee and was drafted by the Sparks in 2008. She may be best known for being the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game and the first woman to dunk twice in a college game—she set both milestones as a redshirt freshman on March 19, 2006. She also became only the second player to dunk in a WNBA game on June 22, 2008.^[1][2][3]

A versatile player, she is mainly a forward, but was listed on Tennessee's roster as a forward, center, and guard.^[4] She was a starter on the Lady Vols basketball team, winners of the 2007 and 2008 NCAA championships.

Parker won the 2009 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice award as the favorite female athlete in the sports category.

Early life[link]

Candace Parker was born on April 19, 1986 to Natasha, who currently works for the front office of the Chicago Sky, and Larry, who is in the insurance business. She has two older brothers: Anthony Parker, who is an NBA player, and Marcus, who is a doctor.^[5]

She grew up in Naperville, Illinois. Her whole family loved basketball, and she began playing at an early age. Her father had played at the University of Iowa in the 1970s. The family were also huge Chicago Bulls fans. Candace was 2nd guessing about playing basketball, fearing she would not live up to the level of play her father and brother demonstrated, so she focused on playing soccer. It wasn't until the eighth grade that her family convinced her to play. Her father would help coach and critique her. Candace said of the experience, "He did things to make me mad, to challenge me, because I was so much more athletic and had so much more knowledge of the game than everyone else that sometimes I just coasted. If me and my dad went to a park and he didn't think I was practicing hard enough, he'd just get in the car and leave. And I'd have to run home. I mean run home. Once I figured that out, I'd always try to go to close-by-parks." ^[6]

Playing career[link]

High School[link]

Like her older brother Anthony Parker, she attended Naperville Central High School in Naperville, Illinois; she graduated in 2004. While she was in her sophomore year she became the first female high-school player and only the fifth woman at any level to dunk a basketball in a sanctioned game. "The first two times I tried it in games I failed. Embarrassing! The third time was a charm and then cameras and reporters were everywhere--everyone wanted to talk about dunking."^[7] While in high school, Parker led her basketball team to Class AA state titles in 2003 and 2004. She amassed numerous accolades.

She is the only two-time award winner of the USA Today Player of the Year, winning the award in 2003 and 2004. Parker also won the Naismith and Gatorade Awards as national basketball player of the year for each of those years. She joins Marion Jones, Greg Oden, Brandon Knight and LeBron James as the only back to back winners of the Gatorade honor. Parker was named WBCA All-American.^[8] She participated in the 2004 WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored nine points.^[9] In March 2004, she won the slam dunk contest at McDonald's All-American Game and she beat a lot of the top male athletes in the country. Including two first round draft picks. She also got on the USA Today All-USA high school basketball team and won the USA Today Player of the Year Award.^[7]

She was a consensus pick as player of the year in Illinois in 2002, 2003, and 2004. A four-year member of the All-State first team, Parker compiled a school-record 2,768 points (22.9 points per game) and 1,592 rebounds (13.2 rebounds per game) while starting 119 of the 121 games in which she played. She also became the first women's player to announce her commitment live on ESPNEWS.

The summer after her junior year in high school, Parker tore her ACL in her left knee in a summer league game. She returned in December of her senior year and went on to lead her school to its second consecutive state title.

In August 2004, the "CP-3"s, Team USA roommates Candace Parker and Courtney Paris, led the undefeated USA Junior World Championship team to a Gold medal with 16.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 15.8 ppg, & 9.0 rpg respectively. While training, Parker had a relapse of knee pain and was required to undergo surgery in her lateral meniscus & the lateral articular cartilage in her left knee.

Late in her high school career, Parker was featured in an episode of the television show Switched.^{[citation needed]} She traded places, for a short time with an East Coast surfer of the same age.

College years[link]

Parker attended the University of Tennessee. She took a medical redshirt her freshman year of college, and started for the Tennessee Lady Vols during the 2005-06 season. She would make history yet again as she would dunk twice in one game.^[10] Carol Ross, head coach of the University of Mississippi Ole Miss Rebels, said this of Parker: "She's the toughest matchup in the game. On many nights, she's the best guard on the floor, the best post on the floor, the best rebounder on the floor, the best passer on the floor, and, let's not forget, the best scorer on the floor. She's got the strut of a competitor and the stuff of a champion."^[10]

She was the Southeastern Conference Rookie of the Year (Coaches and AP) and helped the Lady Vols win the 2006 SEC Tournament Championship. With 17 seconds remaining in the 2006 SEC Tournament Championship Game against LSU, Parker hit the game-winning shot. She was named Tournament MVP and was named to the 2006 Kodak All-America team, making her one of the few to ever receive the award as a freshman. However, in the NCAA Tournament regional finals against North Carolina, Parker got in early foul trouble and was out of the game for much of the first half. The University of North Carolina ultimately won the game.

Parker was the only college player named to the USA squad for the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women in Brazil. The USA squad finished in third place.

On January 28, 2007, in an away game against Alabama, Parker scored her 1,000th career point as a sophomore making her the fastest player in Lady Vol history to do so. She did it in 56 games, besting Chamique Holdsclaw's mark of 57 games and Tamika Catchings's of 58 games. On March 1, at the SEC tournament in Duluth, Georgia, Parker was named the 2007 SEC Player of the Year. On April 3, she led the Lady Vols to their first National Championship victory since 1998, beating Rutgers 59-46; Parker finished the game with 17 points and earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player honor.

Parker announced on February 21, 2008 that she would forego her final season of eligibility at Tennessee in order to focus on the 2008 Olympics and pursue a professional career. She graduated with her incoming class in May 2008.^[11] A sports management major who had a 3.35 grade point average as of December 2007, she was named University Division Academic All-American of the Year in women's basketball for 2008 by the College Sports Information Directors of America.^[12]

On April 8, 2008, Parker led the Lady Vols to their second straight NCAA women's title, the eighth championship for Tennessee. She was also named the MVP for the second consecutive tournament, joining Cheryl Miller, Chamique Holdsclaw and Diana Taurasi as the only female players to have done so. She won the honor despite suffering a dislocated shoulder during her team's regional finals win, but returned (wearing a white long-sleeve T-shirt under her jersey) and led the Lady Vols to the title. Although Parker had a year of eligibility remaining due to her medical redshirt in the 2004-2005 season, she opted to enter the WNBA Draft following the championship victory. While at Tennessee, she compiled a record of 101 wins and 10 losses.

WNBA[link]

Parker (left) gets ready for the jump ball

Just after the NCAA victory, Parker was selected as the first pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She currently plays alongside Olympic teammates Tina Thompson and Delisha Milton-Jones. Shannon Bobbitt (Parker's teammate at Tennessee) joined the Sparks after being drafted in the second round.^[13]

On May 17, 2008, in her debut game against the Phoenix Mercury, she recorded 34 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. Her 34 points broke the record for a rookie in a debut game. The record was previously held by Cynthia Cooper, who scored 25 points in her debut game in 1997.^[14]

On June 22, 2008, she became the second woman in WNBA history-after her teammate Lisa Leslie-to dunk during a regulation WNBA game against the Indiana Fever and Michelle Snow in the 2006 WNBA All-Star game. The dunk was on the same basket as the dunk of her teammate.^[15]

Parker was named the Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Month for the month of May 2008.^[16] She received the same honor for July 2008.

In August 2008, the WNBA suspended play for a couple of weeks to some of their players to join the U.S.'s National Women's Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Parker was selected to go, as was teammate Lisa Leslie, and the US team cruised with 8 straight victories to achieve the gold medal. They won games with an average margin of 38.8 points. They faced Australia in the final game, and won, 92-65. Parker averaged 9.4 points in the tournament, and scored 14 in the finals game.^[17]

On October 3, 2008, she was named the Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Year as well as Most Valuable Player for the 2008 WNBA season. She became the first WNBA player to win both the Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player in the same season.^[18] In addition, she also joined Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld as the only professional American basketball players to win both ROY and MVP trophies in the same season.

Candace Parker missed the 2009 WNBA season after having her baby girl Lailaa, but on June 30 Candace returned to practice with her teammates for the first time.^[19] She played her first game back from maternity leave on July 5, 2009. Candace earned 2nd Team All-WNBA honors despite missing almost a full month. She led the Sparks to the Western Conference Finals but lost in 3 games to the Phoenix Mercury. In the playoffs Parker averaged 18 points and over 10 rebounds per game. She missed most of the 2010 WNBA season due to a shoulder injury.

In 2011, Candace Parker played six games. During the seventh game, with 5:56 left in the third quarter, Parker went down after grabbing a defensive rebound and making brief contact with Quanitra Hollingsworth. After getting an MRI on June 27th, she found out she had a torn meniscus in her right knee. Parker may be out of the season for approximately six weeks.

USA Basketball[link]

Parker was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009.^[20] The team selected to play for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics is usually chosen from these participants. At the conclusion of the training camp, the team will travel to Ekaterinburg, Russia, where they compete in the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational.^[20]

Parker was one of 21 finalists for the U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team Roster. The 20 professional women's basketball payers, plus one collegiate player (Brittney Griner), were selected by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee to compete for the final roster which will represent the USA at the 2012 Olympics in London.^[21]

The Brawl[link]

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (November 2011)

On July 22, 2008 Parker was involved in a fight during a game against the Detroit Shock. With 4.5 seconds before the game was officially over, the fighting began on the court after Plenette Pierson made a hard box out after a free throw on Candace Parker; the two players became entangled and Parker fell to the ground. As Parker was down, Pierson stormed over to Parker and aggressively walked over the top of her; in response, Parker tackled Pierson to the court. Parker threw a punch at Pierson before being tackled by Deanna Nolan as players and coaches from both teams joined in. Coach Rick Mahorn came off the bench — as a peacemaker — but the 6-10, 300-plus pounder incited more violence when he inadvertently knocked Los Angeles forward Lisa Leslie to the floor. Leslie's teammate, DeLisha Milton-Jones, then came to her rescue by punching a stunned Mahorn in the shoulder. In response, Mahorn was hit by Sparks players Milton-Jones, Murriel Page and Shannon Bobbitt. Pierson, Parker, Milton-Jones, and Mahorn were all ejected. The altercation also resulted in a season-ending ACL injury to Cheryl Ford, who was trying to restrain her teammate.

WNBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Postseason[link]