TNT tribute to Candace Parker included praise of her as an All-Star mom

United States’ Candace Parker holds her daughter Lailaa, 3, after the team beat China in an exhibition women’s basketball game Saturday, May 12, 2012, in Seattle.

WNBA and women’s college basketball legend Candace Parker has retired from basketball.

The two-time NCAA champion, three-time WNBA champion and five-time All-Star announced her retirement Sunday on Instagram, ending her 16-year professional career.

“I promised I’d never cheat the game & that I’d leave it in a better place than I came into it. The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it’s time. My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it,” she wrote.

In the post, she revealed that she has still been dealing with the pain of a foot injury she sustained last season. She played on a fractured foot for the 2023 season and eventually underwent season-ending surgery in July, according to The Associated Press.

What TNT’s Kenny Smith said about Candace Parker’s retirement

Off the court, Parker is an analyst on “NBA on TNT Postgame Show.” On Sunday night, TNT’s “Inside the NBA” crew recognized Parker for her career and impact on women’s basketball.

Kenny Smith called Parker “groundbreaking” — and not just for what she did on the basketball court or does as a basketball analyst.

He praised Parker for being a good mom.

“We live in the same area in Los Angeles, so I get to see her. Our kids at one time were at the same school. The ability to play a game, come to TNT and be there to pick up her daughter (from school) is what makes her special. It’s the ability to be a mom and all of that and to make her children feel more special than she is,” he said. “I saw that every day. That’s what’s astonishing.”

What has Candace Parker said about being a mom?

In her retirement announcement, Parker referenced her role as a mom. She gave birth to Lailaa Nicole Williams right before the start of her second WNBA season.

“I always wanted to walk off the court with no parade or tour, just privately with the ones I love. What now was to be my last game, I walked off the court with my daughter. I ended the journey just as I started it, with her,” she said.

Parker is also the mom to a 2-year-old son, Airr Larry Petrakov Parker, whom she shares with wife Anna Petrakova. The couple are expecting another child this spring.

Parker often shares her love of being a mom on social media.

“Good, bad, win, loss … My highlight is going to see my kids after games. 15 year difference and my heart is still exploding. I love y’all SO MUCH,” she wrote on Instagram in June 2023.

For her daughter’s 14th birthday last year, Parker wrote an Instagram post in which she called Lailaa her “heart in human form” and said she didn’t know how she got lucky enough to have Lailaa as her daughter.

“What’s understood doesn’t need to be explained! I love you to the moon and back forever and always. I will have your back now and forever and until the wheels fall off. My heart in human form,” she wrote.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist considers being a mom her most important title, she said on Instagram in April 2023 — and Parker has a long list of titles and accolades.

“Being a mom is THE most important aspect of who I identify as. No matter how many hats I may wear, being a mom always IS NUMBER 1,” she wrote.