Sparks F Parker wins MVP award

Oct 4, 2008 - 12:33 AM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker added to her extensive trophy case on Friday.

Having already claimed Rookie of the Year honors, Parker also won the league's Most Valuable Player award, which was handed out prior to Game Two of the WNBA Finals in San Antonio.

The No. 1 overall pick in last spring's draft, Parker is the first player in league history to win both honors in the same season.

"I was honored to get the Rookie of the Year Award," Parker said. "When they told me I got MVP, I was definitely in amazement. Being in this league, you realize how special it truly is. And the amount of players that are in (the running) that are well deserving of this award, the list can go on and on."

Parker, who led the Tennessee Volunteers to a 64-48 win over Stanford in April's NCAA national championship game, led the WNBA with 9.5 rebounds per game this past season. The 6-4 forward averaged 18.5 points, good for fourth in the league, and her 2.3 blocks were second only to Sparks teammate Lisa Leslie.

The 22-year-old also made headlines over the summer when she dunked in consecutive games, joining Leslie as the only WNBA players to accomplish the feat and becoming the first to do so twice.

Also a member of the United States women's team that won gold at the Beijing Olympics in August, Parker helped the Sparks reach the Western Conference finals, where the club lost to San Antonio in three games.

"I knew 2008 was going to be a huge year," Parker said. "It was a great year - winning the (NCAA) championship, getting drafted and winning the MVP. I couldn't have scripted a better ending, except for being on the court playing right now (in the WNBA Finals).

"I'll just use it as motivation, come back stronger next season and bring a title to LA."

Lindsay Whalen of the Connecticut Sun finished second in voting, while Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm was third.

Rounding out the top six vote-getters in one of the closest MVP races in league history were San Antonio's Sophia Young, Phoenix's Diana Taurasi and the Silver Stars' Becky Hammon.