Latest news with #CandaceParker
Associated Press
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Latricia Trammell returns to the Los Angeles Sparks as special assistant to coach Lynne Roberts
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Sparks hired Latricia Trammell as special assistant to coach Lynne Roberts on Tuesday. Trammell was fired as Dallas Wings coach after two seasons in October. She returns to the Sparks, where she was an assistant from 2019-22, helping Candace Parker earn 2020 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year honors. During Trammell's first stint with the Sparks, Nneka Ogwumike and Brittney Sykes each were named to the league's All-Defensive team, and Sykes earned two All-Defensive second team nods. Trammell began in the WNBA as an assistant in San Antonio, where she worked with current Sparks players Dearica Hamby and Kelsey Plum. From 1994 to 2017, Trammell coached in high school and college. 'I'm incredibly honored and grateful to return to the Los Angeles Sparks — an organization that holds a special place in my heart,' Trammell said. 'This franchise has a rich legacy, a passionate fanbase and a commitment to excellence that aligns with everything I believe in as a coach.' ___ AP WNBA:
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lady Vols legend Candace Parker honored by Los Angeles Sparks with jersey retirement
When Lady Vols basketball legend Candace Parker arrived in Los Angeles as a WNBA rookie in 2008, Michael Cooper told her something that still rang true 17 years later at her jersey retirement. The Lakers legend who won five NBA titles was the coach of the Los Angeles Sparks, who had just drafted Parker as the No. 1 overall pick the day after she won her second NCAA Championship at Tennessee. The Sparks had two WNBA championships, but they hadn't won one in six years. Parker wanted the lottery to fall in the Sparks' favor over her hometown Chicago Sky. LA was all about basketball to Parker, who grew up watching duos like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Lisa Leslie and Delisha Milton-Jones and Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. "I wanted the balls to fall in LA's court. I wanted to be out west. I wanted to be here, where all the eyeballs, all the lights, where there's ginormous shoes to fill," Parker said June 29 during her jersey retirement speech. "When I landed here, Michael Cooper said to me, 'Silk – that was my nickname – if you win here, you're a champion forever.' So there was one thing on my mind, and we got that. We got that championship." Parker led the Sparks to the 2016 WNBA Championship, the first of three during her 16-year WNBA career, and won WNBA Finals MVP. On June 29, her No. 3 jersey was retired, and her banner now hangs below the 2016 championship banner at Arena. Parker arrived with her family to an explosion of applause, wearing an orange vest and pants for her alma mater. Leslie, a Sparks legend, introduced Parker for her speech. Parker's jersey was retired at halftime of the Sparks' game against the Chicago Sky, which will also retire Parker's jersey on Aug. 25. She's only the second player in league history to have her jersey retired by two franchises. Parker's No. 3 jersey has been retired at Tennessee since 2014. It was fitting that three of the four active Lady Vols in the WNBA this season play for the Sparks – Rickea Jackson, Rae Burrell and Mercedes Russell. The seats in Arena all had yellow Adidas shirts laid on them for fans that read, "That's our Ace." The phrase was the theme for Adidas' celebration for the two-time WNBA MVP, who was signed with the brand for her entire professional career and now serves as its president for women's basketball. Parker made history in 2010 when she became the first woman to receive an Adidas signature shoe. SUMMITT: How Pat Summitt launched Danielle Donehew's Hall of Fame career by saying she'd be 'terrible coach' Leslie and Penny Toler are the only other players whose jerseys have been retired by the Sparks. Parker can remember standing in the tunnel with Leslie, with whom Parker played for two seasons, after the last game of her career in 2009. "You looked at me and you told me, 'Hey, yo, it goes fast. Enjoy it.' I remember you back there in that tunnel telling me that," Parker said. "Now, fast forward almost 20 years, and we're here." Parker retired in April 2024 as one of the most decorated players in WNBA history. She's the only player in league history to rank in the top 10 all-time in points, assists, rebounds and blocks. She's the only player to win WNBA Rookie of the year and MVP in the same season. Parker was a nine-time All-WNBA selection and a five-time All-Star with the Sparks. "I think the thing that I've learned through all the ups and downs, wins and losses, injuries, difficulties, highlights, records – it's about enjoying the process, enjoying the journey," Parker said. "I'm extremely humbled to have No. 3 up there amongst the greats, and I don't take that for granted. I do not take that for granted at all. I say thank you for this celebration. It means the world to me." Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women's athletics. Email her at and follow her on X @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora's coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Los Angeles Sparks honor Lady Vols legend Candace Parker with jersey retirement
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lady Vols legend Candace Parker, South Carolina star Aliyah Boston starting new podcast
Lady Vols basketball legend Candace Parker is teaming up with former South Carolina women's basketball star Aliyah Boston to start a new podcast. The new show is called "Post Moves" and the first episode will premiere July 30, according to Sports Business Journal, and is part of Sinclair's national podcast network. The podcast will have new episodes every Wednesday. "Candace, you know you've been someone I've looked up to since I was a kid, and now I get to do a podcast with you?" Boston said in a video promo posted on X. Boston, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, is set to make her third All-Star appearance on July 19 (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC). The first episode will feature Boston, the unanimous 2023 Rookie of the Year, sharing behind the scenes stories from WNBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis. Parker, who won NCAA titles at Tennessee in 2007 and 2008, retired in 2024 as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. The two-time MVP won three WNBA titles with three different franchises – Sparks, Sky and Aces – during her 16-year career. "Both of us post players dominate the paint in our own way," Parker said in the promo video. "Even though we're from different generations, we've got a lot to say about the game and life off the court as well." Parker's career on the court may have ended, but she has only gotten busier off the court. She's the president of Adidas women's basketball and released a book titled "The Can-Do Mindset" in June. Parker has been involved in media with Bleacher Report, where she hosted a podcast called "The Trophy Room" and produced content with this year's WNBA rookie class. Parker is also joining Amazon Prime Video as a studio analyst for its first season of NBA and WNBA coverage in 2025-26. Parker is the only player in league history to rank in the top 10 all-time in points, assists, rebounds and blocks. She's also the only player to win WNBA Rookie of the year and MVP in the same season. Her jersey was retired by the Los Angeles Sparks on June 29, and the Chicago Sky will retire her jersey on Aug. 25, making her the second WNBA player to have her jersey retired by two franchises. Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women's athletics. Email her at and follow her on X @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora's coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Candace Parker, Aliyah Boston podcast details: Episodes, premiere date
CTV News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Ex-Raptors exec Masai Ujiri remains focused on humanitarian work as Giants of Africa Festival nears
NEW YORK — Masai Ujiri's July is shaping up to be quite the rollercoaster ride. The recently-fired former Toronto Raptors executive is navigating his sudden departure from a franchise where he'd spent 13 seasons while also launching the second edition of his private foundation's Giants of Africa Festival — all within a one-month span. The humanitarian work, Ujiri pledged, will continue regardless of his employment status. The British-born NBA executive, raised in his father's native Nigeria, founded Giants of Africa in 2003 — back when he was just starting off as a scout and long before becoming the first African team president of a professional North American sports franchise. 'It's an obligation for me,' Ujiri said. 'It's a passion.' The foundation's ambitions have risen with his own success. Giants of Africa has reached thousands of campers across 18 countries. It has helped build more than three dozen courts on the continent. High-profile supporters include Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's The Archewell Foundation. 2023's inaugural Giants of Africa Festival united more than 250 boys and girls around a week of basketball clinics, life skills lessons and community building that culminated in a concert headlined by South African superstar Tyla. The goal? A 'borderless Africa' as Ujiri likes to say. The festival returns to Kigali, Rwanda, on July 26 with a lineup featuring Nigerian pop singer Ayra Starr and WNBA great Candace Parker. Two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard — brought to Toronto by Ujiri for the team's championship-winning 2018-2019 season — will mentor campers and train underserved youth. Ujiri discussed the upcoming event, and his future, with The Associated Press. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Q: Why'd you expand Giants of Africa Festival 2025 to 320 young participants from 20 African nations? A: When we had the last festival, we really focused on — whether it was the basketball, the life skills, the coaching, the mentorship — we focused on culture. We focused on the whole ecosystem of how we feel kids need this opportunity to grow. It really inspired us to think about how we bring this to more countries. We're doing this incredible, incredible fashion show showing the print, the threads of Africa, and who we really are. It used to be weird where you'd see somebody wearing cloth from Africa. Now it's part of the fashion. It's part of us. It's just like Afrobeats — it's part of life everywhere. Everybody wants to wear a boubou. You see a lot of fashion designers from all over the world using our prints. We want to showcase that and give these youth the opportunity to see that this is how they can also expand their minds. Q: How does it feel to see basketball investments lead to the sport growing across the continent? A: It's been unbelievable. With these camps, it started off as basketball development, but you've seen that really become something that has really grown even bigger. I saw Pascal (Siakam), I saw (Joel) Embiid, I saw all these guys as youth in camps. Seeing them as 15-, 16-year-old kids in camp, you can't even project. And that tells you how much talent we have on the continent. I always say Africa's biggest jewel is the talent of the youth. One out of every four people in the world are going to be Africans by the year 2050 and the median age is 20. We should be investing on the continent. Q: How does Giants of Africa use sports to get the youth to consider different careers? A: I'm the prime example of that. I didn't play in the NBA. I didn't even play high-level college or high-level Europe. The entry point for me was a scout in the NBA. From then on lots of people helped me to create this path that I'm on still. I go back to Basketball Without Borders, when the NBA gave me the opportunity to be a director. That has led to me becoming an executive in the NBA. That's the example I want to give. That's why we have so many people coming to this festival to really show these kids — whether it's me or a journalist or a sports doctor or sports lawyer — there's so many careers. And the start is sports and doing it passionately and doing it well. Q: How did women's empowerment become a focus for the foundation's work? A: When I first started, I was doing boys camps. Not every kid is going to make it to the NBA. So we started focusing on life skills. That was teaching respect, honesty, being on time. One of the big focuses was respect for women. So, I'm challenging these boys but I'm not challenging myself. I can't say 'women's empowerment' and 'respect women' and just do these camps for boys. So, we introduced the girls. And it's not 50 boys and 10 girls just for token. It's equality. They all have a basketball and they have the same court time. We can't just say it. We actually have to do it. Q: What does your recent Toronto Raptors departure mean for your humanitarian work? A: Job, no job, wherever I am, whatever kind of job I'm doing, Giants of Africa is key. The focus will always be that just because I owe it to the youth of the continent. I owe it to the continent. My goal is not how big does Giants of Africa get. I look at it as: how big are these youth going to become? They'll go on to do other things. They could go on to become a president or become a governor or become president of a team. The hope is that this experience here will even make them reimagine many of the things that they want to do. So, Giants of Africa will never go anywhere. ___ James Pollard, The Associated Press Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ex-Raptors exec Masai Ujiri remains focused on humanitarian work as Giants of Africa Festival nears
NEW YORK (AP) — Masai Ujiri's July is shaping up to be quite the rollercoaster ride. The recently-fired former Toronto Raptors executive is navigating his sudden departure from a franchise where he'd spent 13 seasons while also launching the second edition of his private foundation's Giants of Africa Festival — all within a one-month span. The humanitarian work, Ujiri pledged, will continue regardless of his employment status. The British-born NBA executive, raised in his father's native Nigeria, founded Giants of Africa in 2003 — back when he was just starting off as a scout and long before becoming the first African team president of a professional North American sports franchise. 'It's an obligation for me,' Ujiri said. 'It's a passion.' The foundation's ambitions have risen with his own success. Giants of Africa has reached thousands of campers across 18 countries. It has helped build more than three dozen courts on the continent. High-profile supporters include Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's The Archewell Foundation. 2023's inaugural Giants of Africa Festival united more than 250 boys and girls around a week of basketball clinics, life skills lessons and community building that culminated in a concert headlined by South African superstar Tyla. The goal? A 'borderless Africa' as Ujiri likes to say. The festival returns to Kigali, Rwanda, on July 26 with a lineup featuring Nigerian pop singer Ayra Starr and WNBA great Candace Parker. Two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard — brought to Toronto by Ujiri for the team's championship-winning 2018-2019 season — will mentor campers and train underserved youth. Ujiri discussed the upcoming event, and his future, with The Associated Press. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Q: Why'd you expand Giants of Africa Festival 2025 to 320 young participants from 20 African nations? A: When we had the last festival, we really focused on — whether it was the basketball, the life skills, the coaching, the mentorship — we focused on culture. We focused on the whole ecosystem of how we feel kids need this opportunity to grow. It really inspired us to think about how we bring this to more countries. We're doing this incredible, incredible fashion show showing the print, the threads of Africa, and who we really are. It used to be weird where you'd see somebody wearing cloth from Africa. Now it's part of the fashion. It's part of us. It's just like Afrobeats — it's part of life everywhere. Everybody wants to wear a boubou. You see a lot of fashion designers from all over the world using our prints. We want to showcase that and give these youth the opportunity to see that this is how they can also expand their minds. Q: How does it feel to see basketball investments lead to the sport growing across the continent? A: It's been unbelievable. With these camps, it started off as basketball development, but you've seen that really become something that has really grown even bigger. I saw Pascal (Siakam), I saw (Joel) Embiid, I saw all these guys as youth in camps. Seeing them as 15-, 16-year-old kids in camp, you can't even project. And that tells you how much talent we have on the continent. I always say Africa's biggest jewel is the talent of the youth. One out of every four people in the world are going to be Africans by the year 2050 and the median age is 20. We should be investing on the continent. Q: How does Giants of Africa use sports to get the youth to consider different careers? A: I'm the prime example of that. I didn't play in the NBA. I didn't even play high-level college or high-level Europe. The entry point for me was a scout in the NBA. From then on lots of people helped me to create this path that I'm on still. I go back to Basketball Without Borders, when the NBA gave me the opportunity to be a director. That has led to me becoming an executive in the NBA. That's the example I want to give. That's why we have so many people coming to this festival to really show these kids — whether it's me or a journalist or a sports doctor or sports lawyer — there's so many careers. And the start is sports and doing it passionately and doing it well. Q: How did women's empowerment become a focus for the foundation's work? A: When I first started, I was doing boys camps. Not every kid is going to make it to the NBA. So we started focusing on life skills. That was teaching respect, honesty, being on time. One of the big focuses was respect for women. So, I'm challenging these boys but I'm not challenging myself. I can't say 'women's empowerment' and 'respect women' and just do these camps for boys. So, we introduced the girls. And it's not 50 boys and 10 girls just for token. It's equality. They all have a basketball and they have the same court time. We can't just say it. We actually have to do it. Q: What does your recent Toronto Raptors departure mean for your humanitarian work? A: Job, no job, wherever I am, whatever kind of job I'm doing, Giants of Africa is key. The focus will always be that just because I owe it to the youth of the continent. I owe it to the continent. My goal is not how big does Giants of Africa get. I look at it as: how big are these youth going to become? They'll go on to do other things. They could go on to become a president or become a governor or become president of a team. The hope is that this experience here will even make them reimagine many of the things that they want to do. So, Giants of Africa will never go anywhere. ___ Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP's philanthropy coverage, visit James Pollard, The Associated Press
