What does Candace Parker's return mean for Sparks, WNBA?

How long does it take to realize greatness? A year? A lifetime? A season? Sometimes, greatness doesn't wait to be recognized. Sometimes, greatness stands up and boldly proclaims "Here I am! Deal with me!" When Candace Parker finished her college career as the best female athletes since Marion Jones, people knew that she was good. After leading the league in rebounding during her first season, while taking home the Rookie Of The Year and Most Valuable Player awards, we took notice, and even thought, "She's something special." But on Sunday evening, when she entered the game against the Mercury with 5:35 left in the first quarter and less than two months since giving birth, that was the third time since the WNBA's inception that a player stood up boldly and shouted "Take Notice! Or be the only one who doesn't!"

The first time was in the WNBA's third annual finals when Cynthia Cooper decided that she could score and assist at will, propelling Houston to it's third of the Four straight championships to get the League off to a good start. The second was when Lisa Leslie, aging, but still one of the best in the League, took a fast break pass with no one in front of her and calmly, but demonstratively, stepped to the front of the rim and softly stuffed the ball through the net (possibly in response to the then-college star, parker dunking twice in a game the week before). Both of those performances were significant on the court, of course. But off the court they made statements that would help propel the league forward. Cooper's performance told the then-doubtful public "Yes, a woman can be a fearless cruch-time scorer and send chills down your spine with her ability to score when her team needs it." Lisa Leslie's performance said "Yes, we are less athletic than men. But we are still athletes! We still compete! And if average Joe-six pack thinks that he can run with us, come try me."

Parker's performance, which she would even admit was a sub-par for her standards, was significant for a completely different reason. We've all heard it said, "The WNBA is nothing but a lesbian league." "None of the women have kids because athletes can't have kids and still compete." When Parker played in Sunday's game, less than two months after giving birth to little Lailaa. Seriously, that's amazing. A woman who works in my office, sitting behind a desk needed four months to come back from pregnancy. Now of course, she's not the first mother to play in a WNBA game. Yolanda Griffith and teammate Lisa Leslie are two notable examples of WNBA Mothers. But Leslie waited until her career was almost over before having her baby - after the Championships, after the MVPs, and after most of her statistics. And then she took a whole year off. Many others, like Griffith, had babies before they knew that they would have Basketball careers. Others, like Parker's teammate Tina Thompson, don't take the entire year off, but also don't contribute significantly in the year that they return from pregnancy. Paker, though, chose to have a baby with her husband and obviously got pregnant DURING the season, giving birth a little over a month before the following season began.
What's most significant, though, is that she was the best player in the league last year. So if she can get back anywhere close to her peak ability this year, we will probably start to see a lot more players planning May/June Babies. Parker's return to action shows that young female professional athletes don't have to wait until their mid-thirties to have babies. Rather, as Leslie pointed out, Parker's age (22) will no doubt assist in her recovery from the pregnancy and allow her to fully recapture her physical prime beter than a woman in her late thirties. So instead of ending a great career early, women can just take a couple of months off in their twenties.
This, in combination with her undeniable skill on the court, charisma in interviews and charming demeanor all around (not to mention her near flawless beauty) will help to propel Parker from athlete to national and international spokeswoman for the game.

The WNBA has found it's Magic, with Leslie playing the part of Kareem, to build around for the next 15 years. Here's to hoping that she comes through on all the promise we see in her. Candace, the WNBA's future and success is in your hands... No pressure, though.