Which WNBA team did Candace Parker join as the first pick of the 2008 draft?

Candace Parker joined the Los Angeles Sparks as the first pick of the 2008 WNBA draft.

The Sparks selected Parker first overall after her decorated college career at Tennessee. She entered the WNBA with exceptional expectations and immediately became one of the league's most prominent players.

Parker won both the WNBA Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in 2008, an extraordinary first season. She later played for the Chicago Sky and Las Vegas Aces, but Los Angeles was her original WNBA team.

The draft selection is sometimes confused with Parker's later championship history. She won the 2016 WNBA title with Los Angeles and the 2021 title with Chicago, while the 2008 draft question concerns the beginning of her professional career.