Late in the first quarter, with the shot clock winding down, the Los Angeles Sparks got Candace Parker the ball on the wing. Surveying the scene laid out in front of her, Parker calculated her options. Right in front of her was the Fever’s Natasha Howard, crouched in good defensive position, right arm straight out ahead to dissuade Parker from shooting a jumper. But one defender is never an obstacle for Parker. One defender might as well be no defenders. And behind Howard, there were no defenders in the paint. So Parker made her move.
First a rhythm dribble with her right hand to get comfortable, and then Parker was off, driving through the paint to her right. Howard moved with her as if attached at the hip, sliding along with her hands straight up, as good a defensive effort as you could ask for. And yet, Howard may as well have not even been there, as Parker sliced through the lane and banked home a runner off the glass for two of the 25 points she would drop on Tuesday night.
As the Fever took the ball out under their basket, Parker started back down the court. Until all of a sudden she cuts back, realizing an opportunity. The camera happens to zoom in on her face and you can see the determination in her eyes as she reaches out for the pass, deflecting it away from its intended destination. Pouncing on the loose ball, Parker spots Ana Dabovic cutting back up court, and finds her for an easy mid-range jumper.
This was just one of the myriad brilliant sequences for Parker against the Fever in which she finished with an unreal line of 25 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 8 steals, and 3 blocks. After sitting out the first half of the season to recover from her time overseas with UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia, Parker has been dominant, averaging 17.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 2.3 steals, and 2.1 blocks a night. Her appearance has lifted the Sparks from a dismal fate of toiling away in the bottom of the Western Conference. They remain just 8-17 on the year, but hold claim to the final playoff spot in the West, and are a real threat to do some damage if they in fact get in.
They fell to the Fever last night, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort from Parker, obviously. Sometimes singular greatness is just not enough, sometimes players can’t singlehandedly win games, no matter what they do. Parker was brilliant, but the Sparks were without Nneka Ogwumike, and the Fever went 10-19 from three. That’s how it goes. Not every game can have a Hollywood ending, even when Hollywood’s just a few miles away.
But oh boy, was Parker something else last night. There are incredible performances when a player catches fire and can’t be stopped, a confluence of unlikely events combining to create a once-in-a-season event. But Parker’s greatness last night was not of that type. It never felt unbelievable. It never felt like she was playing out of her mind, performing in a way she could never replicate. Everything was smooth and effortless, as if Parker was putting on an artistic performance rather than playing in a basketball game. And last night’s performance was a show for the ages.