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Candace Parker should have spent her whole career with the Sparks.

On a day the Sparks retired the jersey of the superstar whose departure has coincided with their five-year funk, Candace Parker nearly missed her pregame news conference.

The Sparks couldn’t channel Candace Parker’s dominance on the day they retired her jersey, falling 92-85 to the Chicago Sky Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

In the fourth quarter against the Chicago Sky at Crypto.com Arena, in front of a crowd waving yellow Candace Parker T-shirts, the Sparks did something they’ve been doing in bunches since Parker skipped town after the 2020 season.

Since the Candace Curse, that has meant, “About to lose.”