Through her first 10 seasons in the WNBA, Candace Parker has developed into one of the premier stars in the league.

However, a WNBA title had evaded her much of her career until last season where she led the Los Angeles Sparks to the ultimate goal. According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, this came shortly after she received some motivation from future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant.

“He was telling me, ‘When you're in the moment, you have to be willing to be the hero or the goat. But this is your team. You've worked too damn hard,'” Parker recalled. “I remember going and reading some of the quotes where he is asked, ‘How do you have the courage to take another shot when you've missed so many?' And he says, ‘I put in too much work not to make that shot.' And to me, I put in too much work not to make that shot.”

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Kobe Bryant spent two decades in the league, all with the Los Angeles Lakers where he had a tremendous amount of success behind this type of mentality. It helped earn five NBA titles and put together one of the most illustrious careers that the NBA has seen.

Meanwhile, Candace Parker has steadily put together a Hall of Fame-worthy career of her own that includes two WNBA MVP awards, four All-Star selections, All-Star Game MVP, Rookie of the Year, five All-WNBA First Team selections, two All-WNBA Second Team nods, and two WNBA All-Defensive Second Team selections.

She now has the Sparks in position to earn a second straight NBA title and further boost her WNBA legacy to greater heights.