Candace Parker, the first round pick in the WNBA draft, and adidas announced that they have entered into a multi-year partnership agreement. The sponsorship comes after three seasons at the University of Tennessee and two National Championships for Parker. Parker will also compete in the 2008 Women's USA Basketball team heading to Beijing in August.
In three years at the University of Tennessee, Parker showed she had the skills to be a well rounded player and teammate. This season she led the Lady Vols in scoring (21.3 ppg), rebounding (8.5 rpg) and blocked shots (90). Capping off her successful Junior year, Parker earned the Associated Press Player of the Year, ESPN.com Player of the Year, John R. Wooden Award, Naismith Women's College Player of the Year, the State Farm Player of the Year and the Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Year. She was also selected to a number of All-American teams: Academic All-American of the Year, Associated Press All-American, ESPN.com All-American, John R. Wooden Award All-American and WBCA/Kodak All-American.
“After meeting with the team at adidas and hearing about their future direction, I was extremely excited about continuing to be part of the adidas family,” stated Parker. “There were a number of companies looking to partner with me, but adidas' commitment to the game of basketball, their WNBA partnership, their future direction and how I could be an extensive part of that made me feel like this was the perfect fit for my future.”
“The successful future of the WNBA is defined by talented, team-oriented young players like Candace Parker. Candace has shown throughout her basketball career that she can and will do whatever her team needs to win,” stated Jim Gatto, Head of Global Basketball Sports Marketing for adidas. “adidas is clearly focused on partnering with the best team-oriented players and creating the most innovative performance products paired with cutting-edge design. This combination will continue to generate strong momentum for both our basketball, training and women's business, and we expect Candace to play a key role in all these areas moving forward.”
“Candace has the potential to become the most recognized woman in sports and our partnership with adidas will help propel her to that platform,” said Aaron Goodwin, CEO of Goodwin Sports Management. “Young girls will resonate with Candace and someday lace up basketball shoes with her name on the sides.”
