Candace Parker Named 2008 WNBA Most Valuable Player Presented by T-Mobile

NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2008 — Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker
has been named the 2008 WNBA Most Valuable Player presented by T-Mobile, the
league announced today. Parker received 276.79 points. Connecticut’s Lindsay
Whalen finished second with 242.08 points and Seattle’s Sue Bird came in third
with 218.51 points. It marks the first time in the WNBA’s 12 seasons that a
rookie has earned the award.

Rounding out the top six vote getters in one of the closest MVP races in WNBA
history were San Antonio’s Sophia Young (169.62), Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi (148.98)
and San Antonio’s Becky Hammon (131.75).

Parker, the top overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft earlier this year, caps
a season in which she has also earned All-WNBA First Team honors, the Hanns-G
‘Go Beyond’ Rookie of the Year Award, two Hanns-G ‘Go Beyond’ Rookie of the
Month Awards (May and July), one Player of the Week Award (Aug. 31) and the
Peak Performer Rebounding Award.

She nearly averaged a double-double in 2008 (18.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg) and was the
only player in the league to pull down more than nine rebounds per game. Parker
grabbed 10 or more rebounds on 17 occasions and tied her career-high of 16 rebounds
three times in 2008, originally set on May 29 at Indiana. In that game, she
tallied five or more in five statistical categories (16 points, 16 rebounds,
six blocks, five assists and five steals) to accomplish the league’s first “5×5.”

In her very first game as a pro at Phoenix on May 17, Parker narrowly missed
a triple-double with 34 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. A native of Naperville,
Ill. and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Parker also led the league
in double-doubles with 17 and ranked among WNBA leaders in rebounds per game
(first), blocks per game (second), points per game (fourth), field goal percentage
(fifth), minutes player (seventh) and assists per game (17th).

Presented by T-Mobile, the WNBA MVP was selected by a panel of 45 national
sportswriters and broadcasters, which accounted for 75 percent of the vote,
and an online fan vote, which accounted for 25 percent of the vote. This was
the first year that an online fan vote was incorporated.

In honor of being named the WNBA Most Valuable Player, Parker will receive $15,000
and a specially-designed trophy from Tiffany & Co.

Below are the top 25 vote-getters from the 2008 WNBA Most Valuable Player presented
by T-Mobile voting and a list of past recipients:

2008 WNBA MOST VALUABLE
PLAYER VOTING RESULTS
Player Team Total Points
Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks 276.79
Lindsay Whalen Connecticut Sun 242.08
Sue Bird Seattle Storm 218.51
Sophia Young San Antonio Silver Stars 169.62
Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury 148.98
Becky Hammon San Antonio Silver Stars 131.75
Lisa Leslie Los Angeles Sparks 58.23
Deanna Nolan Detroit Shock 53.84
Asjha Jones Connecticut Sun 42.32
Lauren Jackson Seattle Storm 41.79
Seimone Augustus Minnesota Lynx 27.16
Tina Thompson Houston Comets 26.78
Katie Smith Detroit Shock 15.57
Cappie Pondexter Phoenix Mercury 13.58
Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever 12.38
Janel McCarville New York Liberty 8.39
Sylvia Fowles Chicago Sky 7.83
Swin Cash Seattle Storm 6.35
Kara Lawson Sacramento Monarchs 6.13
DeLisha Milton-Jones Los Angeles Sparks 5.46
Candice Wiggins Minnesota Lynx 5.10
Katie Douglas Indiana Fever 4.79
Betty Lennox Atlanta Dream 4.69
Ann Wauters San Antonio Silver Stars 3.86
Alana Beard Washington Mystics 3.11