Candace Parker will make her WNBA debut today (2:30 p.m. on ABC) at Phoenix, but according to this article in the Los Angeles Times, the Naperville Central grad is already getting noticed out and about in L.A.
That will happen a lot, one would think, if she keeps palling around with Lisa Leslie.
Leslie, the Sparks' three-time league most valuable player, and Parker, the team's highly acclaimed rookie, were in a South Bay grocery store shopping for Mother's Day cards and baby food. And then it happened.
Next thing they knew, they were holding an impromptu autograph session in Aisle 2.
"A lot of the people were, like, 'We're really excited about this season, we're going to be at your home opener,' and things like that," Parker said. "We had fun with it.' "
The article also notes that Parker's arrival has increased ticket sales in a big way in Los Angeles and around the WNBA.
In the two weeks after the draft, the Sparks sold seven times the number of season seats that were sold in the same period last year, according to Allison McGowen, the Sparks' chief operating officer.
"Other teams in the league have seen a threefold increase in single-game ticket sales for the games they are playing against the Sparks," she said. "And total new season seats sold so far for the 2008 season is up 10% over total new season seats sold last year."
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