LeBron James Keeps His Candace Parker Tribute Short and Simple

All eyes were on Crypto.com Arena on Sunday as the Los Angeles Sparks hosted the Chicago Sky in a WNBA regular-season game. 

It was a disappointing outcome for the home team, though, as Angel Reese led the Sky to a 92-85 victory against a struggling Sparks side. Reese and Co. pulled off the win in front of an L.A. crowd that came to Crypto.com Arena not only to watch the game, but to witness history unfold as well. 

WNBA legend Candace Parker was in the building for her jersey retirement ceremony as the Sparks immortalized her legacy by hanging her No. 3 jersey on the rafters. The team held the ceremony at halftime, which saw Parker and her family take center court for the momentous occasion.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was one of the big-name personalities who paid tribute to Parker during her historic night. The NBA's all-time leading scorer took to Instagram to share his subtle reaction to Parker's jersey retirement. 

"🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽" James captioned his Instagram post, sharing a video of Parker's iconic moment.  

James did not have any words for Parker, instead opting to use three raised hands emojis to celebrate the three-time WNBA champion's success. 

James and the Lakers play their home games at Crypto.com Arena as well, which means that he will be seeing Parker's jersey hanging in the stands on a regular occasion. 

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) pays tribute to Candace Parker.

Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It should only be a matter of time before James, who won a championship with the Lakers in 2020, sees his jersey hung alongside Parker's in the rafters. James is heading into his 23rd NBA season in 2025-26, and, at age 40, there's no denying that he's going to be walking away from the game in the not-so-distant future. 

When that time comes, the Lakers will also honor James by retiring his jersey alongside the all-time greats who came before him.