Candace Parker knows it will take time to regain her form in her return after giving birth to a daughter two months ago.

“Every day has been an improvement and that’s what we’re looking for,” said the reigning WNBA MVP and Rookie of the Year, who made her season debut for the Los Angeles Sparks last weekend.
“I just know you have to take steps forward every day,” she said. “That’s the key. I think every day I’m getting better. It’s a process. You’re not going to arrive at your destination in one day.”
The hardest part of Parker’s return to playing has been regaining strength and stamina in her legs. And she’s also learned to be patient with her limitations.
“I know I can do these things and I know I used to be able to do things,” she said, “and it’s hard not being able to come down and get low and blow past somebody, or jump up and stuff like that.”
Teammate Tina Thompson knows what Parker is going through, as she missed the first half of the season in 2005 after having her son Dyllan in May.
“I was personally completely out of shape,” Thompson said. “And I hadn’t been that way in a long time. I don’t think I had ever gotten that out of shape. So you definitely have to go back to the drawing board and do the little things that you probably overlooked in recent years.”
Three-time MVP Lisa Leslie, who sprained her right knee in a loss to Phoenix on June 19 and is expected to rejoin the team later this month, missed the entire 2007 season after the birth of her daughter in the middle of June that year.
With Los Angeles starting a stretch of seven straight road games at New York on Thursday, Parker had her daughter Lailaa in tow, along with her husband Shelden Williams of the Minnesota Timberwolves and brother Anthony of the Toronto Raptors.
“I think I wouldn’t be myself if she wasn’t here,” Parker said. “She’s going to be a goer. Her first trip was from L.A. to New York and she was perfect on the flight. She’s going to be a traveler.”
Parker played with her daughter in the crowd for the first time in the Sparks’ win against the Liberty at Madison Square Garden.
“It’s fun for me because I’m young enough that she’s going to be able to share in my career and remember when I played basketball,” Parker said.
The former Tennessee star, selected No. 1 overall by the Sparks in last year’s WNBA draft, was amazed to see a 50-foot billboard of herself in Times Square near the team’s hotel.
“It really speaks volumes about women’s sports and how far they’ve come,” she said. “To see my picture up their next to Serena Williams was something surreal.”