Q&A: Candace Parker thinks Caitlin Clark will have 1 unexpected hurdle during her WNBA debut
Like her documentary, Candace Parker: Unapologetic, Candace Parker is always going to be herself. It’s what has helped make her basketball royalty and one of the best players ever to grace a court.
Parker’s career accolades span over three decades and read like something from a movie. While at Tennessee, she won two national championships with legendary coach Pat Summitt, and when she moved to the WNBA, the awards seemingly never stopped. Since becoming Rookie of the Year in 2008, Parker has earned seven WNBA All-Star selections, three WNBA championships, two MVP awards, two Olympic gold medals, a WNBA Finals MVP award and Defensive Player of the Year honors. With such a decorated career like that, it’s incredibly impressive how she stays so consistent. Truthfully, it’s not hard to see that dialing in her health and fitness plays a major part in her longevity.
Parker recently partnered with Muscle Milk as part of their Lifting Project initiative to bring an outdoor fitness court to Atlanta, Georgia, so that athletes like her and residents of the city have more access to inner and outer strength equipment. The Muscle Milk Fitness Court allows anyone in the community a safe place to exercise and provides them with circuit training that can support all fitness levels.
“It was important to partner with Muscle Milk because their initiatives continue to bring access to all communities across all fitness levels, desires and goals,” Parker told For The Win. “I’ve been a part of the Gatorade family for an extremely long time, and I’m fortunate that they’re able to continue to help us all lean into the communities that we come from. I think access is the most important thing.”
Ahead of the 2024 WNBA season, Parker spoke with For The Win about what keeps her going, how that infamous Tennesee-South Carolina Facetime call with A’ja Wilson happened, and what she thinks will be Caitlin Clark’s greatest challenge when she joins the WNBA that not enough people are thinking about.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.