From the NCAA and WNBA to the Olympic stage, Candace Parker has won at every level of basketball. Her Hall of Fame resume includes two NCAA championships, three WNBA championships, two Olympic gold medals and even five Russian National League titles.
When it comes to a favorite championship, though, it's an impossible choice.
"That's like picking your favorite kid, you can't really," Parker said in an exclusive interview.
The retired basketball star and current TNT NBA analyst conceded that climbing to the top in the WNBA was tougher than the Olympics, but she spoke glowingly about her experience at the Games.
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"I will say the WNBA championship was a lot harder, it really was," she said. "But I would say winning the Olympic medal, you dream of representing your country, standing on the podium and hearing the national anthem play. ... So I can't really choose which one's the best, but they both bring out different emotions."
Parker's time with Team USA began well before she entered the WNBA, as she competed in red, white and blue in U-16 and U-18 competitions. It was 2008 where the top levels of women's hoops came together, as she won a national championship in her senior season at Tennessee, was selected No. 1 overall in the WNBA draft and won a gold medal with Team USA at the Beijing Olympics -- all within four months.
"It was so special. I mean, it was everything that I envisioned," Parker said. "I had my goals set from when I was in high school and I was first playing for the U.S. under-16 teams, and then I went from that to then playing with the U-18 team and then went from that to playing directly on the national team since my sophomore year in college. So when I first started playing for the U. S. national team in Australia and in Brazil, I set my sights on 2008 and to be able to realize that goal was really special."
Not all WNBA stars, let alone WNBA rookies, get to compete at the Olympics. Caitlin Clark, the top pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, was left off the U.S. women's basketball team for the Paris Olympics as it chases an eighth straight gold.
Parker noted that other WNBA All-Stars also had a case to make Team USA, but she's not concerned with an omission impacting any of the players in the league.
"It's a different situation. It's a different time," when asked about Clark missing the Team USA cut. "You're not asking me about Arike Ogunbowale, like there's a lot of people that are missing out on this opportunity, but I don't think that it's going to damage what she's able to do in the WNBA."
Parker believes the pool of American women's basketball stars is exceptionally deep heading into the 2024 Paris Olympics. Not only does she think they will come out on top in the competition -- she believes the U.S. would sweep the Games if rules allowed.
"I think that the Olympic team is going to win a gold medal. I mean, it's no surprise," she said. "I've been loud in saying that the USA women's basketball team could win gold, silver and bronze. We could field a team of 36 and compete against one another in the field and probably win gold, silver and bronze."
