Candace Parker retired after 16 WNBA seasons and three championships in April, and before the start of WNBA All-Star weekend she revealed what led to her decision. At a dinner filled with WNBA legends in Phoenix, Parker explained that when her most trusted confidantes -- her brother Anthony and her daughter Lailaa -- said they noticed her skills declining, she knew it was time to retire.
"The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it's time. My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it," Parker wrote in her goodbye post in April.
Since retiring, Parker said she couldn't even watch basketball for the month following her announcement. As fate would have it, the TNT broadcaster also had no NBA assignments during this time, and although the transition from active to retired WNBA player was abrupt, it was much needed.
"I went through a month of mourning," Parker said Thursday night.
She spent the time with her family and one day while sitting and watching her daughter's volleyball game it hit Parker: "I'm exactly where I need to be."
Lailaa was born after Parker won the 2008 Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards while playing for the Los Angeles Sparks. In short, her daughter has been with her for nearly ever moment of her 16-year professional career. Lailaa traveled with her mother for her WNBA and overseas seasons, and for Parker's two Olympic trips.
In her retirement, Candace is ready to be present for Lailaa, her 1-year-old son, Airr, and her wife, Anna Petrakova.
As far as the WNBA, Parker has been able to get back around to watching games. When asked about the storylines surrounding Caitlin Clark and other rookies, Parker reflected first on her experience as a rookie. As Parker recalls, the toughest veterans she went up against were during Sparks practices. At 19, she competed in practice against legends like Lisa Leslie, DeLisha Milton-Jones and Temeka Jackson every day. The practices were brutal and WNBA games were and continue to be physical -- and Parker wouldn't change a thing.
Parker noted that physicality is part of the game and so too is ruthless competition on the court, a desire to want to win that inevitably means wanting someone else to lose. Parker did note that from her experience, players are often able to "laugh it off" and move on. However, the drama between former WNBA coaches Michael Cooper and Bill Laimbeer was very real.
"You have certain players that you may get a little bit more up to play," Parker said. Cooper and Laimbeer kept that energy past their playing days for the Los Angeles Lakers and Detroit Pistons, respectively.
Parker is very encouraged by the growth she's seen in the WNBA, especially for All-Star weekend. However, Parker has concerns with the current WNBA growth plan.
"I feel that the talent level and the skill level is amazing," Parker said. "Where I worry is are we handing the keys to the Ferrari -- are you giving your kid a Ferrari when they first start driving?"
WNBA players have wanted expansion for several years now, and though Parker does agree, she'd like to see a roster change happen before adding more teams.
"I want to see the rosters expand to 15 first," Parker told CBS Sports. "... Right now, 11 and 12 players is not enough."
While she emphatically doesn't doubt the talent in the league and that will shortly arrive in the likes of Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins, Parker herself knows how difficult it can be to carry a franchise.
The WNBA has announced it will expand to 14 teams over the next two seasons. The Golden State Valkyries will join the league next season while Toronto was awarded the first franchise outside of the United States and will enter the league in 2026.
Ahead of the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game, CBS Sports asked WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert where roster size fits into the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
"We look forward to working with the players," Engelbert said. "... Obviously we're working with our owners, who we negotiate on behalf of and with as to what's on their list. So we really look forward to capitalizing on the momentum in this league and looking at how we return more to the players in that process."
Despite how growth comes, Parker is excited to see women's basketball get what it deserves.
"We're getting everything that we should get and more," Parker said. "We deserve more, I think, for the future of the game."
As for her future, Parker will continue her role as a basketball analyst while also leaning more into her family roles of wife and mother of two children. That doesn't mean she will be far from women's basketball. In fact, Parker is now a decision-maker. She was appointed president of Adidas women's basketball in May.
Parker is also dabbling into private equity. In October, Parker was listed alongside Lauren Holiday, Lindsey Vonn, Stephen Curry and other athletes tapped to assist Avenue Capital Group's Sports investment fund. The Sports Fund will seek to provide capital solutions to teams, owners and leagues, as well as invest in sports-related media and entertainment rights, real estate, and other adjacent businesses.
"Ownership is the next thing," Parker said.
