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Very soon, Candace Parker will make regular appearances in your living room!
The 10-year WNBA veteran with the Los Angeles Sparks has signed a deal with Turner Sports. The two-time league MVP and 2016 WNBA champion will be a commentator for NBA ad NCAA games.
The “multi-faceted role” will have Parker providing analysis and commentary for powerhouse basketball broadcast, NBA on TNT.
Additionally, Parker will join the Players Only studio crew for programs airing on TNT and NBA TV. According to the press release from Turner Sports:
The innovative Players Only franchise offers viewers an entertaining narrative and unique insights into the game directly from the athlete’s perspective. NBA TV will air Players Only telecasts on Monday nights beginning Oct. 22 through late-January. TNT will then air the remaining Players Only telecasts Tuesday nights from the series’ Jan. 29 debut through mid-April.
If that isn’t enough, Parker will also make regular appearances on NBA TV’s GameTime, beginning Oct. 21, and provide commentary for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.
Of her relationship with Turner Sports and broadcasting, Parker said:
I cannot wait to resume broadcasting with Turner Sports and to be a part of what I consider the best basketball coverage out there. I love broadcasting because it allows me to share my passion for basketball with viewers, and I look forward to sharing my analysis and commentary in a variety of formats.
It has been a busy offseason for Parker! Last week, she was a featured guest at the espnW: Women + Sports Summit (along with Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm) and she dropped a player-exclusive shoe for Adidas.
And these strides couldn’t be more perfectly timed. As a 10-year veteran who will not be playing overseas in the winter, Parker is surely thinking about her post-basketball career. The deal with Turner Sports affords her the chance to make a full-time leap into broadcasting whenever she decides to hang up her Tennessee orange basketball shoes.
But her role as a broadcaster seems vital for the WNBA as well.
With any hope, Parker appearing before men’s basketball audiences while still immersed in her playing career will serve as a bridge viewers can cross to get to the WNBA.