Carmelo Anthony hosted WNBA superstar Candace Parker on “What’s In Your Glass?” Together, they discussed hopes for the WNBA, social activism, and much more.
Since the WNBA’s inaugural season in 1997, there’s always been one lingering question: how exactly can one support it? On the surface, that may appear to be an easily-answered question. But it remains largely a work in progress. Los Angeles Sparks superstar and NBA on TNT personality Candace Parker joined Portland Trail Blazers future Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony on What’s In Your Glass to discuss this very question.
Anthony, a longtime women’s sports supporter, threw out a question to Parker about the WNBA’s future, and what changes she would like to see within the next five years. Parker offered this response:
"“Well, I said when I came into the league … I said um, you know I definitely wanted to leave the game better than I came into it with. And for me, going overseas is one of those things that that’s like, I think our brand of basketball, our game would be so much better if players played only in the WNBA.And for that to happen … the way I fed my daughter, and pay my bills is overseas. I mean, I went overseas for ten years. In the next 5-to-10 years, I would like to see where women don’t have to go overseas and leave their families.”"
Parker’s desire has sound reasoning. In an ABC News article, reports showed that Diana Taurasi earned around $1.5 million in Russian basketball play in 2017. In the WNBA, she made $113,000 that same year. The highest current salaries in the WNBA are a “mere” 215,000.
Thinking about scheduling, WNBA players would certainly be more fresh if, like Parker, they didn’t have to play in Russia, China, Turkey, and then put that fatigue elsewhere and play a 34-game season.
Carmelo Anthony discussed some of the ways in which he supports the WNBA. For example, he noted how when playing the NBA 2K series, he said he only plays with WNBA teams. This, in a way, could be another way the WNBA fulfills Parker’s future goal. For the first time ever on NBA 2K21, there will be a WNBA-themed version of the MyCareer mode. There’s progress being made.
In terms of the rest of the podcast, Anthony and Parker talked about the dynamic in the bubble, and how the lack of traffic brought forth improvements in their respective play. Parker hit her end-of-season stride in the “Wubble,” and Anthony was at his most efficient on the NBA campus. They also hit on social activism and the upcoming political scene and wine, among much else.
The rest of the podcast can be found above. Yesterday marked the 24th edition of Anthony’s pod, and there’s a link to that playlist.