Candace Parker Pushes Back on Paige Bueckers Defensive Praise
Despite being just 24 years old and having one season of professional basketball under her belt, Paige Bueckers is already among the most talented offensive weapons in women's basketball.
Bueckers was an elite scorer and playmaker during her college career at UConn, and transitioned seamlessly into her WNBA career with the Dallas Wings. And perhaps the most impressive aspect of this is that Bueckers is still seemingly expanding her toolbag on the offensive end, and still has room to improve.
The more interesting question about Bueckers' game pertains to her defense. Like many of the top guards coming out of college, she isn't quite as renowned on that end of the floor. This had many interested to see how Bueckers would fare at Unrivaled this winter, as the 3x3 playing style that typically forces players to guard their assignment without assistance or support if they get beaten off the dribble tends to expose players with defensive deficiencies.
Candace Parker pours cold water on Paige Bueckers two-way praise
Bueckers made her Unrivaled debut with Breeze BC on January 5, securing a 69-62 win against Phantom BC. She scored a game-high 24 points in 20 minutes played while surprising many people with how good of defense she played on Phantom's guards, like Kelsey Plum and Tiffany Hayes.
While Bueckers looked improved on the defensive end on Monday, WNBA legend Candace Parker doesn't seem ready to crown her a complete player because of it, which was made clear during a debate she had with Renee Montgomery during the Unrivaled postgame show.
"I think it's hard, though, when people are so good at one thing, to put them over to the two-way player [distinction], you know? Like, that's an elite group," Montgomery said when speaking about Bueckers, per an X post from @dijopaigel.
"Okay, calm down! Not a two-way player yet! She's plating a little defense," Parker intervened.
"Okay, but how much does she gotta do to be in the conversation, Candace? What are the rules?... She can be in the two-way conversation," Montgomery then responded.
"I didn't say she can't be in the two-way conversation. It's one game, Renee. You threw her into the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George conversation. I'm like, slow your roll," Parker retorted.
"I'm saying she's two-way. That means she's playing both. I didn't name anyone else!" Montgomery said.
she could never give her a 10 https://t.co/KaQFiae6o3 pic.twitter.com/GhFFT9LLvh
— ۟ (@dijopaigel) January 6, 2026
Bueckers clearly has to show more than one good defensive game before Parker is ready to call her a two-way player. The good news is that Bueckers has plenty more games ahead of her to prove her defensive aptitude to Parker.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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