Candace Parker Taking Rookie Over Sky's Angel Reese

It doesn't matter that she is a rookie, Candace Parker is taking this player over Chicago Sky star Angel Reese.

Jul 22, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Former Las Vegas Aces player Candace Parker poses for the camera during the first quarter of the game between the Las Vegas Aces and the Atlanta Dream at Michelob Ultra Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images / Candice Ward-Imagn Images

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese continues to catch strays. 

A few weeks ago, Candace Parker was asked to rank several WNBA players. To make things easy, she placed them in tiers. 

We’ll break it down. 

S tier: Napheesa Collier, A’Ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart 
A tier: Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum
B tier: Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale 
C tier: Angel Reese, Cameron Brink

Due to Parker placing Reese at practically the lowest end of the totem pole, the critics have been judgmental. Although she has thick skin and believes her opinion has always been valid, the former two-time MVP and three-time champ felt the need to explain the reasoning behind her selection. She also wanted to ask everyone a question. 

"A'ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart, Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Plum, Sabrina Ionescu, Arike Ogunbowale, Paige Bueckers, Cam Brink, and Angel Reese. What player are you taking Angel Reese over, of those that I just listed?" Parker asked on her podcast with Aliyah Boston titled Post Moves. 

Although some of those names aren’t debatable, plenty have attempted to poke holes in her argument. 

For starters, Bueckers, while she’s shown she belongs with averages of 18.2 points and 5.5 assists, is just a rookie with 21 games under her belt. Also, Cameron Brink stood out to some critics. The second year forward averaged just 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds a night during her first year. She’s also missed a significant amount of time due to a torn ACL, and only recently made her 2025 debut. 

In the meantime, Reese is a double-double machine, leads the league in rebounding, and is coming off her second straight All-Star selection.

For Parker, she credited Reese for playing with toughness and having that “dog” in her, but accentuated her lack of scoring at times in the post. 

Getting chastised has never gotten under her skin. Not as a player and certainly not as an analyst/podcaster. However, when she's being referred to as a hater, that part bothers her. 

"We have to come to a place in women's basketball where we can critique without being a hater. I in no way, shape, or form am a hater.”

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