Candace Parker Reveals Wild Reason for Alleged Beef With Geno Auriemma
Candace Parker spent over a decade with the Los Angeles Sparks — part of an illustrious WNBA career.
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The three-time WNBA Champion and two-time MVP earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2008 and averaged 16.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists across her time in Los Angeles. Parker led the Sparks to a WNBA championship in 2016, securing the franchise's third title.
Candace Parker on Geno Auriemma:
— LA Sports Report (@LA_SportsReport) June 24, 2025
“The best feeling is knowing you don't like each other … We have to be in a place where people understand and respect that.”
👀🚨pic.twitter.com/t35DQZCOQx
Parker was a member of Team USA at the 2008 Olympics, where she won her first gold medal.
But shockingly, she was left off the team's 12-player roster for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro — a decision she blames then-USA Basketball head coach Geno Auriemma for.
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"I don't think Geno wanted me on the team," Parker said in an interview. "He doesn't like me. I don't like him. We don't like each other."
She added onto her personal dislike of Auriemma in a June 18 interview with Complex Sports.
"Pat Summitt is the best coach that could prepare me for the next level."
— ESPN (@espn) November 13, 2023
—@Candace_Parker on choosing to attend Tennessee
Candace Parker: Unapologetic | LIVE now on ESPN 📺 pic.twitter.com/kOucoCnk5q
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"The best feeling is knowing you don't like each other ... I grew up in an era where if you wronged my brother, I didn't like you. It's just like that," Parker said. "[Former Tennessee coach] Pat [Summitt] did not mess with Geno. So therefore, I didn't mess with him. It was a rivalry — and then it kind of boiled over into putting on the same USA jersey.
"We have to be in a place where people understand and respect that," she added. "There's so many men out there that don't like each other ... It's so okay in society for people to not like each other."
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For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Sparks, visit Los Angeles Sparks on SI.
Ben Geffner is an award-winning sports journalist and current student at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism. A greater Los Angeles native now with countless years of extensive and dedicated experience — including beat reporting, writing, play-by-play broadcast, television anchoring, podcasting and video production — Ben remains eager to contribute as credentialed media covering the LA Sparks.
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