Former Tennessee Lady Vols and current WNBA star Candace Parker has been left off of Team USA for Women’s Basketball in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Los Angeles Sparks star Candace Parker got cut! How can those words even be said in a sentence?
The woman whom Pat Summitt once said could potentially become the greatest women’s basketball player ever will not be participating in the 2016 Olympics, as she was left off of the final 12-player roster, according to what a source told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
"Parker is 30 years old and has said she’s fully healthy heading into this WNBA season. She sat out half of the 2015 WNBA season to rest injuries, but she rallied the Sparks to the playoffs after her return, averaging 19.4 points and a career-high 6.3 assists and 10.1 rebounds per game. She finished the season in the top five in the WNBA in points, blocks and steals per game."
Parker has already won two Olympic Gold Medals, in 2008 and 2012, and let’s not forget that she is a two-time WNBA MVP. When she was at Tennessee, she was twice named women’s player of the year and led the Lady Vols to two national championships. They haven’t reached the Final Four since she left.
But all of that was obvious. What is not obvious is why she was left off of this year’s Olympic team, particularly if she was fully healthy.
Is there still a concern about her health that nobody else is aware of? Was there a hesitancy to use a roster spot on somebody who, even if fully healthy, has demonstrated a history of being injury prone?
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It’s impossible to believe she just isn’t good enough to make the team, particularly with the way she played down the stretch upon returning from injury.
But one thing’s for sure. Parker being snubbed from the Olympics is another example of how far the Lady Vols continue to fall as a basketball program.