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NBA 2K cover cements Candace Parker as top women’s basketball star ever

By Caleb Calhoun

February 15, 2020; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker during NBA All Star Saturday Night at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
February 15, 2020; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker during NBA All Star Saturday Night at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s pretty clear that the Tennessee Lady Vols will always have the most important figure in women’s basketball history in the late Pat Summitt. They now have had the biggest star among players in the history of women’s basketball as well, and NBA 2K22 cemented that.

Former Lady Vol Candace Parker is going to be on the cover of the long-running video game that is produced by 2KSports. She is the first women’s basketball player to achieve such an honor, which is a huge deal.

Parker is in the midst of her 14th season in the WNBA and her first on a team other than the Los Angeles Sparks. She revealed she would be on the 23rd installment of the NBA 2K video game franchise on Twitter Wednesday morning.

By accomplishing this, there’s no more debating that Parker is the greatest star for women’s basketball. Lisa Leslie was the pioneer, and there are plenty of players who have an argument to be greater than her, including Leslie, Cheryl Miller, Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi. Heck, there are even greater Lady Vols, including Chamique Holdsclaw, and Tamika Catchings has a case.

However, none of them stand out in the ways Parker has. Dating back to her high school days when she won the high school dunk contest, she has consistently been the one to kick down doors and break into fields related to basketball that were exclusively for men.

Remember, Parker has been an analyst with the TNT crew in recent NCAA Tournament appearances, and she is now doing it for NBA games as well. She has consistently been looked to as the ambassador for women’s basketball.

Her accomplishments on the court obviously speak for themselves as a two-time WNBA MVP, WNBA champion, WNBA Finals MVP, WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, WNBA All-Star Game MVP and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist. She was a two-time national champion, two time consensus player of the year and two-time Final Four Most Outstanding Player with the Lady Vols.

Having won everything possible at both levels, Parker’s most notable achievements, like Summitt herself, are now what she has done beyond the court. Making the NBA 2K cover is just another way for her to be the top ambassador for women’s basketball globally.