Candace Parker is staying with TNT Sports and taking on more. The network announced a multi-year extension with the Hall of Fame-bound forward, expanding her analyst duties to include regular-season coverage of BIG EAST men’s and women’s basketball and Big 12 men’s basketball.
Parker will continue to be part of TNT Sports and CBS Sports’ joint studio team for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, a role she’s held since 2019.
She’ll also remain a centerpiece of Unrivaled — the new women’s professional basketball league launching in 2025 — serving as lead studio analyst, while maintaining a presence on Bleacher Report and its B/R W platform.
Candace Parker Has Become a Broadcasting Fixture
Parker, 38, called the expanded slate a meaningful next step in her post-playing career.
“I’m grateful to keep doing what I love with my TNT Sports family,” she said.
“Getting to cover the Big EAST, Big 12, March Madness, and now Unrivaled — it all means a lot. These moments are special, and I don’t take any of it for granted.”
TNT Sports talent executive Nate Smeltz said Parker’s reputation as a trusted voice made her an ideal choice to help lead the network’s broadened basketball portfolio.
“Candace is one of the most respected figures in basketball and we’re excited to expand the ways she connects with fans through a growing number of TNT Sports properties,” he said.
Parker’s broadcasting career began while she was still dominating the court.
Drafted first overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2008 after winning back-to-back NCAA titles at Tennessee, she became the first player in WNBA history to earn MVP and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season.
Over 16 years, she won three championships — with Los Angeles in 2016, Chicago in 2021, and Las Vegas in 2023 — along with two league MVPs, a Finals MVP, seven All-Star selections and two Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012).
The only player in WNBA history to win a championship with three different teams: @Candace_Parker pic.twitter.com/oe74M1Cdfp
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 19, 2023
An Impressive Post-Playing Career
She retired in April 2024 as one of the most accomplished players in women’s basketball history and a member of the WNBA’s W25 list of all-time greats. Off the court, Parker is a part-owner of NWSL club Angel City FC and serves as adidas’ president of women’s basketball.
The timing of her deal aligns with TNT Sports’ push into expanded college basketball coverage and the second season of Unrivaled.
By keeping Parker in a prominent role, the network adds a high-profile, championship-tested voice to its lineup at a moment when its basketball footprint is growing on both the men’s and women’s sides.
