Candace Parker sparked a wave of reaction with a brief, self-aware joke about her sexuality during her Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction speech.
The 40-year-old WNBA icon was honored Saturday alongside fellow women’s basketball standouts Elena Delle Donne and Chamique Holdsclaw.
Speaking from the stage at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts, Parker looked back on a decorated career that made her one of the defining figures of her generation.
Parker entered the WNBA as the No. 1 overall pick by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2008, later continuing her career with the Chicago Sky and Las Vegas Aces while capturing a championship with each franchise.
During the speech, she used her history of moving between franchises to deliver a playful nod to her personal life.
‘I changed teams both literally and figuratively,’ she said with a small chuckle, prompting surprised cheers from the crowd.
WNBA legend Candace Parker drew attention with a quick joke about her sexuality
The 40-year-old was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday
Parker had married Shelden Williams, who played college basketball at Duke University and also played in the NBA, in November 2008 shortly after she was drafted.
The couple welcomed their daughter Lailaa in 2009 but divorced in 2016 following eight years of marriage with Williams citing ‘irreconcilable differences’ in his filing.
In 2021, Parker came out as lesbian when she announced that she had secretly tied the knot with former basketball player Anna Petrakova two years prior.
Petrakova gave birth to their son Airr in February 2022, before the couple welcomed their second baby boy Hartt in 2024.
Parker carried a ball up to the podium for her speech as part of the 2026 class that also included the 1996 US Olympic women’s basketball team, Holdsclaw, NBA player Amar’e Stoudemire, longtime NBA official Joey Crawford, NBA coaches Doc Rivers and Mike D’Antoni, and Gonzaga coach Mark Few.
‘It felt weird to walk on the stage without the reason I’m here today,’ Parker said, talking to the ball. ‘We did a lot together: dunk on UConn at UConn, shimmied over our right shoulder and hit that sick fadeway, had our own signature shoe, first woman to grace the cover of NBA2K. … We stand on this podium as first-ballot Hall of Famers.’
Parker, who won three WNBA titles, two MVPs, a pair of championships at Tennessee and two Olympic gold medals, then broke down while closing her speech, saying that ‘we were meant to be a love story that began 27 years ago.’
Meanwhile, Delle Donne also used her speech as a love letter to the game with all the ups and downs she faced in her career. But she always kept life in perspective, thanks to her older sister Lizzie, who is blind and deaf.
Parker was previously married to Shelden Williams with the couple sharing daughter Lailaa
In 2021, Parker came out as lesbian when she announced she had married Anna Petrakova
‘She never played in front of thousands of people, never had a standing ovation, never been interviewed after a big win. Yet I’ve never met anyone stronger,’ Delle Donne said, choking up. ‘Thank you all for keeping me going.’
Delle Donne won MVP awards in 2015 and 2019, the second of which came when she led the Washington Mystics to their lone WNBA championship. Delle Donne became the first player in league history to shoot more than 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from behind the 3-point line and 90 percent from the free-throw line.
Finally, Holdsclaw thanked all of her former teammates and coaches in her acceptance speech. She was best known for helping Tennessee win three straight titles from 1996-98, the first team to accomplish that, under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt.
Summitt died in 2016 following a battle with Alzheimer’s.
‘One person that I wish was here as my presenter was my demanding and wonderfully supporting college coach, Pat Summitt,’ Holdsclaw said. ‘The one and only. Coach Summitt allowed me to grow as a player and person. I miss her dearly.’
Holdsclaw’s 1998 team was Tennessee’s first undefeated season at 39-0 and the Lady Vols also set an NCAA record for the most wins in a season at that time. Holdsclaw went on to have an 11-year WNBA career.
She also thanked the 1996 Olympic team, saying she had posters of their players on her wall when she was in high school.
