Dee W.
I do not know if people have been noticing, but WNBA’s all-star Candace Parker has been amazing as a commentator the past couple of months. Turner sports announced they had hired her as a tv analyst and commentator for telecasts on NBA TV and TNT. This began on October 21st, with appearances on NBA TV’s Gametime. This is a news show involving everything basketball including scores, stats, and storylines throughout the week. I will admit I didn’t watch her a lot in this role because I don’t watch this show a lot in general. But the few times I was able to catch it she was very entertaining and knowledgeable. She has that it factor that just can’t be taught when it comes to TV. Where I really began to notice her though was as one of the4 co-hosts on Inside the NBA on TNT every Tuesday. Inside the NBA is one of the most watched basketball shows on all of TV. It is normally hosted by Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny “The Jet” Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal. For some reason I am not 100% sure of on Tuesdays they switch the cast with the only normal being Shaquille O’Neal. But since this change on Tuesdays there has also been one constant and that is the amazing Candace Parker. She feels like a foil for Shaq in all the best possible ways. Anybody who watches the show knows Shaq loves getting on Charles Barkley for not winning rings, but with Candace that can’t be said. Shaq has coined her the “beautiful bully” and this for good reason. She doesn’t knuckle under and just take any jabs from other cohosts, she simple holds her own. Her insights are always informative and well thought out along with her on screen chemistry with Shaq making it very entertaining. If you read my previous articles, I mentioned how one way to get more eyes on the league is having a former WNBA star on shows like this. TNT must have read your boy’s work because they took what I said and topped it with one of best Current WNBA players right now. They show a lot of highlights from the women’s game as a result especially ones of Candace herself. This shouldn’t be where it ends but it is damn good place to start. This is just speculation on my part, but I guarantee games involving Candace Parker will see a little spike in viewers because of this new role. Fans will either come to support this new analyst to see if she practices what she preachers or haters are going to watch and hope she fails. In my honest opinion it’s a win-win and it will be success if either group of people comes to watch. Candace Parker is coming off of another all-star season where she also won defensive player of the year, so she still has a lot in the tank. But when her career does come to an end, I can’t wait to catch her as a full-time host on a show of her own