Former Los Angeles Sparks power forward and two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker gave a strong two-word response to Shaquille O’Neal’s suggestion of “lowering the rim” for the WNBA, citing more dunks as a potential booster to viewership.
Shaq recently made the suggestion for the WNBA to “lower the rim” in order to boost the viewership for the league.
“60% of the fans said Dunking [is] their favorite thing,” Shaq said. “The WNBA has none of that. So they make much less money.”
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However, retired WNAB legend Candace Parker apparently did not like the idea, as he commented on Shaq’s post two words that showed not only her disagreement with his idea but also ending any talks with him.
“Goodbye Shaq,” Candace said in her comment.
Las Vegas Ace star player A’Ja Wilson also expressed her disagreement with the idea, saying that she would rather work harder to be able to dunk, rather than have the rim lowered for her.
Candace Parker on WNBA Getting “Buried” Prior to Caitlin Clark’s Popularity
Candace Parker has also openly expressed her thoughts about the rising popularity of the WNBA, and how things have changed since the popularity of Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark.
Coming from a popular college basketball stint, Clark entered the WNBA as a first pick for the season draft, and her popularity also pulled the WNBA up to viewership numbers never seen before.
In a recent interview, Parker criticized how the WNBA has been “buried” on ESPN, a cable channel, for so long, limiting viewership opportunities. It was only during the hype around Caitlin Clark that the WNBA was aired on free TV, where more people got to see the games.
“ABC, the first time they put the Women’s NCAA game on ABC was the first year that Caitlin Clark made the championship game,” she said. “Are you surprised that the viewership was up? Are you surprised that people actually saw the product? It was buried for so long on ESPN.”
She also talked about the fact that most WNBA games in the past were broadcasted at the same time with other major sports leagues, greatly dividing interest and impacting viewership.
“There’s so many times during the NCAA game, and even in the WNBA playoffs. The NBA doesn’t want to clash with NFL playoffs or NFL opening week. So why would we then put the WNBA? I don’t care if that’s the time slot that they’re giving you. Let’s fight for another one or let’s find something else.”
Candace Parker now enjoys her personal life after the WNBA but has expressed interest in owning a professional basketball team, be it for the NBA or the WNBA.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
