Candace Parker has already made an immeasurable impact on women's basketball. Following her retirement from the WNBA, Parker will continue to do that in her new role with Adidas.
On Wednesday, Adidas announced Parker has been hired as the president of women's basketball. Parker has partnered with Adidas throughout her career, so this felt like the next logical step after stepping away from the court.
"The brand and I have grown together, and we've done some amazing things," Parker said in an interview with Fast Company. "I'm excited about what the future holds on this side of things, because I'm so passionate about growing the game of basketball."
Parker officially announced her retirement from the WNBA last month, and that ended one of the greatest basketball careers ever. At the University of Tennessee, Parker was a two-time national champion and two-time Wooden Award winner. In the WNBA, Parker won three championships and a pair of MVP awards. She also took home gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
In that time, Parker has seen the game of women's basketball grow, and she wants to continue that growth at Adidas. One of the next steps for the women's game is to have a wider selection of shoes made just for them.
For years now, women have been wearing smaller versions of men's shoes on the court. Parker says it's essential that women "have stuff made specifically for us."
Making sure women have the same quality footwear as men is just part of her new gig with Adidas. Parker will also be doing things like selecting which athletes Adidas partners with in the future. With a new wave of young players making their mark on the game, Parker and Adidas want to make sure they get involved.
Parker knows that in order for a company to start seeing returns on women's basketball, it has to invest in the game.
"It takes money to make money," Parker told FC. "Which is crazy because we were talking about this years and years and years ago."
Now, Parker can make sure that women's basketball gets the type of financial investment that it deserves from a company like Adidas.
