“What player are you taking Angel Reese over, of those I listed?” – Candace Parker fires back at Angel Reese fans over criticism of her WNBA player rankings

“What player are you taking Angel Reese over, of those I listed?” – Candace Parker fires back at Angel Reese fans over criticism of her WNBA player rankings originally appeared on Basketball Network.

Former WNBA star Candace Parker has suddenly found herself in defensive mode after being labeled an Angel Reese hater following her latest comments on the Chicago Sky forward.

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Parker recently ranked current WNBA players into tiers, and she placed Angel at the “C-level” bracket, which ticked off Reese’s backers. During the recent episode of her new “Post Moves” podcast with Indiana Fever forward Aaliyah Boston, she defended her rankings and denied that she is an Angel Reese hater.

“We have to come to a place in women’s basketball where we can critique without being a hater. And I challenge all of you to understand that I am in no way, shape, or form a hater. I am going to be facts on the table. And with that being said, the facts that I want to bring to this table, and I challenge anybody to tell me what player are you taking Angel Reese over, of those that I just listed?” Parker asked.

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Caitlin ranked as “A”

Candace shared her tiered player rankings during a mid-July segment with Complex Sports. She placed A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier, and Breanna Stewart in her top “S” tier, followed by Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum, and Caitlin Clark in the “A” tier.

At first, nothing seemed out of place — until Reese’s name didn’t come up in the “B” tier either. When Parker finally mentioned the Chicago Sky forward in the “C” tier, it sparked immediate backlash from Reese’s supporters, who were quick to label her a hater. But Parker pushed back, insisting her rankings were based on performance, not personal bias.

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“And so I ask again, are you taking Angel above Paige? Are you taking Angel above Arike? Are you taking Angel above Sabrina, or Kelsey or Caitlin or A’ja or Napheesa or Breanna? No. That does not make her a bad player. That does not make me a hater,” she added.

“Do I think she could be up there? Yes. Do I think she could be an “S” eventually in her career and her evolution and what she’s added to her game from her rookie season to now? Absolutely. Is she there now? No, and this is in no way, shape, or form hating,” concluded Parker.

Related: “We just want to go to dinner and I gotta make like seven phone calls” – Steph Curry opens up about the downsides of being a global superstar

Parker thinks it is her job to criticise

Candace also said that criticizing the players for their performances is part of the job description, and it’s something that her Turner workmates like Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley always do.

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In fact, Shaq and Chuck are too harsh because they also attack players’ characters. She says she doesn’t engage in that stuff and sticks to the game, but still, regardless of whom she critiques in the WNBA, she gets violent reactions.

“If you say anything about Caitlin or you say anything about Angel Reese, you’re going to get whatever side coming at you in comments or wherever,” she continued. “And most are misinformed. So with that being said, we have to be better, and I think we have to be better in being able to criticize and critique play and not be like, ‘Oh, she’s attacking and she’s a hater.’ No, that’s not the case.”

When we talk about basketball resumes, Candace has one of the best ever in the women’s game. So when you talk about knowledge of the league and the women’s game in general, Parker is definitely an authority. And looking at her rankings, there doesn’t seem to be any bias for or against anybody in particular. That’s just the truth, and sometimes it hurts.

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Related: Candace Parker says the WNBA All-Stars wasted a chance to prove they deserve a raise: “Y’all cannot come out there with those shirts of ‘Pay us what you owe us”

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 31, 2025, where it first appeared.