Basketball legend Candace Parker on 'The Can-Do Mindset' and finding success

Transcript

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Amna Nawaz: Three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker knows a thing or two about success and how to achieve it.

Since announcing her retirement last year after 16 seasons, the seven-time WNBA all-star, two-time MVP and television broadcaster has stepped into a new role as an author.

I spoke recently with Parker about her first book, an autobiography entitled “The Can-Do Mindset: How to Cultivate Resilience, Follow Your Heart, and Fight for Your Passions.”

Candace Parker, welcome to the “News Hour.” Thanks so much for joining us.

Candace Parker, Author, “The Can-Do Mindset: How to Cultivate Resilience, Follow Your Heart, and Fight for Your Passions”: Thanks for having me.

Amna Nawaz: So the title of this book comes from your nickname that was given to you by your mom, it seems like, when you were growing up in Illinois, the youngest sister to two older brothers.

And, as I read, you were always trying to keep up with them and do everything that they were doing. So your mom would say, you can do anything. Tell me about that nickname and how it kind of became your mantra for life.

Candace Parker: A hundred percent.

My mom was the true MVP in inspiring me to be able to believe that I could do anything and be anything. And I think that mind-set was cultivated at a young age by both of my parents. And so my name’s Candace, and it shortened to Can. And my mom extended it to Can Do.

When I doubted myself, whether it was tying my shoes, whether it was trying to knock down game-winning free throws, whatever it was, ACTs. I still have that whisper in my head whenever I’m trying to do hard things. And so it became a mantra, the acronym standing for community, authenticity, navigating that negativity, leaning into the dash, which is the journey, and both seizing and opening up opportunity for others.

Amna Nawaz: It is clear from the stories you tell that you were always a ferocious competitor. But you also write about how your dad played a really big role in this, fueling you as you went. He was very driven. He also, we should note, helped push your brother Anthony to an NBA career himself.

We have heard a lot of stories, right, about parents who push their kids so hard, it’s really more about the parent than it is the kid. How do you maintain that balance? How did you do it in your family, so it was making sure you wanted it more than he did?

Candace Parker: You know, I can remember a huge lesson.

I just entered into middle school and there’s a lot more homework than fifth grade. And I told my dad, I was like I’m going to sleep. I still have stuff to do, but I’m going to go to sleep, like, whatever. And he came in there. And you know that, like, I’m not mad, I’m disappointed?

(Laughter)

Candace Parker: That sparked that feeling of like, I do what I say I’m going to do. I complete what I say I’m going to complete. And I have to take that mind-set into anything I do.

And so I got up at 4:00 in the morning and finished all my work. And my dad came home — came downstairs and nodded his head. So I think it’s a balance. Obviously, you want to make your parents proud. But I think it’s really the like fostering the environment to establish a mind-set that you have to have across whatever you decide to do.

Amna Nawaz: The I’m not mad, I’m disappointed is sometimes way worse than the I’m just mad. I think we all share that.

You do write about becoming a high school star, becoming a college star in your own right and realizing how big the gap is between the women’s game and the men’s game and the opportunities that would be ahead of you there. You write in the book; “Why did men get to build careers and fan bases right here in the United States, while I had to go for four years of college, play in the WNBA, then fly halfway around the world to receive reasonable pay?”

I think it’s fair to say we have seen huge leaps in the women’s game, millions more people watching the NCAA Championship for women than for men, for example. But is the gap closing as fast as you think it can? Do you ever see it closing all the way?

Candace Parker: I think that gap is closing, because now you’re seeing values are set at a young age at this point as a result of NIL and the ability to make money off of your name. So it’s no longer an organization that can limit what your success can be or can not provide the visibility that is necessary to succeed.

And so now, instead of looking at women’s sports as a charity as a whole, I think at society now is looking at women’s sports as a business, and which it should have been a long time ago. And so I’m just proud of the advancement of women’s sports. I think it’s taken a lot of this generation being unapologetic in who they are and what they represent.

And as a result, I think the dollar signs are following that.

Amna Nawaz: Well, you have been a huge part of helping to push for that change.

We have also seen superstars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese help to drive up interest and investment in this sport. But there’s also this whole rivalry narrative people have set up between the two of them that also has an undeniable racial component to it. We know Angel Reese has talked about being made the villain in this whole story. I just wonder how you look at all that.

Candace Parker: I think, in the history of time right now, there’s always been the case where there have been rivalries. And I think that rivalries fuel leagues.

Now, when everybody has an opinion and an ability to express their opinion in social media and in Twitter, I think that it is our job, especially within the WNBA, to make sure that we regulate it. And it is a difficult balance of welcoming rivalry and all that comes with it, but also stopping the other discussions.

Let’s just be honest. Women in sports, it’s never just been about sports. It’s been about what you look like. It’s been about who you love. It’s been about how much money you make. It’s been about all of these other things other than just putting a ball in a hoop. And so I think that this has brought even more light onto that.

But, at the end of the day, I think that rivalries can be great. And within the league, it’s just about how you cultivate it and making sure that we’re holding the fans responsible.

Amna Nawaz: You write so intimately and personally about the impact that the legendary Pat Summitt had on you at Tennessee.

You write in the book: “Coach Summitt had the unique ability to teach me to be a great player while also modeling how to be a great human.”

And it did lead me to wonder, did you ever, or do you ever think about coaching yourself?

Candace Parker: In the words of my daughter, from the time she was little, she’s like, “My mom does not have a lot of patience.”

(Laughter)

Candace Parker: And if there’s one thing I’m working on and it is one thing my sons are testing me on is my patience. I have improved, but I don’t know if I have improved that much.

I would love to continue to have the mic in my face and continue to hopefully watch and impact the game from that standpoint. I don’t know. I never say never, but I would bet that coaching is not in my future.

(Laughter)

Amna Nawaz: You have got your hands plenty full in the meantime.

Candace Parker is the author. The book is “The Can-Do Mindset.”

Candace, such a pleasure. Thank you so much for making the time.

Candace Parker: Thank you so much.