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Candace Parker Facing Backlash Over Angel Reese Decision

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Parker Johnson | Last updated Jul 29, 2025 10:30 PM ET

Candace Parker's legendary WNBA career inspired today's generation of stars, but the two-time MVP sparked more negative reactions with a choice she made off the court.

The three-time WNBA champion has teamed up with Indiana Fever All-Star Aliyah Boston for a new podcast called "Post Moves" launching on Wednesday.

The former Chicago Sky player's insistence on using Angel Reese's name to promote the first episode sparked extreme backlash from fans when a teaser clip dropped on social media on Tuesday.

Fans Don't Like Candace Parker Using Angel Reese's Name For Clicks

"Speaking about Angel must be the only way to be heard on a Podcast or to stay relevant?" said a sizzling response on X. Here is the clip in question.

Oh we getting SPICY new episode tomorrow morning! pic.twitter.com/B1eeWVWA2D
— Post Moves (@PostMovesShow) July 29, 2025

Even Boston seemed taken aback by Parker's "spicy" question about choosing a player to take over Reese.

Parker, whose jersey is retired by both the Sky and the Los Angeles Sparks, led with the claim "I in no way, shape or form am a hater," but the comments on social media begged to differ.

I just want y’all to talk about someone else at this point. Talk about Rickea, talk about Cam, talk about Satou, talk about Shakira, talk about Natasha, talk about E Will. Every major sound bite has Angels name in it. It gives obsessed…..
— Alyssa (@algilmor2) July 30, 2025

"Candace we still talking about Angel?!" asked a fan.

"Just gotta use the face of basketball for clicks huh?" said another, referencing Reese.

"This woman needs to take Angel's name out of her mouth," demanded one comment. "It's getting too much now."

using Angel name as promo is crazy
— jon (@guzmanchild_) July 29, 2025

CP3's Decision Was Not Popular, But It Was Smart

Parker knows that big names drive views, and talking about Reese falls in line with her strategy — whether fans find it authentic or not.

She also leveraged Boston's relationship with Fever superstar Caitlin Clark to help promote their new show, but it did not draw the same ire from fans.

Reese is far and away the most popular WNBA player based on social media following, with more than 11 million followers across Instagram, TikTok and X.

The Sky forward also has her own podcast, "Unapologetically Angel," which notably used Clark in the thumbnail of its debut episode to generate some buzz.

Parker's controversial decision seemed to pay off, as the negative comments helped the post generate more than 250 comments, 600 bookmarks and 750,000 views in the first three hours on X alone.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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