There's no question that Candace Parker had game on the court.
One of the most decorated players in WNBA history, Parker had a legendary 15-year WNBA career that saw her win three WNBA Championships with three different franchises, two Most Valuable Player honors, seven All-Star appearances, ten All-WNBA Team selections, a spot in the WNBA's Top 25 Players of All-Time, and an induction to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
But as it turns out, Parker also had game off the court, dating back to her college days.
During a November 2025 Players Era Men's Tournament game between Tennessee and Rutgers, Parker was calling the action alongside veteran coach Bruce Pearl, who shared a few details about the former Tennessee women's basketball star's college dating life.
"Candace was a beautiful, young student-athlete at Tennessee. She was dating one of my guys, and she was talking to two or three others at the same time," Pearl revealed on air.
"That is not true!" Parker protested.
Parker attended Tennessee from 2004 to 2008 and played for the Lady Vols, winning back-to-back NCAA titles in 2007 and 2008. Pearl, meanwhile, was the head coach for the Vols Men's Basketball Team from 2005 to 2011.
Pearl joked that he would ask Parker not to break up with any of his players on game day, fearing the emotional fallout might affect their performance on the court.
"Facts. Do you remember, there were a couple of times where I would come to you and say, 'Honey, please don't break up with them tonight.' Right? Do you remember this? I literally did! And she would be like 'Okay.' We had that relationship, Candace was mature beyond her years," Pearl added.
Parker did acknowledge that he and Pearl had a close relationship when they were both representing the orange and white.
"That's what I loved about Tennessee, the relationships from 2004 to 2008… and the stuff that will stay in 2004 to 2008," Parker quipped.
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Parker didn't end up with anyone from Tennessee, but she did marry and have a child with former Duke Blue Devil Shelden Williams, who also went on to play in the NBA.
The fifth pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Williams had a six-year NBA career and played for seven teams, including the Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings, New Jersey Nets and Denver Nuggets.
Parker and Williams married in 2008 and have a daughter together. In 2016, Williams filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. In 2018, the divorce was finalized , and Parker was ordered to pay $400,000 in alimony.
Shortly after her divorce from Williams was finalized, Parker remarried , this time to a Russian women's basketball player, Anya Petrakova, whom she met at the 2012 London Olympics.
Parker and Petrakova tied the knot in 2019 and have two children together.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the WNBA section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
