Candace Parker on Cheryl Miller: 'greatest women's basketball player of all time'

Candace Parker on Cheryl Miller: ‘greatest women’s basketball player of all time’

Keyshawn Johnson and Candace Parker agreed that Cheryl Miller was the “greatest women’s basketball player of all time”, but Miller, humble to a fault, pushed back on that praise. While appearing with Parker on “Women’s Hoops Pioneers,” the second episode of Johnson’s limited series, “LA Legends,” Miller acknowledged that compliment, and redirected it, spreading the love to the people who helped her achieve her success.

Miller’s selflessness is a significant factor in why she’s revered and honored so widely. But, whether she’s willing to accept it or not, she was arguably the greatest women’s basketball player of all time, and Johnson and Parker wanted to reinforce that.

“You know when you can tell about somebody by the way they move, that they’re different?” Parker asked, rhetorically. “Cheryl just had a before-her-time, in-any-era game. You put her in any era, she’s successful. You put her in this era, it doesn’t matter, she’s going to do what she does.”

Miller played four seasons at the University of Southern California, leading the Trojans to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1984 and 1985. She averaged over 20 points per game in all four of her collegiate seasons, peaking at 26.8 in her junior year. She won the women’s Naismith Player of the Year award in 1985 and 1986.

Miller, undoubtedly, dominated the best talent women’s basketball had to offer at the time. However, the WNBA — which was founded in 1996 — did not exist when Miller was playing, so her career could not last past college. Therefore, it’s tough to judge how she would stack up against potential professionals of her era, or the ones playing in the WNBA now.

But, from Parker and Johnson’s perspective, Miller would have thrived.

[Related: Keyshawn Johnson Returns to Los Angeles Roots in New Limited Series ‘LA Legends’]

“You are the biggest women’s basketball player ever,” said Johnson.

“To be honest, I’m one of many,” replied Miller. “It is questionable. Depending on who you ask, it is controversial. I was lucky enough to play with great coaches and to be in the right place at the right time.”

Regardless of how she feels, Miller certainly has the right to have an opinion on this debate. And later during the “”Women’s hoops pioneers,“She shared her thoughts on the current WNBA stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.

“They had magic and Larry, who (against each other) competed in college,” Millers “is the same as the same with Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.”

For Millers point, Reese and Clark had a fiery rivalry like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird during their college office in the state of Louisiana and the University of Iowa, while he did the state of Michigan in the state of Michigan and Indiana.

Reese and Clark joined the college four times, and Reese’s Lsu Tigers won three of the four matchups, including the basketball championship of the NCAA Division I 2023 and the 2024 elite.

Now Reese and Clark have played twice against each other in the WNBA, with Reese’s Chicago Sky and Clarks Indiana fever dividing the two matchups. Regardless of the results, Clark has had much more success than Reese since 2024. She also took an all-star appearance and received all-WNBA first team honors.

In fact, Clark was the first rookie since Parker in 2008 to produce the all-WNBA first team. The future respects the game of Hall of Famer Clark.

“She is a bucket,” said Parker.

“Caitlin is a baller, she is a DAWG,” added Miller. “The same with fishing.”

Reese is a stubborn competitor in the heart and has shown an insight into the Elite post player in the WNBA, but their adaptation to the professional game has not come almost as quickly as Clark. Miller described it as “constantly developed” and recognized Reese’s impressive drive to win.

In two seasons, Reese achieved a solid double double of 13.3 points and 13 rebounds over 51 WNBA games. However, your career percentage for your career is 39.7%. It is her end that could use an improvement, but if she gets it down, she could reach her impressive blanket.

The reality is that Clark and Reese are not yet in their heyday and it will be interesting to see where their career is going. Miller is definitely excited. She believes that there is a chance that they could reach the heights that Parker and Johnson could claim to become Miller and become the biggest basketball players of all time.

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