Candace Parker Just Admitted She Was Wrong About Angel Reese — and the Receipts Are Everywhere

The short answer

Candace Parker has publicly admitted she was wrong about Angel Reese. On her Post Moves podcast this week, the Hall of Famer revisited the viral July 2025 tier ranking in which she placed Reese in the C tier, and said Reese's Defensive Player of the Year season and run to the WNBA Finals with the Atlanta Dream proved that ranking wrong.

It is rare in sports media: a famous analyst saying, on the record days before a Finals series, that a take aged badly — and crediting the player who made it age badly. That honesty is why the clip is everywhere.

What happened

The admission came on Post Moves, the podcast Parker co-hosts with Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston, in a clip the show shared on Tuesday. Parker said there was no animosity behind her original opinion, and she congratulated Reese and the Dream on reaching the Finals.

The timing matters. Reese was named the WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year on October 1, receiving 46 of 74 votes from a national panel, ahead of Golden State's Gabby Williams. Atlanta then swept the New York Liberty in the semifinals to reach the Finals for the first time since 2013 — and the old tier-ranking clip came roaring back onto timelines, which is what Parker was responding to.

What the original ranking said

In July 2025, Parker sorted ten current players into tiers for a Complex Sports segment. A'ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart topped the list in the S tier. Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Plum and Sabrina Ionescu made the A tier, and Arike Ogunbowale and Paige Bueckers made the B tier.

Reese, then in her second season with the Chicago Sky, landed in the C tier alongside Cameron Brink. Parker's reasoning at the time was that a player ranked higher needed to carry a team as a first or second option, and she viewed Reese mainly as an elite offensive rebounder. Reese had averaged 13.5 points and 13.1 rebounds per game, and had led the league in rebounding — but Parker wanted to see her carry a franchise before moving her up.

Why it's blowing up

First, the receipts are unusually clean. This is not a vague old prediction — it is a named tier, on video, that fans can place side by side with everything Reese did in 2026.

Second, Reese's season answered the exact criticism. Chicago traded her to Atlanta in April for the Dream's first-round picks in 2027 and 2028. In her first season with the Dream she became the first player in WNBA history to pass 500 rebounds in a season, finishing with 521, and set league records for offensive rebounds in a season (206), double-doubles in a season (32) and rebounds in a single game (26), while averaging a career-high 16.4 points per game.

Third, Parker did not hide behind context. She noted Reese had only been in the league a year when the ranking was filmed — then still said, plainly, that she was wrong. Fans reward that, and rival fan bases share it just as fast.

Key facts

Who: Candace Parker, Hall of Famer and analyst; Angel Reese, Atlanta Dream forward, drafted seventh overall by Chicago in 2024.

The ranking: July 2025, Complex Sports tier list — Reese in C tier with Cameron Brink.

The admission: This week on the Post Moves podcast, ahead of the WNBA Finals.

The proof: Reese won Defensive Player of the Year on October 1 with 46 of 74 votes, and Atlanta swept New York to reach its first Finals since 2013. Reese is averaging 18.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks through five postseason games.

Sources: Pro Football Network, Athlon Sports, Bleacher Report

What's next

The Finals now give this story its final chapter. Atlanta opens the best-of-seven series against the Golden State Valkyries in Game 1 on Saturday, October 17 at 3:30 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco. Even Golden State's head coach, Natalie Nakase, has called Reese a huge reason Atlanta is here, praising her constant competitive edge.

Whatever happens in the series, the tier debate is settled in one respect: a C-tier label no longer describes a Defensive Player of the Year anchoring a Finals team. And if Reese lifts a trophy, expect Parker's clip — both of them — to go viral all over again.

FAQ

What did Candace Parker say about Angel Reese?
On her Post Moves podcast, Parker admitted she was wrong to rank Reese in the C tier in July 2025, pointing to Reese's Defensive Player of the Year award and Finals run, and said there was no hate behind her original opinion.

Why did Parker rank Reese in the C tier originally?
In July 2025 she argued a higher-ranked player needed to carry a team as a first or second scoring option, and she saw Reese mainly as an outstanding offensive rebounder at that stage of her career.

What did Angel Reese achieve in 2026?
After an April trade from Chicago to Atlanta, Reese set WNBA season records with 521 total rebounds, 206 offensive rebounds and 32 double-doubles, won Defensive Player of the Year, and led the Dream to their first Finals since 2013.

When do the WNBA Finals start?
Game 1 between the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries is on Saturday, October 17 at 3:30 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco.