Candace Parker enters 2023 as a highly sought-after free agent, and the two-time WNBA MVP has shown interest in three teams: The Chicago Sky, the Los Angeles Sparks and the Las Vegas Aces.

She’s already met with the Sky (her current squad) and the Sparks (her former team), and she’ll meet with the Aces as well, per Chicago Sun-Times reporter Annie Costabile. But which team is the best fit for Parker?

Chicago Sky

Chicago has been good to Candace Parker. After she signed with the Sky as a free agent in 2021, she went on to win a title for her hometown team. The 36-year-old has said many times that her retirement is close, and that means this could be her last season. Going out in her hometown is an obvious draw for the Naperville Central grad, which could give Chicago an advantage.

But Parker will also want to go out a winner, and Chicago may not be in position to do so this year. Allie Quigley is contemplating retirement, and Courtney Vandersloot, Emma Meesseman and Azura Stevens are all free agents, so there is a chance that none of those key players stay in Chicago. If coach James Wade can convince at least some of them to stick around, or if he can add comparable talent around Parker, then her chances of staying increase.

On this day last year, on our home court...

𝐒𝐤𝐲. 𝐈𝐧. 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫.🏆

A championship-reminiscing 🧵 #skytown pic.twitter.com/r6AriNk829

— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) October 17, 2022

Los Angeles Sparks

Parker’s career started in Los Angeles after the Sparks drafted her first overall in 2008, and for a while it looked like she might spend her entire career with the franchise.

But after 13 seasons, then-coach Derek Fisher failed to re-sign the 2016 Finals MVP and Parker joined the Sky. The end to her time with the Sparks was messy, as Fisher also let Chelsea Gray walk, and the team found itself in a downward spiral. But now, with a new coach in Curt Miller, the possibility of bringing Parker back to LA is an intriguing one.

Miller served as an assistant for the Sparks in 2015, so the two are familiar with one another. He also expressed excitement about the possibility of bringing the free agent back to her former team during his introductory press conference. For Parker, this would be an opportunity to retire with the team that drafted her, and the chance to go out on her terms. LA also has good pieces that would compliment Parker in her hunt for another title. New additions Jasmine Thomas and Dearica Hamby, as well as established Sparks Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike, make for a talented lineup.

Las Vegas Aces

If Parker heads to Vegas, the upside is obvious. The Aces are already the favorites to repeat as WNBA champions with 2022 MVP A’ja Wilson, 2022 Finals MVP Chelsea Gray, and All-Stars Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young all returning. Add in Parker and you’ve got a super team. It’s hard to imagine anyone challenging a squad with that much talent.

The downside for the Aces? The recent controversy with Hamby. The two-time Sixth Player of the Year was dealt to the Sparks over the weekend, and she raised questions about the reasoning behind the trade. Hamby is pregnant with her second child, and she claimed the Aces “lied to, bullied, manipulated, and discriminated against” her because of her pregnancy. The WNBA Players Association is investigating the report. Besides being a mother herself, Parker has long been an advocate for her peers in the league, and the controversy likely won’t sit well with her.

NWSL veteran Sofia Huerta is expanding her investment portfolio, with the Seattle Reign defender joining the ownership group of incoming USL Super League side Athletic Club Boise this week.

"I wasn't sure something like this would ever happen in Boise — so when the opportunity came, it was an easy decision," the Idaho product said in Tuesday's USL press release. "This community is how I got where I am today."

"Soccer has given me so much, and this club is building something that will give those opportunities to others," the 32-year-old continued. "The foundation Athletic Club Boise is laying — with the men's team in 2026 and the women's Gainbridge Super League team in 2027 — makes me proud to invest in the future of soccer here at home."

"Sofia represents exactly what we want this club to be — talented, ambitious, and deeply connected to the Northwest," added the incoming club's fellow co-owner Kasey Keller.

Huerta is now the first NWSL player to directly invest in the growing USL Super League, which serves as a top-flight US pro league alongside the NWSL.

That said, some of Huerta's Reign teammates have already crossed league lines, with Lauren Barnes, Jess Fishlock, and Olivia Van der Jagt buying into the semi-pro USL W League's Seattle-based team, Salmon Bay FC, last year.

Notre Dame basketball star Hannah Hidalgo took the mic this week, telling reporters at Tuesday's ACC Media Day that she's eager to erase the memory of last season's March Madness crash-out.

"Knowing how much talent we had last year and underachieving like we did was something that was heartbreaking," the junior guard said, explaining that the one-time No. 1 Fighting Irish lost focus ahead of their Sweet 16 tournament exit.

Hidalgo, whose 23.8 points per game made her the fifth most prolific scorer in the NCAA last season, also vowed to step up as a leader this year in light of Notre Dame losing standouts Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld to the WNBA and fellow star guard Olivia Miles in a transfer to TCU.

"I know how to get the best out of my teammates, I know the steps that I need to take and the things that I need to do," said Hidalgo, dismissing questions about her rumored rift with Miles. "One of the most important things is building that relationship and that connection with my teammates off the court. It's bigger than basketball."

"I know the weight of [the spotlight] is heavy," Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said of Hidalgo's role. "But I feel like she has done a great job of surrounding herself with the right network."

OL Lyonnes scored some UEFA Champions League revenge on Tuesday, upending reigning UWCL champs Arsenal 2-1 in the powerhouse pair's 2025/26 league phase opener in London.

In a rematch of last season's Champions League semifinal, Haiti international Melchie Dumornay sealed the OL Lyonnes result with a first-half brace for the French titans, quickly countering Arsenal forward Alessia Russo's seventh-minute strike.

"Errors happen from time to time, but if they happen too often, of course, there's something there," noted Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers, referencing the defensive mistakes that led to both OL Lyonnes goals. "Sometimes it's intangible or hard to put your finger on because it's a mixture of things."

"We won't get too high [or] too low in this situation," the Gunners manager continued, adding "the team went through hard times last year as well, and then we ended the season on a high with an amazing achievement in the Champions League."

OL Lyonnes weren't the only opening-day league phase victors, as Juventus took down Benfica 2-1 while 2024/25 runners-up Barcelona demolished Bundesliga side Bayern Munich 7-1 behind a pair of braces from attackers Ewa Pajor and Clàudia Pina.

Unlike previous iterations, the 2025/26 Champions League format does not include first-round rematches, with each team facing six different opponents before advancing to the knockouts.

How to watch 2025/26 Champions League games

UWCL league phase opening matches conclude with five games on Wednesday, with WSL winners Chelsea FC kicking off the action against Dutch side FC Twente at 12:45 PM ET.

All 2025/26 Champions League matches will air live on Paramount+.

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier was back on stage this week, opening up about her viral exit interview blasting WNBA leadership to former US Vice President Kamala Harris at the "A Day of Unreasonable Conversation" summit in LA on Monday.

"For so long, we tried to have these conversations and move the needle," she said. "And I saw nothing was changing."

"I think I just got to the point where I was fed up [with WNBA leadership]," Collier told Harris. "Whether I was going to get annihilated for this, or people were gonna support me, I felt like what I was doing was right."

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Collier also doubled down on her position, publicly cancelling a meeting with Cathy Engelbert after the WNBA commissioner denied Collier's account of a past conversation regarding Caitlin Clark and rookie compensation.

"For [Engelbert] to start her speech saying she has the utmost respect for me and for the players, and then to turn around and call me a liar three minutes later... I think it just speaks to that lack of accountability and so I really have nothing further to say [to her]," Collier told Axios on Monday, confirming the meeting's cancellation.

While both Engelbert and NBA commissioner Adam Silver have committed to repairing relationships between players and league leadership, Collier's recent outspokenness shows just how much ground there is to cover.