Candace Parker sat down with Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks on Tuesday, speaking candidly about her non-relationship with USA Basketball and Geno Auriemma after the program famously cut Parker from the 2016 Olympic team.

FULL CLIP: Candace Parker speaks about not having a relationship with USA Basketball, dislike between her and Geno Auriemma , and the @nnekaogwumike snub

“I don’t like him, he doesn’t like me. We don’t like each other..” pic.twitter.com/3Z828ffarQ

— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) December 1, 2021

“I’m happy for them,” Parker said of the Tokyo squad, singling out Napheesa Collier and Chelsea Gray for their success this past summer as they helped Team USA win Olympic gold in Tokyo. Parker said she wishes Team USA the best, but was also candid in critiquing the program’s evolution.

“When you evolve with time, that’s when you’re at your best. And I don’t know if USA Basketball has continually evolved with time.”

Parker, who played very little in 2012 and was snubbed from the team in 2016, added that she wished that USA Basketball had been more upfront about the process. Parker highlights a camp in which she excelled on the court, alluding to the idea that it was about who she was off of the court that made the difference.

“I got a triple-double at the camp, was first or second in scoring,” she said. “Like, it wasn’t on the court.

“So if it’s me as an individual, as a person… I’m spending time away from my daughter to come and do these camps that I’m not even being judged off of how I’m playing.”

She added that she didn’t think she personally fit in with the team, which was then coached by UConn’s Geno Auriemma.

“I don’t think Geno wanted me on the team,” she said, adding that she wished that Auriemma and USA Basketball had just been upfront rather than beating around the bush.

“As soon as he was named coach again, I was like ‘ah well, this is gonna be interesting,’” Parker said in reference to 2016. When pressed for as to why Auriemma didn’t want her on the team, Parker said: “He doesn’t like me, I don’t like him.”

Parker also alluded to the fact that during her time at Tennessee, UConn failed to win a national championship and couldn’t beat the Lady Vols.

“We don’t like each other… But I’m of the mindset that I don’t have to like you to play with you. I don’t have to like you to work with you. And it’s fine, it’s cool. They made their decision.”

Parker then added that she’s still upset about Nneka Ogwumike being left off of the USA Basketball team that won gold in Tokyo.

“I get more angry at the people that I love getting hurt, and what they did to Nneka was unbelievable,” she said. “It’s one of those things where it’s like, I’m more angry at that. Because you have somebody that arguably, maybe in 2016 but definitely in 2020 [should have been included]. She’s the only MVP of the league [that hasn’t been named to an Olympic team]. She went and got MVP of the World Games and then you leave her off the team? I think that there’s certain grace for certain people, and there’s certain things that aren’t, that you don’t get grace.”

Parker also complimented UConn’s success as a college program while seeming to insinuate that the team and Geno have had too much influence over Team USA, a claim Seimone Augustus also recently made.

The Naomi Osaka comeback tour at the 2025 US Open has ended, as the two-time New York Grand Slam champion and world No. 24 star ceded her Thursday semifinal to No. 9 Amanda Anisimova, who battled back to claim the 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3 victory.

"Naomi is playing amazing tennis," the 23-year-old said of Osaka's US Open run. "She's back where she belongs. I told her I'm so proud of her after having a baby and playing at this level — it's insane."

With her Thursday win, Anisimova is now the only player to ever defeat Osaka in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, semifinal, or final — ending the Japanese fan-favorite's 13-0 run in the later rounds of tennis's major tournaments.

Anisimova's US Open success is even more impressive considering the result of her first-ever Grand Slam final — a brutal 6-0, 6-0 loss at Wimbledon in July.

In a massive turnaround, Anisimova handed No. 2 Iga Świątek, the 2025 Wimbledon champion, a redemptive straight-set loss in Wednesday's US Open quarterfinals en route to reaching this weekend's championship match.

Anisimova's victory means that a US player has now competed in every women's Grand Slam final dating back to the 2024 US Open, extending the country's championship-match streak to five straight Slams.

With even more history on the line, the US rising star now has a second shot at joining No. 6 Madison Keys and No. 3 Coco Gauff in hoisting a 2025 Grand Slam trophy for the US — a feat not accomplished by any single country since Serena Williams won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in 2015.

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How to watch the 2025 US Open championship match

Just like Keys and Gauff, Anisimova will have to defeat Aryna Sabalenka to claim her own 2025 Grand Slam trophy — with the hard-hitting US finalist holding a 6-3 all-time record against the world No. 1 player, most recently downing the 2024 US Open champion in this year's Wimbledon semifinals.

Anisimova will battle Sabalenka in for the 2025 US Open crown on Saturday, with live coverage of the championship match beginning at 4 PM ET on ESPN.

The sale saga of the Connecticut Sun added a new chapter this week, as the state of Connecticut submitted a bid proposal on Thursday that would see the WNBA team remain in-state.

Owned by the Mohegan Tribe since 2003, the state is just the latest entrant into an ongoing bidding war for the franchise, with Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, ex-Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, and the WNBA itself all making offers ranging from $250 to $325 million in recent weeks.

Unlike previous relocation bids, the state's proposed sale plan sees the Connecticut Sun splitting home games between their current Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville and Hartford's larger PeoplesBank Arena, while also promising a new practice facility in the state capital.

Despite winding down 2025 in 12th place, the Sun have amassed a loyal local following, selling out their 10,000-capacity arena four times this year in a state buoyed by NCAA basketball powerhouse and current national champion UConn located less than an hour away.

"The best place for the Connecticut Sun is Connecticut because we have this very fierce fan base for women's basketball," Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz told ESPN. "We love the [UConn] Huskies. We love watching the Sun… and we've seen that the Connecticut Sun players have been great community leaders and role models."

The Chicago Sky reportedly held a team meeting to address the explosive Chicago Tribune interview of Angel Reese this week, after the star forward put the already-eliminated WNBA team on blast.

"We are aware of [Reese's comments]," Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said on Wednesday. "We're addressing it in-house as currently speaking. That's where we'll stay right now."

"Angel has shown a commitment to wanting to be here," he continued. "We as an organization continue to show a commitment that we want people that want to be here."

Reese focused much of her critique on the team's leadership and roster construction, expressing disappointment as the Chicago Sky closes in on back-to-back losing seasons.

"We can't rely on Courtney to come back at the age that she's at," the 23-year-old Reese said of veteran Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot, following the 36-year-old's season-ending ACL tear in early June. "I know she'll be a great asset for us, but we can't rely on that."

"We need someone probably a little younger with some experience, somebody who's been playing the game and is willing to compete for a championship and has done it before," Reese added.

Notably, Vandersloot helped the Chicago Sky snag the 2021 WNBA title before taking the New York Liberty to a franchise-first championship last season.

A high-stakes coastal clash tops this weekend's NWSL bill, with results directly impacting the increasingly tight league standings as No. 8 Gotham tries to hold off a No. 9 Angel City side sitting just one point outside of postseason positioning.

The pair last met in April, when Gotham shutout ACFC 4-0 at LA's BMO Stadium behind a brace from the NWSL's current Golden Boot leader Esther González.

"That's the key — everyone knows their role, their responsibilities, and they're willing to sacrifice for the team defensively while also bringing their quality in attack," Gotham manager Juan Carlos Amorós said earlier this week.

As they try to rise above the crowded mid-table traffic, both teams have seen positive results in recent weeks — along with challenging levels of upheaval.

Angel City recently lost defender Alanna Kennedy, midfielder Katie Zelem, and star forward Alyssa Thompson to midseason overseas transfers, while Gotham's had little room to breathe after defeating Concacaf W Champions Cup opponent Alianza 2-0 in El Salvador on Tuesday.

"You need to be loyal to your style, cement it, and make sure the players know it," said Amorós. "That's critical when you're playing three games in seven days and traveling almost around the world."

How to watch Gotham vs. Angel City this NWSL weekend

No. 8 Gotham will host No. 9 Angel City this Sunday, kicking off live at 5 PM ET on ESPN.