Greatness is always inspired by greatness. WNBA legend Candace Parker is no different. The three-time champion and two-time league MVP grew up in Chicago in the 1990s. If you know anything about ball, that was the decade ruled by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls dynasty. His Airness led the Bulls to six titles between 1991-1998.
Advertisement
Parker adored that Bulls team, as did many other Chicagoans. Ace spoke about it during her recent appearance on All The Smoke. When host Matt Barnes asked her about her inspirations growing up, it didn’t take Parker too long to think about it.
“Well I grew up in the 90s in Chicago. I grew up in Naperville, Illinois. Chicago sports are everything. The Bulls were every single thing. As a kid it was like, Hi-C, juice boxes, lighting bugs, and it was Grant Park Bulls celebration parade,” she began.
“Those were three things we were going to do in June. As a kid that was what you looked forward to. The Bulls were winning every single thing.” It’s true. As a kid, watching Chicago in the Finals was like watching Superman or Hulk Hogan. You rarely feared that it wasn’t going to work out for your favorite franchise.
Funnily enough, Parker loved MJ, but he wasn’t her favorite Bull. “I grew up idolizing Michael Jordan, of course, but Ron Harper was my favorite Bulls player ever. I love Ron Harper. Just because I feel like when he was with Cleveland, the reason he became a Bull was because he used to D up Mike a little bit.”
This got Barnes and fellow co-host Stephen Jackson excited. Harper was such an integral part for every franchise he played for. That’s why Ron holds five rings with two different teams. “I have a picture with him. I used to have it on my wall of him when I was like 8 or 9,” added Parker. That photo clearly meant a lot to her.
For Parker, it’s pretty clear that those childhood moments weren’t just nostalgic. They helped shape the competitor she eventually became. Growing up around a dynasty, watching parades flood Grant Park, and idolizing a defensive dog like Ron Harper gave her a blueprint for what winning really looks like.
You can hear it in the way she talks about the Bulls: not just as a fan, but as someone who absorbed their mentality and carried it into her own Hall of Fame career.
And honestly, that’s the cool part. The idea that a kid with a juice box in Naperville, staring at a photo on her wall, would grow up to become one of the greatest to ever step on a W court.
