Candace Parker breaks down in tears as she emotionally reflects on Coach of the 20th Century: "She had this crystal blue stare"

Candace Parker broke down in tears during an appearance on NBA on TNT on Tuesday. Parker was featured on the "Storytime with Lefkoe" segment where she talked about several subjects, including her alma mater coach, Pat Summitt. The host asked about the impact of Summitt’s mannerisms on Parker and one thing of Summitt's that everyone can apply to their lives.

Parker emotionally reflected on Summit, who was named the Naismith Coach of the 20th Century in April 2020, and replied:

“I would say eye contact is really really really important. And she was the first person that made me really truly look at her when she would talk and now when I’m home and I’m parenting my son, my son says, ‘look at me, look at me’ all the time.”

The two-time MVP then began to break down in tears and said:

“You’re gonna get me emotional, but she had this crystal blue stare that she could get you to wanna run through walls, and so being able to carry on her legacy is truly important. I’m going to get you, you got me crying."

Under the leadership of Summitt, Parker played some of the best basketball of her career with the Tennessee Lady Volunteers. Candace Parker led that team to two NCAA championships (2007 and 2008) while also winning SEC Player of the Year awards in both those seasons.

She ended her stint with Tennessee recording 19.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.9 steals, and 2.4 blocks per game. The achievements above make it easy to see why Parker has so much respect for Pat Summitt.

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Candace Parker is amongst a group of investors bidding for a new WNBA franchise

Candace Parker’s career on the court may be over, but her time with basketball doesn’t seem to be done yet. The 38-year-old is among a group of investors who submitted a bid to the WNBA for a new franchise that would debut in 2028. The group contains other celebrity investors, like Peyton Manning and Tim McGraw.

What’s interesting is that the team name proposed for this new franchise by the group is "Tennessee Summitt" in honor of Parker’s alma mater coach, Pat Summitt. Parker released a statement after a bid for the team was submitted last month:

“Tennessee is the DNA of everything women’s basketball stands for.”

It’ll be interesting to see whether Parker’s bid for a new franchise bears fruit.