It would still be irrelevant if Candace was off to a great start or bad start. It would be irrelevant if she was off the team or on the team. I have already said there are players that an argument can be made for Candace being chosen over. BUT that the argument is not compelling enough to demand her being chosen over them and that there is strong argument for each of the players on the team. What is stupid is treating Candace as if she was necessity and irrefutable choice. She wasn't and isn't.
No knowledgable women's basketball fan would leave Parker off the roster. If there was one power forward or center who you'd expect to be a lock, it was Candace. She has steadily played at an incredibly high level her entire career and is so uniquely skilled with her ability to score in multiple ways and create for others while being an uber athletic 6-4 forward. She is playing as well as anyone in the world and just came off a ridiculous WNBA season where she averaged 19 points, 10 boards and 6 assists. If her stats were averaged over the course of a season, she would have been #4 in the league in scoring, first in rebounding, first in assists, 5th in steals, 5th in blocks and the #2 assist/TO ratio in the league. Not to mention shooting 49% from the floor (good for 11th in the league).
In the WNBA, she has averaged between 17-20 ppg in every season where she wasn't coming back after giving birth, grabbed 7-10 rebounds per game and shot between 47-52% from the floor. Every year excluding her rookie season (where she averaged 15 points, 10 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks) she has improved her numbers in the playoffs. Talent wise, there is zero question she should be a lock on the team.
When you look at USA Basketball experience, Parker was an integral part of both gold medal winning teams in 2012 and 2008. In 2012 she was 3rd on the team in scoring, 1st in rebounding, and 1st in blocks. After one bad half of basketball against Australia, in the gold medal game she led USA with 21 points and 11 rebounds. In 2008 she was a major contributor, averaging 9.4 ppg off the bench. She was also a member of the 2006 FIBA squad and had an even bigger role on that team. She also was on the USA jr teams in high school, leading teams to gold in 2003 and 2004. Experience wise, she should be a lock.
As for her missing 2010 and 2014 due to injuries, the idea that the committee punishes her for planning her surgeries around playing for team USA is ridiculous. Other players have missed camps/tournaments. Brittney Griner sat out in 2012 and Elena Delle Donne withdrew from tournaments in 2007. Playing basketball year round at the highest levels, dealing with injuries and being a full-time Mom.
Attitude wise, there have never been any reports of Parker being a poor or difficult teammate. Nor has she had off the court issues. She doesn't bark at her teammates, she shares the ball and by all accounts seems extremely likable. Angel McCoughtry has a long history of yelling at her teammates during games and of taking poor shots when there are open teammates available. Off the court, Brittney Griner has had multiple issues over the last 7-8 years but everyone overlooks those. The worst that can be said about Parker is that she comes off as cocky/arrogant. Well, that's the exact same trait that fans love and adore Diana Taurasi for, so I can't see that being the issue.
People can try to create reasonings for why Parker was left off the team, but there really isn't any logical argument for her being left off other than there is stuff behind the scenes we aren't made aware of.
