Boardroom caught up with President Parker to learn what’s in store for Adidas Women’s Basketball and their collective goal to grow the game for the next generation.
Hall of Fame-bound WNBA icon Candace Parker officially retired from the sport earlier this spring. But she wasn’t out of work long.
The following week, Parker was once again lending her expert commentary for the NCAA Final Four broadcasts to close March Madness. A week after that, Adidas announced it was naming Parker as President of Women’s Basketball.
The appointment marks a key chapter for the athlete-turned-exec era that the industry is embarking on after Parker had originally signed with the company in 2008. She wore Adidas throughout her entire 16-year career in the WNBA and overseas.
In her newly formed role at Three Stripes, she’ll tackle all aspects of building out the women’s hoops category and look to “continue to grow the game,” a phrase she often uses.
“My impact probably won’t be felt till next fall [in 2025], because of how far out the footwear and campaigns are being planned,” Parker recently told me. “Where do we want to be as a brand in 2-3 years? We’re working backwards now to accomplish that.”
The day after the announcement, Parker met with a team from Adidas at her house for five hours, powering through plans and presentations that will eventually shape the outlook of the category. Not long after that, she flew to the company’s global headquarters in Germany to meet with CEO Bjørn Gulden and the leadership team that will help unlock future resources to grow the category.
The exploratory talks continued from there, with Parker looking to pin down a future path that will define a new direction for Adidas Women’s Basketball. As it stands, Adidas was one of the first brands of the modern era to launch a women-specific basketball model, the Exhibit Select series, but it hasn’t quite found its footing just yet in the competitive hoops footwear landscape with a breakthrough model.
More than two dozen WNBA players wear Three Stripes on the court, and the brand boasted two Olympians on the US Women’s National Team — Chelsea Gray and Kahleah Copper — this summer in Paris.
“We’re having conversations daily, around, ‘Do we specify [that the products are for] women? Or are we doing it for everyone?’” added Parker. “What is our main target and our goal?”
On the Friday of WNBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix last month, the brand surprised Candace with an elaborate “Crowning Ace” retirement party, complete with a roast from a dozen of her closest friends, family, and teammates and a tribute video narrated by her daughter Lailaa.
Boardroom caught up with President Parker earlier that day to hear all about her vision for Adidas Women’s Basketball and their collective goal to grow the game for the next generation of athletes.
Subscribe for the biggest stories in the business of sports and entertainment, daily.
Nick DePaula: I know in the past, you’ve said that you bleed Three Stripes. Just how personally invested in this are you, and what was the process like for you to pursue this role as President?
Candace Parker: As we started thinking, I just still want to continue to grow the game in whatever way that I can. I’m not playing anymore, but what does that look like? It’s a credit to my team for doing a great job of thinking ahead around how we can organically and authentically think about partnerships that have been apart of my career for a long time.
My two longstanding partners are Adidas and Gatorade. That’s how it came about. How do we continue to grow the game [with my partners]. It’s never been about just cashing a check. Going back to the basketball court, it was always about how can I make a bigger impact. I bleed Three Stripes, and hopefully, I’m synonymous with Adidas and vice versa. How can we do that together?
NDP: What’s the first initiative that you’re really trying to impact now in your role as President?
CP: Any time you’re going into an organization, you don’t want to cannonball in. So I’ve just been doing a lot of listening and learning and trying to get a feel for the landscape. As a player, you’re like, ‘Why is this not getting done?’ But there are steps and there are processes that you have to go through. So it’s been about understanding what that entails, and realizing how far out we’re actually planning.
NDP: You’re obviously connected to players at all levels of the game. What have you been hearing about what they think Adidas can stand for in the space?
CP: We know that we’ve been shouting from the rooftops that women can be role models, women can be on the cover of video games, and women can have sneakers. Now, I think the world is catching up. You’re seeing the power and influence of women athletes and women in leadership positions.
The main conversations have been around the importance as a brand of how we can best position ourselves to lead the charge in that. As a brand, we were always at the forefront. Adidas went from sponsoring the league to having a stacked roster.
Adidas was one of the very first brands to have a signature shoe for a woman. Now, it’s the popular thing to do, and it’s the no-brainer, but back then, it wasn’t. It was an investment. To be able to be a part of a brand that saw that vision long before others did, it’s exciting for the future.
NDP: How involved will you be on the athlete side with signings? What are the traits that you’ll be looking for as the right fit for Adidas?
CP: I want Olympians. Our goal is for us to have five or six Olympians in the next Olympics. I am very loud and proud about that. I think it’s important. That’s the upper echelon and a huge stage. We want MVPs, and we want perennial All-Stars. We’re going to get to work and make sure that we have that.
NDP: You’re the first and only signature athlete for Adidas Women’s Basketball. How much are you prioritizing finding the next signature athlete, and what sets apart a signature athlete from the rest of the league’s players?
CP: A signature athlete has to be a hooper. You gotta be a hooper, and that’s the bare minimum. We’re in search of who that is. Having a signature shoe carries a great deal of weight, and a signature collection carries a great deal of weight. We’re not going to take that lightly, and we’re not going to make rushed decisions. We’re going to take our time and make sure that we put everything that we have in the brand behind our signature athlete.
Let’s just be honest. There’s a lot of scrutiny that goes along with being a women’s athlete in general. Let alone being a women’s signature athlete. So, we need to make sure that we’re capable of putting the correct resources behind that person to succeed. Without marketing, without support, and without dollars, Justin Bieber or Beyoncé would have trouble selling anything. You have to correctly, one, pick the right person, but also two, make sure that we’re supporting them and their brand development.
NDP: With A’ja and Caitlin in 2025, that’ll make it thirteen and fourteen athletes in WNBA history to have their own signature shoe — which is obviously still a small number over a 28-year league history. How have you seen the last three years reset the expectation level around having a signature shoe in the WNBA?
CP: I don’t think anything is given. Everything on the women’s side is earned, and unfortunately, it’s been really hard the last 28 years. When you think about it, how many statistics, awards, medals, and championships do you have to win to even be considered for a shoe or a collection? There’s a tremendous amount of pride that goes into it.
But also, we gotta make things easier. It shouldn’t have to be that you’re going through a global entry process to get a signature shoe. [laughs] We’ve seen that women can sell shoes and sell apparel. You just have to put the right designers and the right dollars behind it. All of that stuff. At our brand, we will.
NDP: On the men’s side, we’ve seen the James Harden and Ant Edwards lines really take a more distinct and future-leading design approach. How do you see the design language for Adidas Women’s Basketball evolving?
CP: It’s important to note that you want to wear a basketball shoe off the court as well. You’re selling for fashion and lifestyle as well, and my daughter could care less about if something is comfortable. She’ll wear it if it looks good.
It’s super important for us to understand the power of how it looks. Women have been at the forefront and led fashion for a really long time. We’re hoping that we can create something futuristic and put the marketing dollars from the brand behind it to make sure that it succeeds.
More Sneakers:
