When Candace Parker retired from the WNBA earlier this year, she drew curtain on one of the most impressive WNBA careers of all time. A three-time WNBA champion and two-time MVP, Parker finished with seven All-Star selections in a 16-year career.

However, the WNBA was not the only league in which she showed off her elite skills. During each WNBA offseason from 2010-15, Candace played for the Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg, winning five championships each season.

And now, she has shed light on an interesting aspect in which the WNBA may even be lagging behind.

“In Russia, we had chefs. We had amazing apartments. We had drivers. We flew charter. We traveled around Europe as the No.1 team and were compensated as such. My black diamonds are from Russia. They were given to me as a birthday gift. My daughter got black diamonds, I got a Rolex watch,” Parker revealed on the Post Moves podcast.

While the WNBA is where the top basketball talent may be, Parker’s revelation sheds light on a surprising aspect. While the WNBA may be the biggest and the most lucrative league in womens basketball, the Russian League may hold the distinction of treating its stars the best.

“I mean, the amount of gifts that I got from our owners in Russia, and I think that it just makes you feel welcome and makes you feel like you are one of the top players and you are treated as such,” she continued.

According to Sportrac, Parker never earned more than $195k per season in the WNBA, and over her final eight years, she made a total of just over a million, barely a single season’s salary in Russia. Parker was known to have earned around $1.2 million annually with UMMC Ekaterinburg, while Diana Taurasi was reportedly making $1.5 million. 

Hence, while the best talent may be on show in the WNBA, other leagues may have a clear upper hand when it comes to salaries and overall treatment of their stars.

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