WNBA STAR CANDACE PARKER MEET MY MODERN FAMILY!

THE RECENTLY RETIRED BASKETBALL LEGEND IS 'BUSIER THAN EVER' RAISING 3 KIDS WITH WIFE ANYA PETRAKOVA AND RESHAPING HER CAREER GOALS

- By NATASHA DYE

THEIR STARTING FIVE "Having three kids is no joke," Parker (center) says with a laugh of (from left) Lailaa, Airr and Hartt (with Petrakova in 2024). Inset: Playing in 2021.

On a snowy Russian trail one morning around the end of 2015, WNBA star Candace Parker found herself chasing behind a sled full of huskies led by her then teammate—and future wife—Anya Petrakova. At the time, Parker was married to NBA player Shelden Williams and in the middle of her own historic career. But when she looked at Petrakova, “my heart started beating in a different way,” she says. Her feelings were unfamiliar and, eventually, undeniable. “I always imagined myself being with a Prince Charming,” admits Parker, 39. “Little things over time made me realize I didn’t want to live without her.”