Over the course of her basketball career, the college standout-turned-WNBA superstar has collected two Olympic gold medals, back-to-back national championships, a pair of WNBA championship trophies, two MVP awards, a Defensive Player of the Year honor, and seven WNBA All-Star nods.
But when it comes to some competitions outside of basketball — particularly her recent experience on Celebrity Jeopardy! — Parker was in for a bit of a rude awakening.
“Yeah,” she told Insider after a good laugh. “I was excited about it.”
“It’s something that you gotta practice,” Parker added, “and I learned my lesson, so…”
The Chicago Sky forward — who doubles as an analyst and commentator for Turner Sports, alongside the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley — played against actors Patton Oswald and Torrey DeVitto on the episode of the hit game show, which airs Thursday night. She played on behalf of the The Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation — a charity created in honor of the late Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gigi — but it remains unclear if she came away from the quarterfinal round with any winnings.
Parker said that despite feeling confident heading into filming, she quickly learned that “Jeopardy! is really hard” — much harder than it had seemed when she was playing along from the comforts of her living room.
“Jeopardy! is really hard in terms of like, not even answering the question — it’s getting the button,” Parker said. “Like pushing the button is so hard.”
“It’s a true sport,” she added.
Still, the entire experience “was a dream come true” for the 36-year-old mother of two. She recalled how as a kid growing up in Naperville, Illinois, “my grandma and I used to watch Jeopardy! like every day.”
“It was cool to be able to call her and tell her I was gonna be on Jeopardy!” Parker said.
Fans can tune in for Parker’s episode of Celebrity Jeopardy! — hosted by The Big Bang Theory actress Mayim Bialik — on ABC Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.
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