Candace Parker reportedly not included on United States women’s Olympic roster

Candace Parker will not be included on the United States women’s basketball roster for the Rio Olympics, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. The 30-year-old Parker was among the 25 finalists for the 12-player roster, but will not make her third Olympic appearance.

Parker is among the best women’s basketball players in the world and would have seemingly been a lock to start and play considerable minutes for Team USA. She was in top form to end the last WNBA season and has extensive international playing experience. That apparently wasn’t enough to get her a spot on the Olympic roster, with the reasoning behind the decision currently unclear.

Parker missed part of the 2015 WNBA season due to injuries, but returned for the final 19 games of the season, including the playoffs. She averaged 19.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game in 16 regular season contests. She was even better in the playoffs, averaging 23 points, 10.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists in the Los Angeles Sparks’ only postseason series. According to Shelburne, Parker is healthy, so injuries don’t appear to be a factor.

She finished third on the 2012 Team USA, averaging 10.5 points per game. She also led the team in rebounding. She won a gold medal with the 2008 team during her rookie season in the WNBA. She averaged 9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in those Olympics.

The complete Team USA roster will be announced on Wednesday. According to Shelburne, Parker -- along with a couple other players -- did not attend a three-day training camp in January.