2026 HOF class honors women's hoops, NBA icons
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- Candace Parker was enshrined as a first-ballot Hall of Famer, carrying a basketball to the podium and cataloging her three WNBA titles, two MVPs, two Tennessee championships, two Olympic golds, and status as the first woman on an NBA 2K cover.
- Elena Delle Donne credited her blind and deaf older sister Lizzie for keeping her grounded, and noted she became the first WNBA player to shoot 50% from the field, 40% from three, and 90% from the free throw line on her way to a 2019 MVP and Washington Mystics title.
- Chamique Holdsclaw helped Tennessee win three straight NCAA titles (1996-1998) under the late Pat Summitt — the first team ever to do that — and thanked Summitt directly, calling the Hall of Fame coach her most wished-for presenter.
- The 1996 U.S. Olympic women's basketball team was enshrined as a unit, credited with launching 30 years of American Olympic dominance that now includes eight straight gold medals.
- Doc Rivers delivered an emotional speech about his brother Grady, having won 1,194 regular-season NBA games — the sixth most in league history.
- Mark Few reflected on growing up in a town of 1,500 people, noting he has led Gonzaga to the men's NCAA tournament every year since 1999 and to two NCAA title games.
- Joey Crawford and longtime NBA official were enshrined after officiating more than 2,500 regular-season games, nearly 400 postseason games, and 50 NBA Finals contests across a 39-year career.
Why it matters: Four of the 2026 inductees are women — Parker, Delle Donne, Holdsclaw, and the 1996 Olympic team — making this one of the most female-heavy HOF classes ever and giving the WNBA and women's college game unusually heavy representation in a ceremony that historically skews toward men's NBA figures.
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