Parker, Delle Donne Headline 2026 Hall of Fame Class
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- Candace Parker entered as a first-ballot Hall of Famer, carrying a basketball to the podium and calling their relationship "a love story that began 27 years ago"; she won three WNBA titles, two MVPs, two Tennessee titles, and two Olympic golds.
- Elena Delle Donne dedicated her speech to her blind and deaf sister Lizzie, becoming the first WNBA player to shoot 50% from the field, 40% from three, and 90% from the free throw line; she won MVPs in 2015 and 2019.
- Doc Rivers was inducted with 1,194 regular-season coaching wins — sixth-most in NBA history — and grew emotional recalling how his late brother Grady inspired him to be a better player.
- Chamique Holdsclaw thanked her late Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, who died in 2016 after an Alzheimer's battle; Holdsclaw helped Tennessee win three straight NCAA titles (1996–98) and go 39-0 in 1997–98.
- The 1996 U.S. Olympic women's basketball team was enshrined as a unit, credited with launching the Americans' 30-year Olympic dominance that includes eight straight gold medals.
- Joey Crawford was honored for officiating more than 2,500 NBA regular-season games over a 39-year career, while Amar'e Stoudemire, Mike D'Antoni, and Mark Few rounded out the 2026 class.
Why it matters: Parker's first-ballot entry cements her as the most decorated WNBA player of her generation, while Delle Donne's 50/40/90 line establishes a statistical benchmark no peer has matched. By enshrining the 1996 Olympic team and Holdsclaw together, the Hall also formally canonizes the Pat Summitt–era Tennessee dynasty that powered two decades of U.S. women's dominance.
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