The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 was officially announced on Saturday and includes an active coach, two of the greatest WNBA players of all time and a Phoenix Suns legend.
The North American Committee voted in Doc Rivers, Mark Few, Amar’e Stoudemire and former referee Joey Crawford. Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker, Chamique Holdsclaw, and the 1996 U.S. Women’s National Team were elected via the Women’s Committee. Longtime NBA head coach Mike D’Antoni will go in after being selected by the Contributors Committee.
The Class of 2026 will be inducted during the weekend of Aug. 14-15.
"The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is proud to welcome the Class of 2026, a group that reflects the very best this sport has to offer," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. "From a referee who set the standard over four decades, to coaches who built dynasties at every level, to players who redefined their positions, to a visionary who changed how the game is played — and a women's class headlined by a national team that helped launch an entire league, alongside three of the most accomplished players the women's game has ever seen — we are honored to welcome them to Springfield."
Rivers find success as a coach after playing career
After a successful 13-year run as a player, Rivers established himself as a longtime NBA coach. After a promising early stint with the Orlando Magic, where Rivers went 171-168 over five seasons, the coach came into his own with the Boston Celtics.
During Rivers’ nine seasons with the team, the Celtics made the playoffs seven times. The team made it to the Finals twice, winning it all during the 2007-08 season and losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games during the 2009-10 season.
Rivers then spent seven seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers and three seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers before joining the Bucks ahead of the 2023-24 season.
In his 27 years as a head coach, Rivers has a .580 winning percentage. His 1,191 career victories rank sixth on the all-time list.
Candace Parker, pictured while playing for the Chicago Sky, won two MVPs and two WNBA titles with the Los Angeles Sparks. (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne are WNBA legends
Widely considered one of the greatest WNBA players of all-time, Parker was a star the instant the No. 1 overall pick first took the court for the Los Angeles Sparks. She won the MVP award in her rookie season and earned countless other accolades that year, including winning Rookie of the Year, making first-team All-WNBA and finishing fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
In her 16 years in the league, Parker was a perennial MVP candidate. She won the award a second time in 2013, and posted eight other seasons in which she finished in the top five in voting. She also made seven All-WNBA first teams, won Defensive Player of the Year and won two WNBA championships over her career.
Delle Donne similarly got off to a tremendous start upon joining the WNBA. She experienced nearly unrivaled success in her first seven seasons, winning Rookie of the Year, taking home two MVP awards, being selected All-WNBA first team four times and winning a championship with the Washington Mystics.
The COVID-19 pandemic and a back injury threatened to end Delle Donne’s career prematurely. She opted out of the 2020 “Wubble” season due to Lyme disease and played in just three games in 2021 due to a back injury that eventually required surgery.
Despite that injury, she returned to play two more seasons, making one more All-Star team before stepping away from the game in 2024 and officially retiring in 2025.
A special Sun
Stoudemire is the third member of the group to win Rookie of the Year. He turned in a fantastic start to his career with the Suns, earning MVP votes in four of his nine seasons with the team and making the All-NBA team in each of those seasons.
His best season was 2004-05, when he averaged 26 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.6 blocks for the Seven Seconds or Less Suns, who won 62 games and reached the West finals.
He was similarly excellent in his first season with the New York Knicks, earning an All-Star appearance and another top-10 MVP finish. Injuries disrupted his Knicks tenure, though Stoudemire eventually emerged as a strong off-the-bench option and occasional starter with the team.
In 2024, the Suns retired Stoudemire’s No. 32. He will now go into the Hall alongside his longtime coach, D'Antoni, who coached five NBA teams between 1998-2020 and brought an up-tempo strategy that helped change the game. D'Antoni won 1,199 NBA games and was an assistant on the gold-medal winning 2012 Olympic squad.
Crawford officiated 39 seasons until 2016 and worked 2,561 regular-season games, second-most to fellow Hall of Famer Dick Bavetta. He also worked every NBA Finals from 1986-2015 and finished with 50 NBA Finals games officiated.
The rest of the 2026 class
Few has led the Gonzaga men's team to 26 straight NCAA tournaments and accumulated 773 career wins. The Bulldogs made two NCAA title games under Few and have won at least 20 games in every season he's been in charge.
The '96 U.S. women's team won gold at the Atlanta Olympics with an 8-0 record and an average margin of victory of at least 30 points. The team was led by head coach Tara VanDerveer and featured superstars such as Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Dawn Stanley, and Rebecca Lobo, among others.
Holdsclaw was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 WNBA draft after helping lead Tennessee to three straight NCAA championships. A six-time WNBA All-Star, she was also the 1999 Rookie of the Year and led the league in scoring in 2002. An Olympic gold medalist, she was also a two-time Naismith College Player of the Year.
