The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 2026 inductees on Saturday at the Final Four, featuring nine honorees including four players, three coaches, one referee and one team. Amar'e Stoudemire headlines the players alongside WNBA stars Elena Delle Donne, Chamique Holdsclaw and Candace Parker. The group will be enshrined in Springfield, Massachusetts, in August.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame revealed its class of 2026 during the Final Four, highlighting achievements across basketball eras. Amar'e Stoudemire, the No. 9 pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, made five All-Star appearances with the Phoenix Suns as part of their 'Seven Seconds or Less' teams and one more with the New York Knicks. He last played in the NBA with the Miami Heat in 2016 before competing internationally. The WNBA contingent includes Candace Parker, who won two MVP awards and three championships with the Los Angeles Sparks, Chicago Sky and Las Vegas Aces, after leading Tennessee to back-to-back national titles in 2007 and 2008; Elena Delle Donne, a two-time MVP who claimed a title with the Washington Mystics in 2019; and Chamique Holdsclaw, the 1999 No. 1 pick who earned six All-Star nods, a Rookie of the Year award and Olympic gold in 2000 while averaging 16.9 points and 7.6 rebounds in her career. The 1996 U.S. Women's National Team, featuring Sheryl Swoopes, Dawn Staley and Rebecca Lobo, also earned induction after going 8-0 at the Atlanta Olympics with an average victory margin exceeding 30 points. Coaches Doc Rivers, with 1,191 regular-season wins and a 2008 Boston Celtics championship, Mike D'Antoni, a two-time Coach of the Year credited with modern offensive innovations, and Gonzaga's Mark Few, who has never missed an NCAA Tournament and assisted Team USA to 2024 Olympic gold, round out the coaching trio. Longtime NBA referee Joey Crawford, who officiated 2,561 games including 50 Finals from 1986 to 2015, completes the class. Rivers reflected on the honor, telling reporters in Milwaukee, 'It would mean the world to me... It's the relationships, it's the people.' The inductees will be officially enshrined in Springfield this August.
