PHOENIX — Basketball legends Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne will join their childhood heroes from the 1996 U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team in this year’s Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction class.
Parker expressed her excitement about being enshrined alongside players she grew up admiring, including Chamique Holdsclaw and the groundbreaking 1996 Olympic squad.
“I am so happy for Chamique and I am so happy that she is getting her flowers. She deserves them,” Parker shared with The Associated Press. “Obviously, Elena Della Donne and I grew up battling against one another and the ’96 team, I think we were all inspired by that. So I just think it’s, it’s truly special.”
The 2026 Hall of Fame class also features Amar’e Stoudemire, Mike D’Antoni, Joey Crawford, Doc Rivers and Mark Few, creating what Parker calls an exceptional group of honorees.
“It means so much, just to be in a club of people that I’ve always admired and looked up to and have paved the way. I think it’s super special,” Parker commented.
Parker’s illustrious career includes championships with three different WNBA franchises: Los Angeles, Chicago and Las Vegas. She holds the unique distinction of being the only player to capture both MVP and Rookie of the Year honors in a single season.
Her trophy case also contains two collegiate championships from Tennessee under legendary coach Pat Summitt, two Olympic gold medals and two WNBA MVP awards.
Holdsclaw reflected on how the 1996 Olympic team inspired her own journey, recalling the photos she kept of team members during her youth in New York. That squad launched an unprecedented streak of eight consecutive Olympic gold medals for American women’s basketball and helped establish the WNBA.
“There’s four or five players on that team who I have pictures of at my home, Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley, Teresa Edwards,” Holdsclaw recalled.
During her time at Tennessee, Holdsclaw achieved three consecutive championships from 1996-98, making history as part of the first team to accomplish that feat. The 1998 title came during an undefeated 39-0 campaign that set NCAA records. Parker later contributed to Summitt’s final two championships in 2007-08.
“She would be so proud right now,” Holdsclaw said of her former coach. “I know she loved us both.”
Following an 11-year WNBA career, Holdsclaw credits the 1996 Olympic team with creating the foundation for professional women’s basketball leagues. The team’s undefeated performance at the Atlanta Games and their nationwide promotional tour generated unprecedented fan interest.
“The ’96 Olympic team was a really incredible group of women that were on a mission and accomplished the mission,” coach Tara VanDerveer explained. “It helped establish the ABL and the WNBA and I think it really was the rocket that was the foundation for the women’s basketball landscape now. I think it’s very exciting for all the players on the team and the coaches.”
Delle Donne earned league MVP recognition in 2015 and 2019, with her second award coming during Washington Mystics’ championship season. She made history by becoming the first WNBA player to achieve the rare combination of shooting above 50% from the field, 40% from three-point range and 90% from the free-throw line.
Among the male inductees, Stoudemire stands as the sole NBA player in this year’s class. The 2003 NBA Rookie of the Year and six-time All-Star spent his first eight seasons with Phoenix, where he played under D’Antoni’s innovative system.
“It means everything from a basketball point of view,” Stoudemire told the AP. “When you look back at my career not only as a pro, but even high school and, and nationally, and since I was a kid playing the game of basketball. I love the game. You play the game because you love it, and then you work to become the best you can possibly be, despite circumstances, and to get into the Hall of Fame, it shows that the voters appreciate it. And now we’re enshrined forever.”
Rivers brings 1,180 career victories to his Hall of Fame resume, ranking eighth all-time. He guided Boston to the 2008 NBA championship and later coached the Los Angeles Clippers during their celebrated Lob City period.
Few has accumulated 773 wins during his tenure at Gonzaga, establishing an NCAA Division I record by winning 81 games in his first three seasons. He led the Bulldogs to national championship games in both 2017 and 2021.
Crawford officiated 2,561 regular-season contests and 50 Finals games across his 39-year NBA career before retiring in 2016.
D’Antoni revolutionized basketball strategy with his fast-paced offensive approach, compiling nearly 1,200 career victories and earning NBA Coach of the Year honors twice.
For the first time, the Hall of Fame celebrated its incoming class during the women’s Final Four on Friday evening. Parker, Holdsclaw, members of the 1996 Olympic team, Stoudemire and D’Antoni all attended the special recognition ceremony.
The official enshrinement ceremony is scheduled for August at the Hall of Fame facility in Springfield, Massachusetts.
