Two WNBA Legends Headline Finalists for Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026

There are 21 finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame this year.

Candace Parker was named a finalist for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 21 finalists for induction this year and a pair of WNBA legends lead the list.

Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne lead a list of four women and one women’s team selected by the women’s committee as finalists. Chamique Holdsclaw and Jennifer Azzi join them, as does the 1996 United States women’s national team. The women’s veteran committee selected Molly Bolin-Kazmer as a finalist as well.

Blake Griffin, Doc Rivers, and Amar’e Stoudemire are the biggest figures among the men to be named finalists. That list also includes Kevin Johnson and Buck Williams, coaches Mark Few, Gary McKnight, Dick Motta, Kelvin Sampson and Jerry Welsh, and referee Joey Crawford.

Dušan Ivković was selected as a finalist by the international committee as a coach, while the contributors committee selected Mike D’Antoni and Tal Brody as finalists. Marques Johnson was selected as a finalist by the veterans committee.

Candace Parker career achievements

Parker is widely considered one of the best women’s players of all time.

She was a three-time All-American at Tennessee, where she helped the Volunteers to back-to-back national championships in 2007 and ‘08. She was the Naismith Player of the Year in 2008, while being named the AP female athlete of the year as well.

The Los Angeles Sparks selected Parker with the No. 1 pick in the 2008 WNBA draft, and she went on to have a stellar career as a pro. She was a two-time WNBA MVP (2008, ‘13), a seven-time All-Star, and was named first-team All-WNBA seven times and on the second-team twice. Parker won three WNBA titles, one with the Sparks in 2016, then added one with her hometown Chicago Sky in 2021, and another with the Las Vegas Aces in 2023.

Parker also won Olympic gold medals as a member of Team USA at the 2008 and 2012 Games. She’s a safe bet for induction this year.

Elena Delle Donne career achievements

Like Parker, Delle Donne was an outstanding college player who went on to live up to the hype during her WNBA career. After being a two-time AP first team All-American at Delaware, the Sky selected her with the No. 2 pick in the 2013 WNBA draft.

As a pro, Delle Donne was a two-time MVP, a seven-time All-Star, and was named first-team All-WNBA four times and second-team once. She helped lead the Washington Mystics to the 2019 WNBA title. That season, she joined the 50-40-90 club, as she shot 50% from the field, 40% from three-point range, and 90% from the free throw line. At the time, only nine men had achieved the feat in an NBA season.

Delle Donne suffered from recurring back injuries from 2019 through the ‘23 season, and battled Lyme disease, which led to her decision not to play in the 2020 “bubble.” If not for those issues, her career may have reached even loftier heights. Still, she’s almost certain to be inducted this year.

---