Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne, Blake Griffin Lead List of 2026 Hall of Fame Finalists
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SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Feb. 11, 2026 — Two-time WNBA MVPs Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne headline the group of nominees revealed Wednesday for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
Parker, the only player to capture WNBA titles with three franchises — the Los Angeles Sparks, Chicago Sky and Las Vegas Aces — joins the ballot in her first year of eligibility. The 2008 Rookie of the Year is also the league’s lone player to claim MVP honors in the same season she debuted.
Delle Donne, also a two-time MVP (2015, 2019), became the first WNBA athlete to post 50-40-90 shooting percentages and guided the Washington Mystics to their inaugural championship in 2019.
The finalists include prominent figures from the NBA’s “Lob City” era: six-time All-Star Blake Griffin and his former coach Doc Rivers. Griffin, the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest winner, retired with more than 14,000 points and 3,000 assists across 14 seasons. Rivers, currently leading the Milwaukee Bucks, owns 1,114 coaching victories and directed the Boston Celtics to the 2008 NBA crown.
Six-time NBA All-Star A’Mare Stoudemire returns to the ballot after averaging 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds over 14 seasons with Phoenix, New York, Dallas and Miami. He was the 2003 Rookie of the Year and an All-NBA First Team selection in 2007.
Other player finalists are Kevin Johnson, Buck Williams and Marques Johnson. Longtime NBA referee Joey Crawford, international standout Tal Brody and offensive innovator Mike D’Antoni appear in the contributor category.
The coaching slate features Gonzaga’s Mark Few, Houston’s Kelvin Sampson, legendary NBA coach Dick Motta, high school coach Gary McKnight and the late Jerry Welsh, who won two NCAA Division III titles at Potsdam State. Former Serbian coach Dušan Ivković is again nominated by the international committee.
Women’s basketball finalists include the 1996 U.S. Olympic gold-medal team, Jennifer Azzi, Chamique Holdsclaw and Molly Bolin-Kazmerm, the first signee in the Women’s Professional Basketball League.
The Hall will announce the Class of 2026 during the NCAA Final Four in April. Inductees will be enshrined in August in Springfield.
Source: ESPN
