Parker, Delle Donne, Holdsclaw Headline Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class

Three generations of women's basketball royalty converged Saturday in Indianapolis when the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame unveiled its Class of 2026: Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne, Chamique Holdsclaw, and the 1996 U.S. Olympic women's basketball team will be enshrined together at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut on August 14-15.

The announcement was made in Indianapolis, host city of the 2026 NCAA Men's Final Four, and broadcast live on ESPN2. The full nine-member class also includes Doc Rivers, Mark Few, Amar'e Stoudemire, Mike D'Antoni, and referee Joey Crawford, with the women's quartet voted in through the Women's Committee.

Parker, who grew up watching Holdsclaw dominate at Tennessee and the 1996 squad redefine what the American game could be, found the alignment meaningful. "I am so happy for Chamique, and I am so happy that she is getting her flowers. She deserves them," Parker told the Associated Press. "Obviously, Elena Delle 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."

Parker is the only player in WNBA history to win titles with three different franchises, having captured championships with the Los Angeles Sparks, Chicago Sky, and Las Vegas Aces. She is also the only player in league history to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season, doing so in 2008. Her resume extends beyond the pros: Parker won two national championships at Tennessee and two Olympic gold medals.

Delle Donne, a two-time WNBA MVP (2015 and 2019), became the first player in league history to shoot better than 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three-point range, and 90 percent from the free throw line in the same season. She holds the WNBA career record for free-throw percentage at .937 and ranks fifth all-time in points per game at 19.5. A seven-time All-Star and Olympic gold medalist, Delle Donne retired in 2025 after a career split between the Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics.

Holdsclaw won three NCAA championships at Tennessee, was selected No. 1 overall in the 1999 WNBA Draft, and went on to become Rookie of the Year and a six-time All-Star. She was the 2002 scoring champion and averaged 16.9 points and 7.6 rebounds across an 11-year WNBA career that included a foundational stint with the Washington Mystics from 1999 to 2004.

The 1996 Olympic team rounds out the women's contingent with perhaps the most consequential legacy of all. The squad went undefeated in Atlanta and defeated Brazil 111-87 in the gold medal final, and is widely credited with helping launch the WNBA. Its roster included Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, and Jennifer Azzi, players whose names Parker and Delle Donne invoked as formative influences on their own careers.

The class will be formally inducted that August weekend, closing a loop that stretches from the Georgia Dome in 1996 to the courts where Parker and Delle Donne built their own Hall-worthy careers.