Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers, former NBA star Amar’e Stoudemire and women’s greats Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne are part of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026, ESPN reported Tuesday.
The class is slated to be formerly announced on Saturday.
Rivers ranks sixth in NBA history with 1,191 victories and guided the Boston Celtics to the 2008 NBA title as part of his 27 seasons as a coach. He also played 13 seasons with four teams, the first eight with the Atlanta Hawks (1983-91), and played in the 1988 All-Star Game.
Stoudemire was a six-time All-Star during 14 seasons (2013-16), most notably starring for the Phoenix Suns during the first eight seasons of his career. He won Rookie of the Year honors for the 2002-03 season and had career averages of 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds.
Parker won three WNBA titles with three teams in 16 campaigns (2008-23) and was league MVP during the 2008 and 2013 seasons. The seven-time All-Star also won two college national titles at Tennessee (2007, 2008) and two Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012).
Delle Donne won WNBA MVP awards in 2015 and 2019 and led the Washington Mystics to the 2019 title. She was a seven-time All-Star in 10 seasons with the Chicago Sky (2013-16) and Mystics (2017-19, 2021-23).
Among the other candidates to be part of this class are former players Blake Griffin, Kevin Johnson and Buck Williams, NBA coach Dick Motta and college coaches Mark Few and Kelvin Sampson.
The veterans committee put up former college and NBA great Marques Johnson for consideration.
The induction ceremonies are Aug. 14-15 in Springfield, Mass.
–Field Level Media
