Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne, and the 2026 Basketball Hall of Fame Class

AI-generated editorial image of Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne in a non-documentary studio setting; created for PowerPage Sports and not a photograph of the August 15, 2026, enshrinement ceremony.

Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne entered the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on August 15, 2026, as part of a class that spans women’s and men’s basketball, coaching, officiating and international influence. The 2026 Basketball Hall of Fame Class was formally enshrined at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Parker’s résumé includes three WNBA championships, two league MVP awards and seven All-Star selections. She remains the only player in WNBA history to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season, accomplishing both in 2008. She also won two NCAA championships at Tennessee and two Olympic gold medals with the United States.

Delle Donne entered with two WNBA MVP awards, seven All-Star selections and the 2019 championship she helped bring to the Washington Mystics. She was the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2013, earned four All-WNBA First Team selections and won Olympic gold in 2016. Her college career at Delaware included two First-Team All-America selections.

Chamique Holdsclaw and the 1996 United States Women’s National Team joined Parker and Delle Donne from the Hall’s Women’s Committee. Joey Crawford, Mark Few, Doc Rivers and Amar’e Stoudemire were selected through the North American Committee. Mike D’Antoni entered as a contributor, completing the nine-member class.

The Hall of Fame’s official Class of 2026 page provides biographies for every inductee. PowerPage readers can also revisit the site’s recent NBA coverage of Russell Westbrook’s retirement. The class connects eras and roles that shaped basketball in different ways, but its women’s contingent is especially notable: three individual WNBA stars and the national team whose 1996 Olympic gold helped build momentum for the league’s launch the following year. That legacy remains visible today.