A pair of two-time WNBA MVPs are headed to the women’s basketball Hall of Fame as part of an eight-member 2026 class.
Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne headline a group that also includes longtime Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, who has won four WNBA championships and four WNBA Coach of the Year awards since taking over the team in 2010.
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They’re joined by NBA analyst Doris Burke, international players Isabelle Fijalkowski and Amaya Valdemoro as well as Kirkwood Community College head coach Kim Muhl, who has nine national titles and more than 1,000 wins to his name and is an NJCAA Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer. Barbara Kennedy-Dixon, a two-time All-American, is being honored posthumously. She starred for Clemson from 1978-1982 and is one of just eight players to record at least 3,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in their college careers since the NCAA started sponsoring women’s sports in 1981-82.
Yahoo Sports is highlighting the class’ most notable new inductees below:
Candace Parker
Parker played 16 seasons in the WNBA after enjoying an illustrious career at Tennessee, where she spearheaded a pair of Pat Summitt’s national champion Lady Vols teams. Parker won the Wooden Award both years while Tennessee went back-to-back in 2007 and 2008. She hit the ground running in the W, becoming the only player in league history to win MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season. She later emerged as the first WNBA player to win championships with three different teams. The Los Angeles Sparks retired her No. 3 jersey this summer.
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Elena Delle Donne
Delle Donne guided Delaware to the Sweet 16 in 2013. That NCAA tournament run jumpstarted her ascent to WNBA stardom. After rewriting the Blue Hens’ record book while averaging 26.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, she made seven All-Star teams in the W. She earned MVP honors with the Chicago Sky and the Washington Mystics, with whom she also won a title. Although Delle Donne hasn’t played since the 2023 season, she didn’t make her retirement from the league official until April. She was recently named the first managing director of the USA 3×3 women’s national team.
Cheryl Reeve
Reeve is one of the most accomplished coaches in women’s basketball history. In addition to leading the Lynx to four titles in her 16 seasons at the helm, she also helped Team USA win gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Although her Minnesota squad fell short of the Finals this year, it featured a trio of All-Stars and ended up winning a franchise-record 34 games in the regular season. Reeve has posted a 364-190 regular-season record as the Lynx’s head coach. She’s also spoken up for her players without hesitation and is a two-time WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year.
