On Friday, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame nominated former Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne and former Mystics General Manager and Head Coach Mike Thibault to its Class of 2026. In addition, former Washington Bullets Head Coach Dick Motta was nominated to the Class of 2026.
Delle Donne played in the WNBA from 2013-2023 for the Chicago Sky (2013-16) and Mystics (2017-23), winning two WNBA Most Valuable Player awards and the 2019 WNBA championship. Thibault was the Head Coach of the Connecticut Sun (2003-12) and the Mystics (2013-22) where he led the Sun to two WNBA Finals appearances and the Mystics to two more in 2018 and 2019, culminating in a championship in the latter year.
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Delle Donne is now an advisor to Monumental Basketball and the Managing Director of the USA Basketball women’s national team. Thibault is now the Head Coach of the Belgium women’s national basketball team.
Motta was a longtime NBA head coach, where he was the NBA Coach of the Year in 1971 and led the now-Washington Wizards to the NBA championship in 1978. He has been retired since leaving the Denver Nuggets in 1997.
