Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne headline the first-time women’s basketball nominees for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2026.
The 1996 United States Women’s National Team, which will be celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the gold medal won at the Atlanta Olympics in 2026, also received a first-time Hall of Fame nomination.
Advertisement
As our Zachary Draves already proposed, honoring the 30-year anniversary of the 1996 legends should be a featured part of WNBA All-Star 2026, Such a celebration would be an appropriate prelude to the team’s Hall of Fame enshrinement. The team, composed of players who would become first-generation WNBA icons, kickstarted Team USA’s still-going run of eight-straight Olympic gold medals, as their gold medal victory in Atlanta was the culmination of a year-long, 60-game exhibition tour that not only was designed to prepare for the Olympics but also to prove the viability of professional women’s basketball in the United States.
Along with the 1996 team, Parker, Delle Donne and a women’s hoops legend who is not a first-time nominee should also waltz into the hall in September 2026. Here’s more on the open-and-shut cases for Parker, Delle Donne and Chamique Holdsclaw:
Candace Parker
Candace Parker entered the basketball consciousness with unreasonably high expectations, and despite encountering significant adversity, including redshirting her freshman year at Tennessee due a knee injury and having injuries mar two-straight seasons during what should have been her professional prime, Parker arguably—no, definitively—exceeded those expectations.
Advertisement
It’s not just the accomplishments that make Parker a surefire Hall of Famer, but her mold-breaking, ahead-of-the-curve style of play. She introduced the do-it-all archetype to women’s basketball, first for the Lady Vols and then for the Los Angeles Sparks. At 6-foot-4, she didn’t just score around the basket, but from all three levels. She wouldn’t just grab the defensive rebound, but also run the break, as well as conduct the offense in the halfcourt. Defensively, she not only could protect the rim, but also make plays as she guarded all over the floor. Whatever was needed, Parker could do it.
That versatility produced multiple conference and National Player of the Year honors in college, plus a pair of Most Outstanding Player awards to go with her two national championships. In the WNBA, she collected two MVPs, three titles, a Finals MVP and a Defensive Player of the Year award, along with a bevy of All-WNBA and All-Star selections and a two gold medals.
The beginning and end of Parker’s WNBA career perfectly summate her instant, extended impact. Her first season in the WNBA, Parker became the only player to win MVP and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season, a feat unlikely to ever be repeated. In her age 35 season, her third to last, she delivered a first championship to her hometown Chicago Sky, before, in her final season, winning another championship with the Las Vegas Aces.
Advertisement
Elena Delle Donne
When Elena Delle Donne emerged as a top women’s basketball prospect, coveted by all the premier collegiate programs, there was a path she was supposed to follow. Delle Donne, however, decided to do it her way. And, as with Parker, that way wouldn’t come without extra doses of adversity, yet she still compiled a career defined by excellence.
After temporarily turning Delaware into a basketball powerhouse, and earning a hoard of All-American honors as she got buckets on buckets for the Blue Hens, Delle Donne arrived in the WNBA and instantly elevated the Sky into relevance, taking them to the playoffs, including a trip to the Finals, in all of her four seasons in Chicago. Along with way, she earned an MVP award, in addition to a collection of other on- and off-court honors, including a gold medal.
Advertisement
Delle Donne then took her picture-picture jumper to DC, prioritizing balancing basketball with family. More achievements, another MVP and the first title in Washington Mystics franchise history would follow. In 2019, she also accomplished the feat that perfectly encapsulates game, becoming the first player in WNBA history to complete a 50-40-90 season, as she shot 51.5 percent from the field, 43 percent from 3 and 97.4 percent from the free throw line.
Even as struggles with illness and injury would too-often interrupt her career, Delle Donne’s shooting touch—possibly the best the game has ever seen—made her one of the most unstoppable, and aesthetically-pleasing, scorers of all time.
Chamique Holdsclaw
Although Chamique Holdsclaw’s career did not reach the sky-high heights imagined, her place in the Hall of Fame should not be questioned.
Advertisement
If the purpose of Hall of Fame is to honor history of the game, and not simply enshrine those whose quantifiable achievements meet a certain standard, then Holdsclaw absolutely belongs. Holdsclaw was THE mainstream women’s basketball star of the 1990s, generating attention that exceeded the boundaries of women’s basketball. She carried women’s basketball into rare cultural relevance, evidenced by her Nike commercial and iconic SLAM cover.
She is a progenitor of what increasingly is becoming a norm: A hyped women’s basketball stars who is chased by top college programs, anticipated by fans and expected to elevate the professional game.
And even if Holdsclaw’s WNBA career did not ascend into the superstar stratosphere, she’s was still pretty dang good as a pro. The Rookie of the Year, she was a six-time All-Star who was in MVP conversations over multiple seasons. She also earned three All-WNBA honors, in addition to a scoring title, a pair of rebounding crowns and a gold medal.
Advertisement
Her collegiate career is absolutely Hall of Fame-worthy. A four-time All-American who also collected a cavalcade of conference honors, Holdsclaw twice swept the National Player of the Year awards as she led Tennessee to three titles during the definitional era of Lady Vol dominance. The Hall of Fame customarily gives strong credence to the college resumes of male nominees, and there are very few, if any, men’s college basketball players whose accomplishments approach those of Holdsclaw.
And in a fun twist, Holdsclaw, like Parker, is Lady Vol legend who experienced her best WNBA seasons with the Mystics, just like Delle Donne. So, let’s hope Mique strolls into the Hall with CP3 and EDD.
Along with the 1996 United States Women’s National Team, Parker and Delle Donne, the other first-time nominees are:
-
Contributor: Lynn Norberg Barry
-
Women’s Veteran Nominees: Patsy Neal, Rosie Walker
Among the returning nominees who also deserve strong considerations are: Jennifer Azzi, Taj McWilliams-Franklin and Ticha Penicherio (players); Marian Washington (coach); Penny Taylor (international); 1982 Cheyney State Final Four Team, Molly Bolin and Nashville Business College (veteran nominees).
