Would you like to know what we love the most about the Final Four? It means that we have a brand new Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class!
This is the most female-dominated class in Hoops Hall history, and considering who was available on the women’s side, it could not have finished any other way.
Alphabetically, the 2026 Naismith Hall of Fame class is:
1996 U.S. Women’s National Olympic Team: This was one of the most dominant squads in Olympic history, averaging a 20-point-plus differential throughout the tournament. They beat Brazil in the Finals. The team consisted of Jennifer Azzi, Ruthie Bolton-Holifield, Teresa Edwards, Venus Lacy, Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo, Katrina McClain, Nikki McCray, Carla McGhee, Dawn Staley, Katy Steding, and Sheryl Swoopes, with Tara VanderVeer as their Head Coach.
Joey Crawford (REF). Crawford was an NBA Referee from 1977 to 2016 and worked 50 NBA Finals Games. He was a controversial figure in the NBA, known for his confrontational and aggressive approach to assessing technical fouls. Bluntly, this is not a good selection, as his negatives outweigh his positives.
Mike D’Antoni (COA). D’Antoni had a long and traveled career as a Coach throughout the NBA and Europe. In the United States, he is best known for leading Phoenix to two Conference Finals and for his runs as Head Coach of New York and Houston, and he is also a two-time NBA Coach of the Year. D’Antoni also won two Italian Leagues as HC of Benneton Treviso, and he owns two Olympic Gold Medals as an Assistant Coach for the United States. The sum of D’Antoni’s work is Hall of Fame worthy.
Elena Delle Donne (PLA). Delle Donne was a superstar at the University of Delaware, where she was a two-time All-American. Professionally, she split her WNBA career between Chicago and Washington, winning a WNBA Title with the Mystics. She also won two WNBA MVPs, was a four-time First Team All-WNBA Selection, and a seven-time All-Star. She was also on the United States team that won the 2016 Gold Medal. Outside of Candace Parker, this was as sure a thing as it was for induction.
Mark Few (COA). Few are arguably the most important men in Gonzaga's history; as of this writing, he is still their head coach. He took the Bulldogs to two Final Fours (2017 & 2021) and won 19 WCC Tournaments. He is also a two-time Naismith Coach of the Year and a 12-time WCC Coach of the Year. Where would Gonzaga be without Mark Few?
Chamique Holdsclaw (PLA). Holdsclaw won three consecutive NCAA Championships at Tennessee (1996-98) and was the Naismith College Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons (1997 & 1998). Professionally, she went to six WNBA All-Star Games and won one Scoring Title and two Rebounding Titles in a career spent with Washington, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and San Antonio. She is already in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and now she is in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Candace Parker (PLA). Considered one of the greatest women’s players of all time, Candace Parker won a truckload of awards at the University of Tennessee, capped by leading the Lady Vols to two National Championships. Professionally, Parker led three different teams to WNBA Titles (Los Angeles, Chicago, and Las Vegas), and she also won a Defensive Player of the Year Award, two MVPs, was a seven-time First Team All-WNBA, and went to seven WNBA All-Star Games. She also led the United States to two Olympic Gold Medals. As mentioned earlier, this was the easiest decision the Hall had this year.
Doc Rivers (COA). Nominated for the second time, Rivers is the current Head Coach of the Milwaukee Bucks and holds an NBA Championship, having led the Boston Celtics to a title in 2008. A former Coach of the Year, Rivers was named one of the NBA’s 15 Greatest Coaches. He is also a former Head Coach of the Orlando Magic, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Philadelphia 76ers, and is currently eighth all-time in Wins.
Amar’e Stoudemire (PLA). Stoudemire was a six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA Selection (one first Team and four Second Team) who had 15,994 Points and 6,632 Rebounds in a career with Phoenix, New York, Dallas, and Miami. After his NBA career ended, he moved to Israel and won two Premier League Titles. This is a minor surprise in some circles, as many fans (especially those who vote on our site) did not view him as a Hall of Famer.
Of note, this class does not include any Veterans Era candidates or anyone from the International side.
Those who were finalists and were not chosen were:
Jennifer Azzi (PLA): Azzi was the Naismith Basketball Player of the Year in 1990, leading Stanford to a National Championship. She was also on the gold medal-winning 1996 Olympic Women’s Team and won two more gold medals at the FIBA World Championship (1990 & 1998). She was also inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and was a Naismith Basketball Finalist in 2023. Azzi will be entering this year, as she was part of the 1996 Olympic Team.
Molly Bolin (PLA). Bolin was one of the biggest stars of the Women’s Professional Basketball League in the late 70s, the first pro basketball league for women. She was a three-time league All-Star and was the Co-MVP in 1980.
Tal Brody (COA). Brody played collegiately at Illinois, but after competing at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, he was asked to stay, which led to a successful career in which he put Maccabi Tel Aviv and Israeli basketball on the map, a tagline he is known for.
Blake Griffin (PLA): Griffin was one of the most exciting players in the first half of the 2010s and came as advertised after his 2009 National Player of the Year campaign at Oklahoma. Known for his powerful dunks and prolific rebounding, Griffin made the Los Angeles Clippers a must-watch basketball team. He won the 2011 Rookie of the Year, was a five-time All-NBA Selection (three Second Team and two Third Team), and a six-time All-Star. Based on the weaker side of the men’s players’ ledger and the higher profile that Griffin has, we thought he might enter on his first ballot.
Dusan Ivkovic (COA). A FIBA Hall of Fame inductee, Ivkovic played ten seasons for Radnicki Belgrade in the Yugoslavian League. Although the Point Guard had a nice career and was nominated as a player, he had far more success as a coach at the club level and for Yugoslavia and Serbia, winning three EuroBasket Gold Medals and a FIBA World Gold Medal in 1990.
Kevin Johnson (PLA). Johnson played his college ball at California and was drafted by Cleveland in the 7th round, but was traded soon after to Phoenix, where he played the rest of his career. With the Suns, Johnson was a four-time Second Team, one-time Third Team All-NBA Selection with three All-Stars, and he scored 13,127 Points and 6,711 Assists in the Association. This is not the first time K.J. has been a Finalist and failed to enter Springfield.
Marques Johnson (PLA). Johnson was recently considered in the North American era and is now in the Veterans’ category. An NCAA Champion at UCLA, where he was the National College Player of the Year, Johnson was a one-time First Team All-NBA and two-time Second Team All-NBA Selection, and a five-time All-Star who mainly played with Milwaukee. He averaged 20.1 Points per Game, and also played for the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State.
Gary McKnight (COA). One of the most successful Coaches on the high school level, McKnight led Mater Dei High School to a National Championship, 11 California State Titles, and 39 League Titles.
Dick Motta (COA). Motta helmed Weber State to three Big Sky Titles (and a Big Sky Coach of the Year), but his best work was in the NBA, where he coached the Washington Bullets to a championship in 1978. He was also the NBA Coach of the Year in 1971 with the Chicago Bulls and served as HC for the Dallas, Sacramento, and Denver franchises.
Kelvin Sampson (COA). Sampson first served as a Head Coach at Montana Tech, where he led his team to three Conference Tournament titles. Washington State later hired him and then hired him as the HC at Oklahoma, where he led the Sooners to a Final Four and four Big 12 Tournament championships. Currently, Sampson is the Head Coach at the University of Houston, where he has led the Cougars to two Final Fours. As of this writing, he has 808 wins.
Jerry Welsh (COA). Welsh was the Head Coach at SUNY Potsdam, where he compiled a 494-141 record from 1968 to 1991 and won two National Championships in 1981 and 1986.
Buck Williams (PLA). Williams won the 1982 Rookie of the Year Award and was a three-time All-Star in his time with the New Jersey Nets. He also played for Portland and New York, was a four-time All-Defensive Selection (two First Team and two Second Team), and had 16,784 career Points and 13,017 Rebounds.
We will be revising our Notinhalloffame Basketball list in late May, removing those who got in and adding those who will be eligible for 2027.
We here at Notinhalloffame would like to congratulate the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026
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