Basketball Hall of Fame 2026 Ceremony Recap, Speech Highlights and Reaction

WNBA icon Candace Parker and former NBAers Doc Rivers and Amar'e Stoudemire are officially Hall of Famers.

The trio was among the nine members of the Class of 2026 inducted Saturday into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Parker, a three-time WNBA champion and two-time WNBA MVP, capped off Saturday's ceremony with an emotional speech in which she said "changed teams both literally and figuratively."

She thanked NBA icons including Dwyane Wade and Allen Iverson while described what she said was a "full circle" career in the WNBA.

"I came in as a rookie with Lisa Leslie and her greatness... and I got to pass the torch to a G.O.A.T. in A'ja Wilson on my way out," Parker said.

Around the time of Parker's Saturday night speech, Wilson passed Parker for 11th place on the WNBA's all-time scoring list.

Rivers was welcomed into the Hall of Fame by the Boston Celtics' former Big Three of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

The former Celtics coach said before his speech getting the trio of Allen, Garnett and Pierce together for the ceremony might have been his "last great coaching feat."

Rivers also joked in his speech he got his famously "raspy" voice from a coaching career that included leading that trio to the 2008 NBA title.

Amar'e Stoudemire, who earned six All-Star nods while starring with the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks, talked about helping the Knicks end a seven-year playoff drought in 2011.

"Before I got there, no one else wanted to go to New York," Stoudemire said. "So that's why I was like, 'The Knicks are back, and we're gonna do this.' And so it was good to see those guys winning that championship this year."

He also reflected on his journey from growing up in economic hardship to playing in the NBA by speaking about the importance of "perseverance."

Former NBA coach Mike D'Antoni used his induction speech to credit Phoenix Suns players and coaches with having "the courage to embrace a different way of playing."

"Together, we influenced the game," D'Antoni said.

D'Antoni also called Jeremy Lin's "Linsanity" run with the New York Knicks one of the most unforgettable moments of his NBA career, and shouted out former Houston Rockets star James Harden as "one of the most skilled players I've ever coached."

Six-time WNBA All-Star and Olympic gold medalist Chamique Holdsclaw credited the 1996 U.S. Women's National Team with helping her believe she could pursue a professional basketball career.

She also spoke about mental health before telling any struggling members of the audience "your story is not over and your greatness is still within you."

The 1996 women's national team later celebrated their own induction after an historic 8-0 run to gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Teresa Edwards said in her induction speech the 1996 roster was "the greatest team I've ever played on."

"I would put us up against anyone," Edwards told the crowd.

Former referee Joey Crawford celebrated his induction by listing some accomplishments from his 39 years officiating NBA games.

"I do 39 years in the NBA. 2500 regular-season games. I work the NBA Finals from '86 to 2016. I worked 50 Finals games, 374 playoff games," Crawford said. "And has the great Muhammad Ali once said, it ain't bragging if you did it."

Gonzaga coach Mark Few directed the credit for the two championships he won with his program toward his players.

"People see one coach standing on this stage tonight. I'm telling you, I see generations of players," Few said.

Two-time WNBA MVP and Olympic gold medalist Elena Delle Donne celebrated her induction with what she described as a love letter to the sport of basketball.

"Basketball, you gave me confidence. You gave me purpose... you gave me a platform to leave this game a little better than when I found it," Delle Donne said.

The Hall of Fame's enshrinement weekend started with a Friday night autograph session in Uncasville, Connecticut followed by a Saturday evening red carpet and the induction ceremony in Springfield, Masachussetts.