Springfield, Saturday night
Symphony Hall. Eight names called one by one. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame welcomed its 2026 class on Saturday night in Massachusetts.
Amar’e Stoudemire led the way. Six All-Star picks, five All-NBA nods, and 14 seasons split between Phoenix, New York, Dallas and Miami.
He didn’t talk about dunks. He talked about where he came from.
“When you grow up in an environment that is hard to get out of, the biggest thing for me was staying out of trouble, staying positive, staying focused, and keeping in mind that you can push through anything,” he said.
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Doc Rivers, D’Antoni, Crawford
Glenn “Doc” Rivers is in as well. The 2008 NBA champion with Boston, 1,194 wins across 27 years on the sideline, and a 10.9-point scoring average in 13 seasons as a player before that.
The three men who delivered his title were the ones to present him. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.
“Winning a title is like getting a blood transfusion. The three of you are linked for the rest of your lives,” Rivers told them.
Mike D’Antoni went in as a contributor. The three-point shot, the pick-and-roll, floor spacing: a big chunk of modern basketball owes him something. “Our players and coaches had the courage to embrace a different way of playing, and together we changed this sport,” he summed up.
Joey Crawford rounds out the NBA contingent. The referee holds the records for playoff games worked (374) and Finals games worked (50). His line, borrowed from Muhammad Ali: “It isn’t bragging if you really did it. And I did it.”
Three WNBA stars and an entire team
Elena Delle Donne, Chamique Holdsclaw and Candace Parker were also honoured.
Delle Donne, a two-time MVP and 2019 champion with Washington, turned her speech into a farewell. “This speech isn’t really about getting into the Hall of Fame. It’s about saying goodbye. Not to basketball, but to the player I have been for as long as I can remember.”
Holdsclaw, a three-time NCAA champion and six-time WNBA All-Star, chose to speak about mental health. “To anyone carrying a burden that never shows up in the stats, I see you.”
Parker, a two-time MVP and three-time champion, passed the baton on. “Others will come after us. My hope is that you grow this game and leave it better than you found it.”
The 1996 Olympic champion United States team was inducted as a group. Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo, Dawn Staley, Sheryl Swoopes. Without that team, the WNBA probably never gets off the ground. “That team was the foundation of what the WNBA became,” Lobo said.
On the college side, Mark Few went in after 27 NCAA Tournament trips, two national title game appearances with Gonzaga and two national coach of the year awards.
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