PHOENIX (AP) — Candace Parker looked up to Chamique Holdsclaw and the 1996 Olympic U.S. women’s basketball team growing up.
Now, she and Elena Delle Donne will join them in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later this year.
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“I’m very happy for Chamik and happy that she received the flowers. She deserved it,” Parker told The Associated Press. “Obviously, Elena Della Donne and I grew up around each other and the ’96 team, and I think we were both inspired. So I think it’s really special.”
Parker is honored to be a member of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026, which also includes Amar’e Stoudemire, Mike D’Antoni, Joey Crawford, Doc Rivers and Mark Favre.
“It means a lot to be able to join a club that’s made up of people that I’ve always admired and respected and paved the way for me. I think it’s very special,” Parker said.
Parker won three championships with three teams in the WNBA: Los Angeles, Chicago and Las Vegas. She is the only player in league history to win both MVP and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season.
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She also won two championships, two Olympic gold medals and two WNBA MVP awards while in college at Tennessee State under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt.
Holdclaw said that when she was growing up in New York, her walls hung with photos of members of the 1996 Olympic team that launched women’s basketball to eight consecutive championships and helped get the WNBA off the ground.
“I have pictures at home of four or five players from that team, Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley, Teresa Edwards,” Holdsclaw said.
Holdsclaw won three consecutive championships at Tennessee from 1996-98, the first team to do so. The 1998 championship game was the first time Tennessee went undefeated with a 39-0 record, and also set the then-NCAA record for most wins in a season. Parker helped Summitt win its last two championships in 2007-08.
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“She would be very proud right now,” Holdsclaw said of her former coach. “I know she loves us both.”
Holdsclaw went on to an 11-year WNBA career. The WNBA and the defunct ABL were indeed created by the 1996 teams. The United States went undefeated at the Atlanta Games, and the team’s pre-Olympic tour of the United States generated interest and captured the attention of fans across the country.
“The ’96 Olympic team was a truly incredible group of women who had a mission and they accomplished it,” said coach Tara VanDerveer. “It helped establish the ABL and the WNBA, and I think the Rockets were really the foundation for what women’s basketball is now. I think it’s very exciting for all the players and coaches on the team.”
Delle Donne won the league MVP award twice in 2015 and 2019, the second of which came when she led the Washington Mystics to their only WNBA championship. Delle Donne became the first player in league history to shoot over 50% from the field, over 40% from beyond the arc, and over 90% from the free throw line.
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The only NBA player in this year’s class, Stoudemire was the 2003 NBA Rookie of the Year and a six-time All-Star. He spent the first eight years of his career with the Phoenix Suns, where he played alongside D’Antoni.
“From a basketball standpoint, it means everything,” Stoudemire told The Associated Press. “When you look back at my career, not just as a pro but even in high school and nationally, it started when I was a kid playing basketball. I love the game. You play the game because you love it, and then you strive to be the best version of yourself, no matter the circumstances, and to get into the Hall of Fame, that shows voters appreciate it. Now we’re forever remembered.”
Rivers already has 1,180 wins on his resume, which puts him eighth on the all-time wins list. In 2008, he led the Boston Celtics to the NBA championship and coached the Los Angeles Clippers during the Lob City era.
During his career, Few won 773 games at Gonzaga. He won 81 games in his first three years at the school, setting an NCAA Division I men’s coaching record. Few have led the Bulldogs to the national championship games in 2017 and 2021.
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Crawford officiated 2,561 NBA regular season games and 50 Finals games during his 39-year career. He retired in 2016.
D’Antoni impacted the game with his up-tempo philosophy and redefined offensive strategy. He had nearly 1,200 career wins and was twice named NBA Coach of the Year.
For the first time, the Hall of Fame will honor a member of the Hall of Fame caliber during Friday night’s women’s Final Four game. Parker, Holdsclaw and members of the 1996 Olympic team were in attendance, as well as Stoudemire and D’Antoni.
Committal services will be held in August at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
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