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UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Candace Parker said nobody ever starts playing basketball to eventually end up in the Hall of Fame. But when she got the call from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, plenty of images popped up in her mind.
Parker said she thought of all the jerseys she’s ever put on, envisioning all of her former teammates and coaches. But one of the greatest players ever also thought of a childhood memory that’s connected to her family.
“I definitely think it was the park because my family and I used to go to the same park when I was a kid,” Parker said. “I think that is definitely super special. I know my parents and my brothers are super excited to talk about that.”
Parker is set to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this weekend, putting one of the final stamps on her legendary career. She’s a three-time WNBA champion, a two-time WNBA MVP and a seven-time All-Star, constantly showing the world greatness. Now, it’s her turn to get honored as part of the Class of 2026.
The Class of 2026 features Parker, six-time WNBA All-Star Chamique Holdsclaw, NBA coach Doc Rivers, longtime referee Joey Crawford, Gonzaga coach Mark Few, six-time NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudamire, two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne, NBA coach Mike D’Antoni and the 1996 USA Basketball gold medal women’s team.
Parker also enters the Hall alongside one of her idols in Holdsclaw, a fellow Tennessee product. Holdsclaw was thrilled to share the weekend with Parker. Plenty of people told Holdsclaw that she should’ve been in the Hall years ago, but the six-time All-Star was just appreciative to get to the destination.
“It’s special,” Holdsclaw said. “That’s the little sister. We just always connected from Day 1 and her family. To do it together is like, ‘Aha!’ Candace is one of those like me. … Candace hit me like, ‘Yo, you’ve been in my Hall of Fame. The world is just realizing it now.’ When you got family like that, they keep it real with you.”
Both Parker and Holdsclaw were also coached by late legendary coach Pat Summitt. Parker believed “Coach definitely wrote this in the stars for us to go in the same class.”
“I’ll be honest, going into a class with her, I think Pat’s definitely smiling down,” Parker said. “(Holdsclaw) was on the SLAM cover and she was on my wall as a kid. I think everyone wanted to be like Chamique Holdsclaw. She moved different. Her athleticism was unmatched and she could stop on a dime. Just the purity of her game.”
‘Last good coaching feat’
When former Celtics coach Doc Rivers is inducted into the Hall of Fame, he’ll have Boston’s Big Three together once again. The trio of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen will introduce their former coach after teaming up to win the 2008 NBA title together. While there was longstanding animosity after Allen left for the Heat in 2012, they’re all on solid ground after all these years.
“It was a goal, I can tell you that,” Rivers said. “I think when you win it, you should be together for life. Those three in particular have had their ups and downs. The fact that they all three agreed to be together on this stage and kind of have dropped the BS is just absolutely amazing. It may be my last good coaching feat.”
Longtime comrades
When Amar’e Stoudemire was drafted by the Suns ninth overall back in 2002, Mike D’Antoni was still just an assistant coach. Both guys were still early in their careers with years of success still ahead of them. Then when D’Antoni took over as the head guy in Phoenix, he helped architect the famous “seven-seconds-or-less” offense that took the league by storm.
But their paths didn’t stop there. When Stoudemire signed with the Knicks in 2010, he reunited with D’Antoni in New York. To top it all off, when Stoudemire was a player development coach with the Nets, D’Antoni was an assistant coach working under former Phoenix guard Steve Nash. So there’s a lot of commonality there, and this weekend, they’ll enter the Hall of Fame together.
“It means a lot,” Stoudamire said. “It seems as though Coach D’Antoni and I have had a simultaneous career since I got to the NBA. … We had an incredible run in Phoenix and then we teamed up again in New York then happened to team up again as a coach in Brooklyn. Now to be enshrined in the same year as Coach D’Antoni is special and I appreciate it.”
“Happy for Amar’e,” D’Antoni said. “Not only as a basketball player, which is important obviously in how he worked. Just the type of person he has become. … His journey is unlike a lot of people and like a lot of people. And just sheer determination and willpower. It’s a great road for him, a great story.”
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