The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2026 is coming into focus,with a list of 21 finalists announced Wednesday.
It's a diverse group of recent NBA and WNBA stars, top coaches, older names and other contributors. The headliners include Blake Griffin, Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne, Mike D'Antoni and Kelvin Sampson,all of whom are first-time nominees.
Doc Rivers and Amar'e Stoudemire are among the bigger names getting a second look for induction. The lone referee nominated is the long-controversial Joey Crawford, while the team in the running is the 1996 U.S. women's national team, whose Olympic dominance helped launch the WNBA the following year.
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One of those 1996 players, Jennifer Azzi, is also up for individual induction.
The finalists will have their fate decided by the Hall's 24-member Honors Committee. The new class will be announced on April 4 during Final Four weekend.
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 finalists
Players
Jennifer Azzi
Molly Bolin-Kazmer
Tal Brody
Elena Delle Donne*
Blake Griffin*
Chaminique Holdsclaw
Kevin Johnson
Marques Johnson
Candace Parker*
Amar'e Stoudemire
Buck Williams
Coaches
Mike D'Antoni*
Mark Few
Dušan Ivković
Gary McKnight
Dick Motta
Doc Rivers
Kelvin Sampson*
Jerry Welsh
Referees
Joey Crawford
Teams
1996 United States Women's National Team*
* denotes a first-time nominee
