NewzInductee Elena Delle Donne speaks to the audience during the 2026 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Symphony Hall on Aug. 15, 2026 in Springfield, Massachusetts. (AP) — Elena Delle Donne and Candace Parker’s WNBA careers were intertwined with so many great moments.
Now they are forever bonded, enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2026 class Saturday night. Olympic women’s basketball team, Chamique Holdsclaw, NBA player Amar’e Stoudemire, longtime NBA official Joey Crawford, NBA coaches Doc Rivers and Mike D’Antoni, and Gonzaga coach Mark Few. Delle Donne turned her speech into a love letter to the game of basketball with all the ups and downs she faced in her career.
But she always kept life in perspective, thanks to her older sister Lizzie, who is blind and deaf. “She never played in front of thousands of people, never had a standing ovation. never been interviewed after a big win.
Yet I’ve never met anyone stronger,” Delle Donne said, choking up. “Thank you all for keeping me going.” Delle Donne won MVP awards in 2015 and 2019, the second of which came when she led the Washington Mystics to their lone WNBA championship. Delle Donne became the first player in league history to shoot more than 50% from the field, 40% from behind the 3-point line and 90% from the free-throw line.
She started off her speech giving a shoutout to actor Larry David, who was in the audience. She told him that she hoped her speech was “pretty, pretty, pretty good.” using David’s signature line. Delle Donne was introduced to him before the ceremony by Rivers.
Holdsclaw thanked all of her former teammates and coaches in her acceptance speech. She was best known for helping Tennessee win three straight titles from 1996-98, the first team to accomplish that, under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt. Summitt died in 2016 following a battle with Alzheimer’s.
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