Blake Griffin, Candace Parker, Jamal Crawford, the 1996 U.S. women's Olympic basketball team, Bruce Pearl and Kelvin Sampson were among the first-time nominees announced Friday for consideration for enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame next year.
Also among notable first-time nominees: Elena Delle Donne and Joe Johnson as players and Mike D'Antoni as a contributor.
Nearly 200 players and teams were on the list revealed by the Hall on ESPN's “NBA Today,” including some finalists who fell short of enshrinement in the class of 2025, including Jennifer Azzi, who was a member of that 1996 U.S. women's team that won gold at the Atlanta Games. Azzi is nominated again as an individual.
“Each of the candidates for the class of 2026 has left an indelible impact on the game of basketball,” said John L. Doleva, president and CEO of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. “Through defining performances, influential leadership and achievements that helped elevate the sport on the national and international stage, this year's vote recognizes those whose legacy continues to shape the way the sport is played, coached and celebrated.”
Finalists are typically announced during NBA All-Star weekend in February. The class of 2026 will be announced on April 4 at the NCAA Final Four, and the consecration weekend will be August 14 and 15 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, and at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Other finalists from a year ago who were back on the ballot include Gonzaga coach Mark Few; NBA legends Marques Johnson and Buck Williams; and Jerry Welsh, who coached Potsdam in upstate New York and won NCAA Division III titles in 1981 and 1986.
Molly Bolin, the first player signed by the Women's Professional Basketball League, is also back, as is former Serbian professional player and coach Dusan Ivkovic, who is already a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame.
Doc Rivers, the only NBA coach with more than 1,000 wins not yet in the Hall of Fame, is nominated again, as are Amar'e Stoudemire and legendary broadcaster Marv Albert.
Some teams that will be considered include the 1936, 1972 and 1976 United States men's Olympic teams; the 1982 Cheyney State team coached by C. Vivian Stringer that lost to Louisiana Tech in the inaugural NCAA Division I women's national championship; the Kentucky Wesleyan men's teams that won three Division II national titles in a four-year span in the late 1960s; and the 1963 Loyola Chicago men's team that won the NCAA title and broke racial barriers in the sport by using as many as four black starters.
