04/04/26 11:55:00
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04/04 11:53 CDT Parker, Delle Donne and 1996 US Olympic women's basketball team
set for Hall of Fame enshrinement
Parker, Delle Donne and 1996 US Olympic women's basketball team set for Hall of
Fame enshrinement
By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer
PHOENIX (AP) --- Candace Parker looked up to Chamique Holdsclaw and the 1996
U.S. Olympic women's basketball team growing up.
Now she and Elena Delle Donne will get to be enshrined with them in the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later this year.
"I am so happy for Chamique and I am so happy that she is getting her flowers.
She deserves them," Parker told The Associated Press. "Obviously, Elena Della
Donne and I grew up battling against one another and the '96 team, I think we
were all inspired by that. So I just think it's, it's truly special."
Parker was honored to be part of the 2026 Hall of Fame class that also includes
Amar'e Stoudemire, Mike D'Antoni, Joey Crawford, Doc Rivers and Mark Few.
"It means so much, just to be in a club of people that I've always admired and
looked up to and have paved the way. I think it's super special," Parker said.
Parker won three titles in the WNBA with three teams: Los Angeles, Chicago and
Las Vegas. She's the only player in league history to win both the MVP and
Rookie of the Year in the same season.
She also won two titles while playing in college for Tennessee under Hall of
Fame coach Pat Summitt, two Olympic gold medals and two WNBA MVP awards.
Holdclaw said she had pictures on her wall growing up in New York of members of
the 1996 Olympic team that started the run of eight straight gold medals for
women's basketball and helped get the WNBA started.
"There's four or five players on that team who I have pictures of at my home,
Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley, Teresa Edwards," Holdsclaw said.
Holdsclaw won three straight titles at Tennessee from 1996-98, the first team
to accomplish that. The 1998 championship was Tennessee's first undefeated
season at 39--0 and the Vols also set an NCAA record for the most wins in a
season at that time. Parker helped Summitt win her last two titles in 2007-08.
"She would be so proud right now," Holdsclaw said of her former coach. "I know
she loved us both."
Holdsclaw went on to an 11-year WNBA career. The WNBA and the defunct ABL were
really made possible by the 1996 team. The Americans went undefeated at the
Atlanta Games and the interest the team generated with its barnstorming tour
across the U.S. leading up to the Olympics captured the attention of fans
across the country.
"The '96 Olympic team was a really incredible group of women that were on a
mission and accomplished the mission," coach Tara VanDerveer said. "It helped
establish the ABL and the WNBA and I think it really was the rocket that was
the foundation for the women's basketball landscape now. I think it's very
exciting for all the players on the team and the coaches."
Delle Donne won two league 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 over 50% from the
field, 40% from behind the 3-point line and 90% from the free throw line.
Stoudemire, who was the only NBA player in this year's class, was the NBA
Rookie of the Year in 2003 and a six-time All-Star. He spent the first eight
years of his career with the Phoenix Suns, where he teamed with D'Antoni.
"It means everything from a basketball point of view," Stoudemire told the AP.
"When you look back at my career not only as a pro, but even high school and,
and nationally, and since I was a kid playing the game of basketball. I love
the game. You play the game because you love it, and then you work to become
the best you can possibly be, despite circumstances, and to get into the Hall
of Fame, it shows that the voters appreciate it. And now we're enshrined
forever."
Rivers has 1,180 victories on his resume, which puts him eighth on the all-time
wins list. He led the Boston Celtics to the NBA championship in 2008 and was
also in charge of the Los Angeles Clippers during their Lob City era.
Few has won 773 games at Gonzaga in his career at the school. He set the NCAA
Division I men's coaching record by winning 81 games in his first three years
at the school. Few guided the Bulldogs to the national championship game in
2017 and 2021.
Crawford officiated 2,561 regular-season NBA games and 50 Finals games over his
39-year career. He retired in 2016.
D'Antoni influenced the sport with his uptempo philosophy that redefined
offensive strategy. He had nearly 1,200 career wins and was NBA Coach of the
Year twice.
The Hall of Fame for the first time honored members of the Hall of Fame class
at the women's Final Four on Friday night. Parker, Holdsclaw and members of the
1996 Olympic team were all in attendance as well as Stoudemire and D'Antoni.
The enshrinement ceremony will take place in August at the Hall of Fame in
Springfield, Massachusetts.
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