The weekend has been building toward Saturday. Nine basketball legends make it official at 7 p.m. ET when the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame enshrines the Class of 2026 at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the sport.
Stoudemire and D’Antoni: the pick-and-roll partnership enters together
Amar’e Stoudemire headlines the NBA player contingent. A six-time All-Star and the 2003 Rookie of the Year, Stoudemire averaged 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds across 14 seasons – eight of them in Phoenix as the centerpiece of the Suns’ “Seven Seconds or Less” era. The system built around him was designed by Mike D’Antoni, who joins him in the same class. Grant Hill will present Stoudemire at the ceremony. Their joint induction amounts to a formal acknowledgment of what they created together.
Doc Rivers: 27 seasons, one championship, one Hall career
Doc Rivers spent 27 seasons as an NBA head coach across five franchises and finished with more than 1,180 wins. He reached the NBA Finals twice with the Boston Celtics, winning the 2008 championship with a roster built around Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. His subsequent stops at the Clippers, 76ers and Bucks reinforced his reputation as a coach who builds competitive teams regardless of circumstance. The Hall selection had been anticipated for years.
The women’s game, front and center
Four inductees represent women’s basketball – the largest such contingent in recent memory. Candace Parker, three WNBA championships across three different franchises, enters as one of the most decorated players in league history. Elena Delle Donne and Chamique Holdsclaw join her. And the 1996 USA Women’s National Team, whose gold medal run at the Atlanta Olympics reshaped women’s basketball in America, receives its collective induction as a unit.
Joey Crawford, one of the most recognizable referees in NBA history, and Gonzaga head coach Mark Few round out the class of nine.
When and how to watch
Enshrinement Weekend began Friday with an autograph session at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. Saturday’s red carpet at Symphony Hall opens at 6 p.m. ET, ahead of the 7 p.m. ceremony on NBA TV. Springfield in August: the sport pauses to remember why it matters.
Sources: Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, NBA.com
