WNBA icons Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne named to Basketball Hall of Fame
Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne will be enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in August, per reports. The post WNBA icons Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne named to Basketball Hall of Fame appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Out LGBTQ WNBA legends Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne will take their rightful places in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame later this year.
According to an ESPN report, Parker and Delle Donne will be part of the institution’s Class of 2026 alongside 14-year NBA veteran Amar’e Stoudemire and current Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers. A CBS Sports report added longtime Gonzaga head coach Mark Few to the list.
Parker and Delle Donne headlined the list of finalists released earlier this year that also featured out three-time NCAA champion and six-time WNBA All-Star Chamique Holdsclaw.
Parker’s enshrinement comes after a dominant basketball career at all levels of the game. After winning multiple national player of the year awards and the dunk contest at the McDonald’s All-American Game in high school, Parker became a force under Pat Summit at the University of Tennessee.
Related
Candace Parker is first out LGBTQ analyst to call men’s March Madness game
Parker made the jump to the broadcast booth after working as a studio analyst for the men’s March Madness tournament since 2019.
Get off the sidelines and into the game
Our weekly playbook is packed with everything from locker room chatter to pressing LGBTQ sports issues.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today
She won two NCAA championships and multiple national player of the year honors during her time as a Volunteer. Parker parlayed that success into a record-setting pro career in the WNBA and abroad.
The Naperville, IL native remains the only WNBA player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season and the only player to win WNBA championships with three separate teams (Los Angeles Sparks, Chicago Sky and Las Vegas Aces).
Parker also boasts five Russian National League championships and a EuroLeague title with UMMC Ekaterinburg.
Delle Donne was recognized as an All-American multiple times during her high school and college careers before becoming the centerpiece of the Chicago Sky, winning Rookie of the Year in 2013 and leading the team to its first WNBA finals in 2014.
The two-time WNBA MVP became a WNBA champion in 2019 with the Washington Mystics, the same season in which she became the first WNBA player to join the 50-40-90 club, hitting 52% from the field, 43% from three-point range and 97% from the free throw line during the regular season.
Both women also claimed Olympic gold and were named to the W25 team, celebrating the top 25 players in WNBA history, in 2021.
The full list of the Class of 2026 will be announced on April 4, and Parker, Delle Donne and other honorees will be officially inducted in August.
Subscribe to the Outsports newsletter to keep up with your favorite out athletes, inspiring LGBTQ sports stories, and more.
The post WNBA icons Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne named to Basketball Hall of Fame appeared first on Outsports.
