Blake Griffin, Candace Parker, Jamal Crawford, 1996 U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team standout Bruce Pearl and Kelvin Sampson were among the first-time nominees announced Friday, and will be considered for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame next year.
Notable first-time nominees also included: Elena Delle Donne and Joe Johnson as players, and Mike D’Antoni as a contributor.
About 200 players and teams were present List unveiled by Hall ESPN’s NBA Live show also featured some finalists who missed out on a spot in the 2025 class, including Jennifer Azzi, who was a member of the 1996 U.S. women’s team that won gold at the Atlanta Games. Aziz is nominated again this year as an individual.
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame President and CEO John L. “Each candidate for the Class of 2026 has made a lasting impact on the game of basketball,” Doleva said. “Through defining performances, influential leadership and achievements that helped elevate the game to the national and international stage, this year’s voting recognizes those whose legacies shape the way the game is played, coached and celebrated.”
The finalists are usually announced at NBA All-Star weekend in February. The 2026 class will be unveiled at the NCAA Final Four on April 4, with induction weekend taking place on August 14 and 15 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, and Symphony Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Other finalists from a year ago who are 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 to 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 well as former Serbian professional player and longtime coach Dusan Ivkovic, already a FIBA Hall of Famer.
Doc Rivers, the only NBA coach with over 1,000 wins who is not yet in the Hall of Fame, is again nominated, as are Amar’e Stoudemire and legendary broadcaster Marv Albert.
Some of the teams that will also be considered include the 1936, 1972 and 1976 U.S. Olympic men’s teams; the 1982 Cheyney State team, coached by C. Vivian Stringer, which lost to Louisiana Tech in the inaugural NCAA Division I women’s national championship game; Kentucky Wesleyan men’s teams that won three Division II national titles over a four-year period 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 four black starters.
