Last week, WNBA legend Candace Parker took her rightful place in basketball immortality. The three-time WNBA champion is the only player in WNBA history to win league MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a part of the 2026 Class. An honor she called ‘Super Special.”
When speaking about going in with basketball greats such as 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.
Packer also went in and looked up to WNBA legend Chamique Holdsclaw and the 1996 U.S. Olympic women’s team.
“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 of the 96 team.
WNBA Champion and former league MVP Elena Delle Donne is also a part of the 2026 Class.
“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 is also the only player in WNBA history to win a championship with three different franchises
Recently, Atlanta Hawks guard and NBA Players Association President CJ McCollum spoke with LandonBuford.com about Parker being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
“Happy to see Candace, one of my favorite basketball players of all time. Seeing her become a Hall of Famer is well deserved,” said McCollum.
“From her days in Tennessee on to the league, she’s been great, impactful, and obviously transitioning well off the court as well.”
In a 2018 interview with Slam Magazine, McCollum spoke about Parker’s ability to get to the basket when asked who is the best to wear the number three.
” I’ll give two NBA and two WNBA. For me, one is Allen Iverson. I had braids, crossover, everything—so I emulated my playing style and my swagger on the court after A.I. D-Wade is another one who was influential in me wearing No. 3 with how he attacked the basket and was fearless. Going to Marquette he was under the radar…WNBA [is] Diana Taurasi. I’m a fan of her game—always got buckets, poised, big shot, controls the offense [and] was a winner in college. Candace Parker is a very talented athlete. She can get to the cup, has post moves, point-forward.”
This season, McCollum is averaging 18.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game in 76 games.
Over her 15-year career in the WNBA, Parker was a seven-time All-Star, won a Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2020, and averaged 16.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game in 410 career games.