2026 Basketball Hall Of Fame Rankings

We rank the 2026 Basketball Hall of Fame class from top to bottom and explain what separates true generational impact from great careers with smaller influence. We argue about peak vs longevity, rings vs innovation, and why some legacies grow beyond stats and trophies. 
• 1996 USA Women’s Olympic Team as a turning point for women’s basketball and the WNBA 
• Candace Parker at No 2, versatility, accolades, and cultural impact 
• Elena Delle Donne’s historic scoring efficiency and peak greatness debate 
• Chamique Holdsclaw’s early WNBA stardom and shorter peak 
• Mike D’Antoni’s influence on modern NBA offense despite no championship 
• Doc Rivers’ title, all-time wins, and mixed playoff reputation 
• Mark Few’s Gonzaga program build without a national title 
• Amar’e Stoudemire’s prime impact in the pick and roll era 
• Joey Crawford’s longevity, notoriety, and controversies as an NBA referee 
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Transcript

Setting Up The 2026 Rankings

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up, everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show, get a bucket. I'm your host, Trey, as usual. I hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Look, we're gonna talk about here the 2026 Hall of Fame class. And I'm about to rank them in terms of order. Because it's important. And speaking of importance, we're gonna stop from top and go the way down. So we got nine people on the list, so let's go ahead and bring up number one, which is Candace Parker. Now, if y'all know me, this could be a little biased. I love Candace Parker. Like my Sparks drafted her number one. Even when I was in high school, I put about$20 on her in the Tennessee Valls to end up there and win in about 2008. Wow, that's crazy. High school 2008. But that's what it was. And she did something that D-Rose didn't do for me, and that was win my bet. So I was extremely happy about Candace Parker. But here's the thing, though. So outside of just being biased, right, she's one of the greatest all-around players in WNBA history. She's called the GOAT by some people, and she has a solid case for doing so. Now she's a two-time MVP, three-time champ. If you have a gripe with one of those championships because she didn't play on the team that long, meaning the Las Vegas Aces, I hear you. But she still got a championship. It wasn't during the bubble or nothing like that, so we got to count it, even though she was a part of the team. But we hold that three a little bit different than somebody else, to be clear. But still, two-time MVP, three-time champ. Matter of fact, she won Rookie of the Year and MVP. That's pretty spectacular in 2008. She also has a finals MVP and a D-poy. And they robbed her of an all-defensive selection team, which is crazy to think about how that happens when a D-poy, and this happens in NBA and WNBA, where a D-poy can't make all defensive first team, but that's another discussion for another day. She's helped revolutionize the women's game with versatility. Again, guard skills in a forward body. And she's had a massive cultural impact and visibility for women's basketball. So, end of day, bottom line, she's a transcendent figure who shaped the women's basketball game in terms of modern day play. That you can see a lot of players maybe trying to bring up the ball like her. Like she had a lot of expectations. So again, number one, Candace Parker. She has the accolades, she has the longevity. People want to play like her. So she's number one in this class. Now, number two, this one's kind of controversial for me. Justin Smidge, right? Because I look at some of the other names on this list and I kind of want to put one other at least above him, or maybe even a couple, but I gotta call a spade a spade because Buddy has been quite impactful in terms of basketball, and that's Mike Dantoni. Now, yes, he has not won a championship, but he is the architect of the modern NBA offense. Seven seconds or less. And that has a direct influence on today's pace and space. It's three-point heavy era, and that's what Mike Dantoni stood for. Honestly, you might as well just call him Mike Antoni, because his D his teeth his team had no defense. They had no D. I'm sorry. They really truly did. It was very tough. But they had a lot of offense to boot. And matter of fact, I think he was coach of the year in 05 and then 2017, where he had Steve Nash and James Harden. Both won MVPs, by the way. So again, ladies and gentlemen, and we also have the coaching tree plus stylistic impact that outweighs that lack of championship that I talked about, too, to be clear. So again, has he won a championship?

unknown 3:36

No.

Elena Delle Donne Prime Vs Longevity

Amar’e Stoudemire And Peak Impact

Doc Rivers And Coaching Legacy

1996 Women’s Team And WNBA Launch

Shamika Holdsclaw And Early WNBA Stardom

Mark Few And Building Gonzaga

Joey Crawford And Referee Reputation

Final Tiers And Listener Rankings

SPEAKER_00 3:37

But he has coached two MVPs, has had some very successful seasons, he's gotten as far as conference finals. And I mean, it's fair to say that the West was pretty tough. So again, ladies and gentlemen, for that reason, that level of impact, bottom line, Mike D'Antoni is one of the most influential minds in basketball history. And it goes beyond the wins and the championships or lack thereof. Because it's his impact on how to get how today's game is played. That's what matters. So again, Mike D'Antoni, number two in terms of ranking this 2026 Hall of Fame class. Now, number three, I had to put her number three, but I consider her number two. We got here Elena Deladon, and why is she number three, ladies and gentlemen? Well, to be clear, and I remember seeing Elena Deladon when I went to college, I went to George Mason, right? I saw her at Delaware, where she could have gone anywhere, anywhere in the country. She chose Delaware. And she did quite nicely at Delaware. And she did the exact same thing when she got drafted by the Chicago Sky and then wanted to get traded to go to the Washington Mystics. She's a two-time MVP, a champion in 2019, one of the most efficient scorers ever. And the crazy thing is, I'm not just talking about WNBA. I'm talking about ever. This girl could get a bucket on any aspect of the floor. To be clear. And she was extremely efficient, a 50, 40, 90 caliber type player. Like she redefined what a stretch forward looked like in the WNBA. She had the height of a center, she had the stockiness of a center. The only person, maybe one of two people, that I've had, all right, she could be better or on par with Candace Parker, was Elena Deladon. I said that about Brianna Stewart as well, too, because she had a wonderful track record to start off the gates. But Elena gave me fits sometimes when we're talking about Candace Parker. Again, Candace Parker, very versatile. But getting a bucket, I lean Elena Deladon. Defense, playmaking, I lean Candace Parker. But Elena was such a good player, such a good bucket getter, that it's very tough to put her below Candace Parker. Again, the longevity helps Candace Parker out, but player for player, prime for prime, peak for peak, Elena Deladon, EDD, as some people call her. There's a case where she's higher than Candace Parker. So again, bottom line, end of the day. This is an all-time grade with one of the highest offensive peaks in women's basketball history. And I might say that we'll ever see. Because again, if she had the longevity piece, she's right there with a player like Lauren Jackson, who was a multiple-time champion, multiple-time MVP. I want to say three, if I'm not mistaken. So she might have had three of them things for both of them. But ladies and gentlemen, that's nothing to scoff at. So again, Elena Del Don. Number three. Now, number four, this one's a little tricky. Because I'm looking at this, right? And there's a couple of things, and you can re- honestly, you can reshuffle some of these. You can reshuffle some of these for sure. I'm yeah, I'm looking at my list right now, ladies and gentlemen. And I kind of I want to put some people ahead, but I can't, and I gotta go Amari Stodemeyer, number four of this class, right? Why number four, six-time All-Star? He was a rookie of the year, to be clear. Gave an all NBA season. Like, he was the key piece. Remember how I talked about Mike Dantoni and how he had Steve Nash? Well, to be clear, Amari Stodemeyer was one of those key pieces in that offensive revolution. Like, to be clear, Amari Stodemeyer was actually rivalrying Tim Duncan during their play. Like, I saw Tim, I saw Amari. I said, oh damn. I don't know who's gonna be better than whom. Now, I'm talking if we're talking about long-term, obviously Timmy. But in that peak, during that period of time, that instance, I had no clue. Again, Amari Stodemeyer had no MVPs, no championships. That slightly hurts his legacy. But he's one of the most dominant pick and roll finishers ever in the game. Extremely athletic. He was, and bottom line, he was an elite star during his era, during his pace, during his play, and he was central to an offensive evolution that now takes place amongst most NBA teams. So Amari Steinmeier, when we're talking about production as well as impact, I think a lot of teams are trying to find an Amari Steinmeier. I really truly do. And that's very hard to find. A big who like him could be dominant in pick and roll, while be a quality rim protector, battling up against quality bigs like a Tim Duncan. Yeah, you're not gonna find that too often. So again, Amari Stardemeyer, while he might not have the same level of MVPs and championships as other players have, he matters. So we got to give it to Amari Startmeyer. Now, number five, we got to look at someone like Doc Rivers. Now, he is the NBA champion head coach with the 2008 Celtics. He did what he was supposed to do. And to be clear, alright, he almost was a two-time head coach, a two-time champion head coach. And he's had a basketball career on top of that, too. Top 10 all-time in wins, and he's known for his leadership and longevity. Now, I hear some of the gripes that people have with, oh, he's had 3-1 leads blown, multiples. I get that. And maybe that's the reason why we don't put him much higher. But even with that mixed playoff reputation, end of day bottom line, the longevity plus the title that he did get and his own individual play, they are strong. I can't say it's transformative in terms of him as a coach, in terms of how he's impacted the game, but he has a strong legacy. And I think other coaches wouldn't be mad at having his legacy minus the 3-1 comebacks that hit that he let the opponents have. But again, Doc Rivers, number five. I can't be too, too mad at that. But then again, I can sometimes, because also I'm thinking about it. Again, then the next one, number six, the 1996 United States Women's Olympic basketball team. They were a gold medal team that helped launch the MBW NBA's era. Now, this is a massive cultural importance for women's basketball. So I could possibly have moved that up a little bit. I could have. So again, when I'm talking about the 1996 United States Women's Olympic basketball team, you gotta give that team some recognition, not individual greatness ranking, but bottom line, and end of the day, this is a historically important team. Like the fact that it in it it it helped launch the WNBA's era. So that is kind of important. I I can't hold her. And I I do kind of wonder am I shortchanging them a little bit? Maybe if Doc didn't win his championship, maybe I lowered that a little bit. But again, I'm telling y'all, 1996 United States Women's Olympic basketball team. It's important. Now let's move on down to the to the number seven, right? We got Shamika Holescal. Holdscal, I'm sorry. Oh my gosh. My bad, Shamika. Now, one of the early WNBA stars, right? She got rookie of the year, multiple all-stars. She had a dominant college career at Tennessee, to be clear. One of the best players that the WNBA has had. All right. The only thing that diminishes her a little bit is she had a shorter peak and, well, less sustained dominance than Candace Parker and Elena Deledon. And maybe could we say the same thing about an Amari Staldermeyer? Possibly, because again, I think Shemika Holtskla, Shemika Holdsklaw might have been a little bit more dominant than Amari Stalemeyer. But again, people are trying to find Amari Stodemeyer. They're trying to find the Shemika as well, too. Don't get me wrong. But that peak, that shortness of her peak does drop her a little bit. She played, she had a longer peak. All right, maybe we talk about her in a larger light. And again, she's one of the best WBA players that we've seen, to be clear. She's a pioneer level impact end of day bottom line. But she's not a top tier all-time when it comes to players. Again, Elena Deladon might not be a top tier all-time either. All right, but her dominance reigned a little bit longer than the Shamika Holdskull did. And I just got to call a spade a spade, okay? So again, ladies and gentlemen, I got Shamika Holdskull at number seven. Now, number eight, we got to talk about Mark Few. Now, to be clear, Mark Few has spent a few seasons at Gonzaga. He's built up that Gonzaga program into a national powerhouse, all right? They had 20 plus straight NCAA tournament appearances and multiple title game appearances as well, too. So, I mean, did he get a national championship? No. Not right now. But could he, though? Maybe. So, bottom line, end of the day, he's an elite program builder, but not historically transformative, meaning he didn't win no championships. If you won a championship, maybe we bring him up a little bit higher. But hey, since he didn't, you know, we can't cry over spilt milk. But again, Mark Few has done a pretty good job. He's also had some players that could get a bucket on his team for sure. So again, in recruiting, building up that program, Gonzaga's been pretty good, was pretty good over the last for quite a few seasons, actually. For quite a few seasons. So shout out to Mark Few for making Gonzaga be relevant at minimum over a couple few seasons for sure. Now, number nine, and this is the last one, this is the last person I'm gonna talk about, Joey Crawford. Now, Joey, Joey could be a little controversial. I'm not gonna lie to y'all, okay. Joey could be a little controversial. Off top, he has officiated 2,500 plus games. That's like that's not bad. Alright, that's that that's a lot, dang. That's a lot of games the whole time. NBA games, by the way, and he's officiated in 50 finals games. Alright? Now I think some things that we gotta note, Joey Crawford, right? He was suspended at one point in time by Commissioner David Stern, and he missed the playoffs and the regular season. He's suspended, he, he, he, he's had one of the major incidents he had was between in 2007 where he gave Tim Duncan a second technical foul for laughing while sitting on the bench. Tim Duncan was sitting on the bench. Okay? So I hear you. There's some question marks around Joey Crawford at times, but he is one of the most recognizable referees ever in the history of the game. Like, the biggest incident that we might have had was between him and and and and and Tim Duncan. And if I'm missing something, I apologize for being wrong. Well, I guess now that I think about it, he was one of eight NBA referees that were like, I guess, implicated in a scheme to sell first-class airline tickets provided by the league. He pled guilty to federal tax fraud. So I mean, you know, I I hear some gripes about him. I hear some gripes about him. He did get reinstated, to be clear. So is his legacy tarnished a little bit? Yeah. It's a little bit tarnished. Justice Smidge. But again, ladies and gentlemen, there were easily some other referees that were worse. So again, when we talk about impact, legacy, length of time in terms of how long he was officiating, Joey Crawford is right up there. And again, one of the more recognizable referees. So again, end of day bottom line. Hall of Fame worthy longevity, limited influence versus players and coaches, but still impactful nonetheless. So, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I've given y'all my listing. And I ain't gonna lie to you, I still kind of have some gripes over my own listing too. Again, Candace Parker number one, Mike Dantoni, number two, Elena Delanar, number three, Amari Stottermeyer, number four, Doc Rivers, number five, the 1996 United States Women's Olympic basketball team, number six, Shamika Holtsklaw, number seven, Mark Fume, number eight, and Joey Crawford, number nine. Like the first three, we gotta talk about generational impact on how basketball is played today. That's Candace Parker, Dan Tony, and EDD. That middle tier, the four and five, they had high-level NBA success without redefining the sport, but again, high-level impact, right, to their sport. And then the lower tier, well, they were important contributors, but to be clear, more of a niche or collective impact, not necessarily the dominant forces that we've seen these other people do, right? So again, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, when I'm looking at these wonderful people that have coached, that have played, right? You gotta give, you gotta give their, you gotta give their props, you gotta give their props. Like they they have they have done quite a wonderful, what wonderful service to the basketball community. And I tip my cap to each and every one of them. Because without them, I don't know how the game of basketball might be viewed nowadays. It might be a little different. So I tip my cap to this 2026 Hall of Fame class. And I actually may look back to see how I ranked this class in comparison to other classes. But ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude the end of the episode. And it makes me question where do you guys have won these nine people, players, refs, coaches, ranked within the 2026 Hall of Fame class? And then also, if you got it, where do you rank the 2026 Hall of Fame class Hall of Fame class in comparison to the other Hall of Fame classes? I'm definitely curious your thoughts. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get a Bucket. I hope you are all having a good one. Take care.