SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) 鈥� Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne both used their Hall of Fame speeches to serve as a love letter to basketball.
The sport has given so much to them, culminating with enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday night.
Parker carried a ball up to the podium for her speech that also included the 1996 U.S. Olympic women鈥檚 basketball team, Chamique Holdsclaw, NBA player Amar鈥檈 Stoudemire, longtime , NBA coaches and Mike D鈥橝ntoni, and Gonzaga coach Mark Few.
鈥淚t felt weird to walk on the stage without the reason I鈥檓 here today,’ Parker said, talking to the ball. 鈥漌e did a lot together: dunk on UConn at UConn, shimmied over our right shoulder and hit that sick fadeway, had our own signature shoe, first woman to grace the cover of NBA2K. … We stand on this podium as first-ballot Hall of Famers.”
Parker, who won three WNBA titles, two MVPs, a pair of championships at Tennessee and two Olympic gold medals, then broke down while closing her speech, saying that 鈥渨e were meant to be a love story that began 27 years ago.鈥�
Delle Donne also used her speech as a love letter to the game with all the ups and downs she faced in her career. But she always kept life in perspective, thanks to her older sister Lizzie, who is blind and deaf.
鈥淪he never played in front of thousands of people, never had a standing ovation. never been interviewed after a big win. Yet I鈥檝e never met anyone stronger,鈥� Delle Donne said, choking up. 鈥淭hank you all for keeping me going.鈥�
Delle Donne won MVP awards in 2015 and 2019, the second of which came when she led the Washington Mystics to their lone WNBA championship. Delle Donne became the first player in league history to shoot more than 50% from the field, 40% from behind the 3-point line and 90% from the free-throw line.
She started off her speech giving a shoutout to actor Larry David, who was in the audience. She told him that she hoped her speech was 鈥減retty, pretty, pretty good.鈥� using David’s signature line. Delle Donne was introduced to him before the ceremony by Rivers.
Rivers, who won 1,194 regular-season games as an NBA coach, which is the sixth most in league history. He was emotional while talking about his brother Grady, who inspired him to be a better player.
Holdsclaw thanked all of her former teammates and coaches in her acceptance speech. She was best known for helping Tennessee win three straight titles from 1996-98, the first team to accomplish that, under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt.
Summitt died in 2016 following a battle with Alzheimer鈥檚.
鈥淥ne person that I wish was here as my presenter was my demanding and wonderfully supporting college coach, Pat Summitt,鈥� Holdsclaw said. 鈥淭he one and only. coach Summitt allowed me to grow as a player and person. I miss her dearly.鈥�
Holdsclaw鈥檚 1998 team was Tennessee鈥檚 first undefeated season at 39鈥�0 and the Lady Vols also set an NCAA record for the most wins in a season at that time. Holdsclaw went on to have an 11-year WNBA career.
She also thanked the 1996 Olympic team, saying she had posters of their players on her wall when she was in high school.
That team helped start the Americans鈥� 30-year Olympic dominance that has seen the U.S. win eight straight gold medals.
Few has been Gonzaga鈥檚 coach since 1999 and has led the team to the NCAA Tournament every year. He鈥檚 won numerous West Coast Conference championships and reached the NCAA title game twice.
鈥淲hat a crazy, surreal moment for me,鈥� Few said. 鈥淭he town I grew up in had a population of 1,500 people and had one stoplight. To be standing where I am today is absolutely mind boggling.鈥�
Crawford officiated more than 2,500 regular-season games in the NBA, nearly 400 more in the postseason and 50 of those were in the NBA Finals during his 39-year career. He said he first dreamed of officiating in the NBA when he was a teenager and did everything he could to make that possible.
D鈥橝ntoni really came into his own as a player and coach in Italy before he returned to the NBA. He developed a fast-paced style with the Phoenix Suns led by fellow inductee Stoudemire.
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AP Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg contributed to this story.
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