Elena Delle Donne’s place in the Basketball Hall of Fame is undeniable. Hailing from Delaware, she is now in strong contention for induction, having been named one of 21 finalists for the 2026 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class, as announced on February 11. Despite facing tough competition, expectations are high for her inclusion. The new inductees will be revealed on April 4, with the formal ceremony scheduled for August 14 at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. The Hall of Fame itself is located in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Delle Donne is among five nominees selected by the women’s committee, alongside notable figures like Jennifer Azzi, Candace Parker, and Chamique Holdsclaw, who was part of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team.
Standing 6-foot-5, Delle Donne was the WNBA MVP in 2015 while playing for the Chicago Sky and led the Washington Mystics to a WNBA championship in 2019. She earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2013, made seven All-Star teams, and was named to the All-WNBA first team four times. In addition, she was honored as one of the 25 players on the WNBA’s 25th Anniversary Team alongside Parker. Her professional career spanned from 2013 to 2023, although she missed the 2020 season and appeared in only three games in 2021.
Delle Donne holds the WNBA record for career free throw accuracy at 93.7%, ranks fifth all-time in points per game with 19.5, and has the highest offensive rating in league history at 123.0. She also won a gold medal with the 2016 U.S. Olympic team.
As a native of the Greenville area and a standout at Wilmington’s Ursuline Academy and the University of Delaware, Delle Donne is the first athlete from Delaware to achieve this kind of recognition. Although Walter Davis, a 2024 Hall of Fame inductee and six-time NBA All-Star, also has ties to Delaware having attended the Sanford School as a graduate student, Delle Donne remains the trailblazer from the state.
In Delaware, Delle Donne is ranked as the greatest athlete in the state’s history in 2022. Her 2,818 career points at Ursuline still hold the state high school record for both boys and girls. She led her high school to four state championships, earned first-team all-state honors five times, and set a national record with 80 consecutive made free throws as a sophomore. She was named the National High School Athlete of the Year in 2008. Although she initially signed with Connecticut, she left after less than 48 hours, citing basketball burnout but later admitting that homesickness and separation from family were the real reasons.
Delle Donne then enrolled at the University of Delaware, where she played volleyball as a freshman on a team that reached the NCAA Tournament, before returning to basketball for the 2009-10 season. She finished her collegiate basketball career as the fifth-leading scorer in NCAA Division I women’s history with 3,039 points, despite missing 22 games due to illness and injury. She was a three-time All-American and led Delaware to Colonial Athletic Association championships in both 2011-12 and 2012-13. During that time, the Blue Hens posted a 42-0 conference record and 63-6 overall, making national Top 25 appearances. In the 2013 NCAA Tournament, Delaware defeated teams like West Virginia and North Carolina before falling to Kentucky in the Sweet 16.
Fan Take: Elena Delle Donne’s potential Hall of Fame induction is a monumental moment for WNBA fans, highlighting the growing respect and recognition for women’s basketball. This honor not only celebrates her extraordinary career but also elevates the visibility of the league, inspiring future generations of female athletes and advancing the sport’s prominence worldwide.
