The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced its selection of finalists on Wednesday for its Class of 2026, including former Dallas Mavericks head coach Dick Motta.
During his NBA career, Motta coached five franchises – the Mavericks, Washington Bullets, Chicago Bulls, Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets. He ranks ninth in league history in regular-season games coached and 14th in wins.
Motta had coaching success at all levels of the game – starting at the junior college level in 1954. Motta went on to be named NBA Coach of the Year in 1971 and led the Bullets to the 1978 NBA championship.
He received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award from the NBA Coaches Association in 2015 and was inducted into the Big Sky Conference Hall of Fame in 2024.
Mavericks
Other finalists this year with local ties include six-time NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire, who appeared in 23 career games with the Mavericks in 2015. Former Oklahoma Sooners player Blake Griffin and coach Kelvin Sampson are also among the finalists.
This year’s group was selected from the following committees: North American, Women’s, Men’s Veterans, Women’s Veterans, International, and Contributors.
Up next, the finalists will then be put forward to the Honors Committee to be considered for election as members of the Class of 2026. The new class will be announced on Saturday, April 4, in a live broadcast on ESPN2 at 11:00 a.m. during Final Four weekend.
2026 HOF finalists
North American Committee Finalists (in alphabetical order):
Joey Crawford [Referee]
Mark Few [Coach]
Blake Griffin [Player]
Kevin Johnson [Player]
Gary McKnight [Coach]
Dick Motta [Coach]
Doc Rivers [Coach]
Kelvin Sampson [Coach]
Amar’e Stoudemire [Player]
Jerry Welsh [Coach]
Buck Williams [Player]
Women’s Committee Finalists:
1996 United States Women’s National Team
Jennifer Azzi [Player]
Elena Delle Donne [Player]
Chamique Holdsclaw [Player]
Candace Parker [Player]
Women’s Veterans Committee Finalist:
Molly Bolin-Kazmer [Player]
International Committee Finalist:
Dušan Ivković [Coach]
Contributors Committee Finalists:
Tal Brody
Mike D’Antoni
Veterans Committee Finalists:
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