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What to Know About Women’s Basketball Today
1. A Trailblazing Class Enters the Hall 🫡
Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne, Chamique Holdsclaw, and the 1996 U.S. Women’s National Team were inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame over the weekend in Springfield, Massachusetts. (ESPN)
🎥 Watch enshrinement speeches from Parker’s, Delle Donne’s, Holdsclaw’s and the 1996 U.S. Team
WHY IT MATTERS: This is one of the most recognizable women’s classes the Hall has welcomed, with players and a team that helped bring women’s basketball to a much bigger audience. The 1996 U.S. team helped set the stage for the WNBA’s launch and began a run of Olympic dominance that has now reached eight straight gold medals.
🗳️ Did you watch the 1996 U.S. Olympic team play?
2. Sun Eliminated From Playoff Contention 🚫
The Connecticut Sun have officially been eliminated from the 2026 WNBA playoffs. Connecticut’s loss to the New York Liberty on Saturday dropped the Sun to 8-25 and mathematically ended their postseason hopes. (Bleacher Report)
WHY IT MATTERS: This is the second straight year Connecticut will miss the playoffs after making eight consecutive postseason appearances from 2017 through 2024. This one carries extra weight because it’s also the franchise’s final season in Connecticut before moving to Houston next year. With the playoffs now out of reach, only a handful of games remain in the Connecticut Sun era.
3. Unrivaled Introduces Its Class of 2026 🌴
Unrivaled has unveiled the nine college standouts in its “Future is Unrivaled” Class of 2026: KK Arnold, Madison Booker, Jaloni Cambridge, Joyce Edwards, Hannah Hidalgo, Olivia Olson, Sarah Strong, Jada Williams, and Mikaylah Williams. (Unrivaled)
WHY IT MATTERS: This is the third year of Unrivaled’s program for top college talent. The players went to Miami over the weekend for a multi-day summit where they could build relationships and get an early introduction to the Unrivaled ecosystem. Previous classes have included Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd.
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OVERTIME ⏱️
Big Claws: LSU has signed 17-year-old Russian center Anna Minaeva for the 2026-27 season. The 6-foot-5 prospect averaged 15.1 points and 13.7 rebounds in Russia’s second-tier Superleague.
From Belarus to L.A.: Belarusian guard Alesia Talkouskaya has committed to USC for 2026-27 after averaging 9.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals for Horizont Minsk last season.
No. 3 Forever: Diana Taurasi’s No. 3 is officially retired in Phoenix. The Mercury honored Taurasi during Sunday night’s game as she became the sixth member of the franchise’s Ring of Honor.
🗳️ Poll Results from Friday: We asked which of Diana Taurasi’s career numbers impressed you most, and more than 75% of you picked her 10,646 career points over her three WNBA championships with the Phoenix Mercury.
