Amar’e Stoudemire Among 2026 Hall Of Fame Class
Confirming a Monday report that indicated Doc Rivers will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link) adds a few more names to the class of 2026, reporting that Amar’e Stoudemire, Candace Parker, and Elena Delle Donne are also headed to the Hall of Fame.
Stoudemire, who was in his second year of Hall of Fame eligibility, played in the NBA for 14 seasons from 2002-16. He appeared in 846 regular season games for the Suns, Knicks, Mavericks, and Heat, averaging 18.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 31.0 minutes per contest.
A dynamic, athletic power forward, Stoudemire was the Rookie of the Year in 2003 and enjoyed his best years in Phoenix, making five All-Star games as a Sun and earning MVP votes in four separate seasons. Led by Stoudemire, Steve Nash, and Shawn Marion and coached by Mike D’Antoni, those Suns teams of the 2000s featured an explosive, fast-paced offense that was a precursor in many ways to the modern game, though the club never advanced past the Western Conference finals.
Stoudemire moved onto the Knicks in 2010 and had one more All-Star season in New York before health issues began to slow him down and his production tailed off. He finished his playing career with six All-Star berths and five All-NBA nods (one first team and four second team). His No. 32 jersey was later retired by the Suns.
Parker, who will turn 40 in April, was a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player who won three titles. Although the former No. 1 overall pick spent most of her 16 years in the league with the Los Angeles Sparks, she had brief stints the Chicago Sky and Las Vegas Aces near the end of her career and won championships with all three teams.
Parker was a seven-time All-Star who made 10 All-WNBA teams and ranks 10th on the league’s all-time scoring list, as well as third in total career rebounds and fifth in blocked shots. She currently works as a broadcaster for Amazon Prime Video.
Delle Donne is another two-time WNBA MVP and seven-time All-Star. The former wing was the second overall pick in the 2013 draft and spent a total of 10 seasons with the Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics, winning a championship with the Mystics in 2019.
That ’19 season was one of Delle Donne’s two MVP campaigns. She became the first WNBA player to achieve a 50/40/90 shooting season that year, posting an incredible shooting line of .515/.430/.974. Her 93.7% career free throw percentage ranks first all-time among WNBA players.
The full 2016 Hall of Fame class, featuring Stoudemire, Parker, Delle Donne, and Rivers, will be formally announced this Saturday, April 4.
Tom Dundon Officially Buys Blazers After NBA Approves Deal
March 31: Dundon’s group has formally closed on its purchase of majority control of the Blazers, the team confirmed today in a press release.
“Today is the beginning of a new chapter for the Portland Trail Blazers, as we build on the legacy of this storied franchise,” Dundon said in a statement. “On behalf of our ownership group, my commitment to this tremendous fan base is that we are going to be relentless towards building a team that can compete at the highest level, every single season.”
In addition to confirming that Zahr, Tyle, Middleman, and Andrew Cherng are part of the new ownership group and will be alternative governors, the Blazers announced that Richard Chaifetz, Marc Grandisson, Nayel Nassar and Jennifer Gates, Taavet Hinrikus, and Dan Zilberman are also among the investors in the team. Jennifer Gates is the daughter of Bill Gates (Nassar is her husband).
March 30: The NBA’s Board of Governors has approved the sale of the Trail Blazers to a group spearheaded by Tom Dundon, who also owns the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, reports Jason Quick of The Athletic.
The vote was unanimous, a league source told Quick.
The NBA put out a brief statement confirming the news (Twitter link).
Sportico reported back in August that Dundon’s group had reached a tentative agreement to purchase the Trail Blazers in two separate payments at a blended valuation of about $4.25 billion.
As Quick details, Dundon’s group will buy 80.1 percent of the team at a $4 billion valuation on Tuesday, March 31. The remaining 19.9 percent will be purchased at a $4.5 billion valuation and must close by Sept. 1, 2028.
After the first payment is made – but before the second – current Blazers chairman Bert Kolde will be able to passively observe board meetings, though he won’t have any input on decisions, per Quick.
The Trail Blazers announced their plans to sell the franchise back in May. Paul Allen, the longtime Blazers owner who purchased the franchise for $70MM in 1988, passed away on October 15, 2018, resulting in control of the team being transferred to his sister Jody Allen, the trustee and executor of his estate.
All estate proceeds as a result of the Blazers sale will be directed toward philanthropy, per Paul Allen’s wishes.
In addition to owning the NHL’s Hurricanes, Dundon has invested heavily in pickleball — he’s the majority owner of the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball. Dundon, who is also the chairman and managing partner of the Dallas-based investment firm Dundon Capital Partners, will serve as the Blazers’ new governor.
According to Quick, other investors in the new ownership group include Blue Owl Capital co-president Marc Zahr, Collective Global co-CEO Sheel Tyle, the Cherng family (owners of Panda Express), and Freedom Mortgage CEO Stanley Middleman, who owns part of the MLB’s Philadelphia Phillies.
NBA Announces Finalists For Sportsmanship, Teammate Of The Year Awards
The NBA announced the 2025/26 finalists for a pair of awards on Tuesday, naming the six players who are eligible to win the Sportsmanship Award for this season, as well as the 12 players who are in the running to be named Teammate of the Year.
The Sportsmanship Award honors the player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” per the NBA. Each of the league’s 30 teams nominates one of its players for the award, then a panel of league executives narrows that group to six finalists (one from each division) and current players voted for the winner.
The trophy for the Sportsmanship Award is named after Joe Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame guard who won the inaugural award back in ’95/96. This season’s finalists are as follows (via Twitter):
Bam Adebayo (Heat)- Harrison Barnes (Spurs)
- Al Horford (Warriors)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
- T.J. McConnell (Pacers)
- Derrick White (Celtics)
Gilgeous-Alexander is the only one of this year’s finalists for the Sportsmanship Award who was also nominated last season. Whoever earns the honor for 2025/26 will be a first-time winner. Jrue Holiday took home the Joe Dumars Trophy a year ago.
Meanwhile, the NBA also announced its finalists for the Teammate of the Year award for 2025/26. According to the league, the player selected for the honor is “deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.”
The voting process is similar to the Sportsmanship Award — a panel of league executives selects 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award, then current players vote on the winner.
Holiday is a three-time Teammate of the Year, having earned the honor in 2020, 2022, and 2023. He’s the only past recipient who is among this season’s group of finalists.
Those Teammate of the Year finalists are as follows (via Twitter):
- Desmond Bane (Magic)
- Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
- Pat Connaughton (Hornets)
- De’Aaron Fox (Spurs)
- Jeff Green (Rockets)
- Jrue Holiday (Trail Blazers)
- DeAndre Jordan (Pelicans)
- Duncan Robinson (Pistons)
- Marcus Smart (Lakers)
- Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
- Garrett Temple (Raptors)
- Jaylin Williams (Thunder)
Injury Notes: Giannis, Wagner, Smart, Melton
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said on Sunday that there’s still a chance star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (left knee hyperextension; bone bruise) will be cleared to return before the end of the regular season on April 12, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
However, teammate Bobby Portis is skeptical that will happen. The veteran Bucks forward/center stated during a recent appearance on FanDuel TV (Facebook video link) that he doesn’t think it makes sense for the two-time MVP to come back at this point, with the team having been eliminated from postseason contention.
“I don’t think he’ll play another game this year, for sure,” Portis said (hat tip to Nehm). “Obviously, he’ll stay in the gym and keep his body tight and keep his game tight. But playing a game on court, I don’t think that’s in the picture at all.”
Reports earlier this month indicated that the Bucks wanted to shut Antetokounmpo down for the season and that he was resisting that plan and pushing to return to action. However, Portis made it clear that he understands why the club would be motivated to keep his superstar teammate off the floor during the final couple weeks of 2025/26, even if he recovers from his knee injury.
“If y’all talking about trading him, you don’t want any injury to knock value off or whatever,” Portis said. “That’s just business-wise, and then player-wise, obviously, you gotta look at just the total picture of what’s going on. We’re (9.5) games behind for the 10th seed and (with eight) games left, we can’t even make up ground.”
We have more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- Magic forward Franz Wagner is “progressing well” as he looks to make it back from a high ankle sprain for the final stretch of the season, head coach Jamahl Mosley said on Tuesday (Twitter link via Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel). Wagner has done some 5-on-5 work, according to Mosley, who said the team will see how the 24-year-old responds to today’s treatment before determining next steps. It sounds like Wagner’s return may not be far off. He has played just four times since December 7, having experienced multiple setbacks related to his ankle.
- Lakers guard Marcus Smart missed a fourth consecutive game on Monday due to a right ankle contusion, but there’s no expectation the injury should result in a long-term absence. Head coach JJ Redick said Smart remains “day-to-day” in his recovery process and potential return, per NBA reporter Mark Medina (Twitter link).
- Although De’Anthony Melton has appeared in – and started – seven of the Warriors‘ past eight games, the veteran guard isn’t at 100%, as head coach Steve Kerr explained to reporters after Melton went scoreless in 25 minutes of action in a loss to Denver on Sunday. “He’s banged up,” Kerr said, per Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. “His thumb is really bothering him, and I think he’s pressing a little bit. … De’Anthony will bounce back. He’s had a great season. His last couple games have been tough, but he’s banged up. We’ll help him get right. I have total faith in his ability to bounce back.”
Virginia Hires Malcolm Brogdon As Strategic Advisor
Former NBA guard Malcolm Brogdon has accepted a position at his alma mater, the University of Virginia. The school announced today in a press release that Brogdon will serve as a strategic advisor for Virginia’s men’s basketball program.
Head coach Ryan Odom made the announcement, stating that the team is “thrilled” to welcome back the former All-American and ACC Player of the Year in the newly created role.
“I am honored to be a part of this new era of UVA basketball,” Brogdon said. “I know this is a new role, but I see myself jumping right in and being a resource for the players, coaches, and the entire basketball program. I’m excited to return to a place I consider home in what I’m sure will be a meaningful experience for myself and the program.”
It has become increasingly common in the past year or two for NBA players to accept jobs with their former colleges. For instance, Stephen Curry was named the assistant GM at Davidson, Trae Young became the assistant GM at Oklahoma, Terance Mann joined Florida State as the Seminoles’ assistant GM, and Patty Mills was hired by the University of Hawai’i as their GM.
In most of those cases, the players’ new roles represented part-time positions, since they continue competing in the NBA or in Europe. However, that’s not the case for Brogdon, who announced his retirement as a player last October after spending training camp and the preseason with the Knicks. While it remains to be seen just how hands-on and full-time his new job will be, he should have plenty of time to dedicate to it.
A four-year standout at Virginia, Brogdon was a consensus second-team All-American in 2015 and a consensus first-teamer in 2016. He was named the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year in both seasons and earned the conference’s Player of the Year award in 2016. His jersey (No. 15) was later retired by the Cavaliers.
Brogdon fell to the second round of the 2016 draft (No. 36 overall) due to medical red flags, but was the NBA’s Rookie of the Year in 2017 with the Bucks and won a Sixth Man of the Year award with the Celtics in 2023. The veteran guard, who turned 33 in December, spent three seasons in Milwaukee and three in Indiana before playing one year apiece in Boston, Portland, and Washington.
A reliable contributor on both ends of the court who battled injuries over the course of a nine-year NBA career, Brogdon had averages of 15.3 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.1 rebounds in 29.1 minutes per game across 463 total regular season outings, with a shooting line of .463/.388/.874. He also served as a vice president on the NBPA’s executive committee from 2019-25.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Northwest Division
For the rest of the regular season and postseason, Hoops Rumors is taking a closer look at players who will be free agents - or could become free agents - during the 2026 offseason. We'll consider whether each player's stock is rising or falling due to his performance and several other factors.
Today, we’re focusing on a handful of players in the Northwest Division, starting with the defending champions.
Southwest Notes: Marshall, Mavs, Middleton, Coward, Eason
Although the Mavericks have been eliminated from postseason contention, the final stretch of the season remains important for several players looking to secure their next contracts. As Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal details, forward Naji Marshall falls into that group — he has earned praise recently from head coach Jason Kidd as he looks to put the finishing touches on a career year before he becomes extension-eligible this offseason.
Marshall’s scoring average of 15.5 points per game would be a new career high, as would his field goal percentage of 51.6%. The 28-year-old wing has also contributed 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per night through 71 appearances and has played 2,108 total minutes, second on the roster only to Cooper Flagg (2,132).
As of July 6, Marshall will become eligible for a contract extension that could cover up to four years and could be worth up to 140% of the league’s estimated average salary. That figure won’t be officially set until the start of the new league year, but based on early projections, Marshall would be eligible for a maximum of roughly $92MM on a four-year extension.
We have more from around the Southwest:
- The Mavericks haven’t hired a search firm to assist or guide them in their search for a new permanent head of basketball operations, league sources tell Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link). The expectation is that Dallas will name Nico Harrison‘s full-time replacement sometime between the end of the regular season and June’s draft, with current co-interim GMs Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi among the candidates. According to Stein, regardless of who ultimately gets the job, there appears to be growing interest throughout the organization in retaining veteran forward Khris Middleton beyond this season.
- It has been a pretty forgettable year in Memphis, where the 25-50 Grizzlies have been decimated by injuries and traded away former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. at February’s deadline. But the development of 2025 lottery pick Cedric Coward has been a silver lining, according to Jonah Dylan of The Memphis Commercial Appeal, who notes that the rookie forward has taken on more of a primary offensive role due to the club’s health issues. “Right now, when you look at our roster, he’s a featured guy and teams may put a lot more emphasis on stopping him,” head coach Tuomas Iisalo said after Coward scored 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting in a Saturday win over Chicago. “And I think he’s done a great job letting the game come to him.”
- After struggling mightily for several weeks, Rockets forward Tari Eason scored 16 points on Friday and 15 on Sunday, marking his two highest-scoring performances since the All-Star break. As William Guillory of The Athletic writes, Eason credited his breakthrough to a Thursday meeting in which his teammates made a point to emphasize his importance to the team’s identity. “It felt like it was pretty centered around me,” Eason said of that meeting. “It wasn’t directly pointing at me negatively. It was more so positive. It was more so affirmations. It was more so everybody kind of trying to lift me up. … Everybody just being there for me and embracing me was important.” Eason will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
Masai Ujiri Joins Toronto Tempo Ownership Group, Eyes Potential NBA Return
Longtime NBA front office executive Masai Ujiri has joined the ownership group of the Toronto Tempo, the WNBA expansion team announced today (via Twitter), referring to the former Raptors president as a “principal owner.”
“I think women’s sports is growing in an incredible way,” Ujiri told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “You see it in the WNBA, in soccer, in hockey, and to bring a brand like this for the first time to a city that I know, a beautiful city that’s passionate, that I believe in — I think this will really resonate. Ownership is a unique opportunity for me and my family.”
Ujiri, who was hired to run the Raptors’ front office in the spring of 2013, remained in that role until last summer, when the team abruptly parted ways with him in late June, just ahead of the free agent period. Changes within the Raptors’ ownership group were cited as one key reason for the split; the club had also missed the playoffs in four of the past five seasons at the time of Ujiri’s exit.
According to Shelburne, Ujiri has spent the past year spending more time with his family and focusing on non-NBA pursuits, including his work with Giants of Africa, the United Nations, and the Zaria Group, a development company aiming to build sports and entertainment infrastructure in Africa.
However, that doesn’t mean the NBA has been completely off Ujiri’s radar. As Shelburne details, the veteran executive has remained in touch with several coaches, execs, and owners from around the league, as well as former Raptors players, and remains open to the idea of returning to the NBA if the right opportunity arises.
“I’ve been learning more about our game, the NBA, looking at trends and what we might be missing by studying other leagues,” Ujiri told ESPN. “I spend a lot of my time trying to do that because one of my main goals is to win another championship. I want to win with the Tempo and I want to win another NBA championship because I wasn’t able to celebrate and be happy because of that police incident that happened to me. … There’s a hunger in me because of what happened. I want to win again so I can actually enjoy it.”
Ujiri’s comment is a reference to an incident that took place during the closing seconds of the Raptors’ Game 6 win of the 2019 NBA Finals in Golden State. A security guard at Oracle Arena prevented him from coming onto the court to celebrate the team’s championship because he didn’t show the proper credentials, which resulted in a brief shoving match.
The security guard, a San Francisco-area sheriff’s deputy, sued Ujiri for assault, while the Raptors exec filed a countersuit, alleging racial bias and contending that footage of the altercation showed that the deputy was “undeniably the initial aggressor.” Both suits were eventually dropped, but the saga understandably put a damper on what should have been the high point of Ujiri’s professional career.
With the Tempo, Ujiri will be part of an ownership group led by Larry Tanenbaum, his former partner with the Raptors. Tanenbaum has been the governor of the NBA team since 1998, but is obligated to begin selling his 20% stake in the Raptors this year.
As for a possible NBA return for Ujiri, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca notes (via Twitter) that it may not be long before expansion franchises in Seattle and Las Vegas enter the league and begin building their respective front offices. Lewenberg suggests he wouldn’t be shocked if Ujiri ends up running the basketball operations department for one of those teams.
Dillon Brooks To Return Tuesday For Suns
Suns forward Dillon Brooks will return to action on Tuesday in Orlando, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
The news doesn’t come as a surprise, as a report last week indicated that Brooks was expected to return early in Phoenix’s road trip, which began with a win in Memphis on Monday. Still, it’s certainly a welcome development for the Suns.
Brooks has been sidelined since February 21, when he broke his left hand in a game against the Magic. He’ll make his return for Phoenix’s second and final matchup with Orlando this season.
The 30-year-old wing has appeared in 50 games in his first season as a Sun, averaging a career-high 20.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steal per night on .440/.343/.856 shooting splits. He was projected to miss between four and six weeks following surgery, and will be back in just over five.
Brooks and Mark Williams (left foot stress reaction) went through a 5-on-5 practice on Saturday for the first time since they sustained their respective injuries. They went through another 5-on-5 session on Monday, Rankin reports in a full story.
“We got out of it alright,” Suns head coach Jordan Ott said before Monday’s game. “Now you just got to see how it responds the day after. … They’ve both taken steps. They’re just ready to play. We’re ready to have them.”
Last week’s report from John Gambadoro indicated that Williams, who has been out since March 3, was likely to return later in the road trip. The Suns play at Charlotte on Thursday and in Chicago on Sunday.
Grayson Allen (left knee injury management) was also unavailable on Monday, though Ott suggested the team was just being cautious with the veteran shooting guard on the front end of a back-to-back. Haywood Highsmith (right knee injury management) and Amir Coffey (left ankle sprain) remained sidelined as well; it was Highsmith’s sixth consecutive absence and Coffey’s fifth.
Latest On NBA Europe
Final bids for the NBA’s proposed European league, known as NBA Europe, are due at the end of March. But it certainly sounds like the NBA doesn’t want to be in direct competition with the EuroLeague, whose new CEO, Chus Bueno, previously worked for the NBA.
Bueno spent 12 years with the NBA as vice president of Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The veteran executive also held the title of managing director of NBA Spain.
The NBA, FIBA and the EuroLeague are expected to have a meeting in the next few days about a possible joint venture involving NBA Europe that could feature 24 teams, sources tell Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last Wednesday that the ideal outcome would be for the NBA and the EuroLeague to work together, specifically mentioning his relationship with Bueno. Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported on Sunday that Bueno becoming EuroLeague CEO has led to optimism that the leagues might be able to collaborate, and Barkas has heard the same.
“Chus used to be a colleague of mine at the NBA for many years. I think for the better of European basketball, the best outcome would be if we come together with the EuroLeague,” Silver said, per Stefan Acevski of Eurohoops. “And that we came up with a systematic approach to growing the game throughout Europe. And that means complementing the country leagues, working together with the EuroLeague, and with FIBA.”
For his part, Bueno recently suggested the EuroLeague would be open to exploring that scenario, as Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops relays.
According to Barkas’ sources, EuroLeague powerhouses Real Madrid and Fenerbahce are “very close” to signing new 10-year licenses, with the timing seeming to mirror the upcoming talks between the NBA, FIBA and the EuroLeague.
There’s a good deal of interest in NBA Europe, Barkas reports, with many of the bidders coming from the United States. However, “nobody is willing to pay a $500M fee to enter the new league,” Barkas writes.