Amar’e Stoudemire vividly remembers his arrival in the Valley.
He loved the scenery.
“When I first got to Phoenix and saw the horizon, saw the permanent orange sky, saw the mountains, saw the cactuses, I saw all the good stuff,” Stoudemire said. “I was like, ‘Ah, this is great.’”
This started Stoudemire’s bond with the area he proudly speaks of as he enters the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 2026 class.
“Those Phoenix years are everything,” Stoudemire said at an Aug. 14 press conference. The induction ceremony is Saturday, Aug. 15, in Springfield, Massachusetts.
.@Amareisreal love for Phoenix. ☀️🏜️ #26HoopClasspic.twitter.com/AXBvSP02Fl
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) August 14, 2026
Stoudemire spent his first eight NBA seasons with the Phoenix Suns, winning NBA Rookie of the Year in 2002-03 after being drafted ninth overall by the franchise.
His love for the city was instant.
“During the NBA season, it’s the best weather in the world," he said. "You can’t beat it. So, to be an 18, 19-year-old player, to be in Phoenix, Arizona, it was great for me. I established stability, I established professionalism. I learned from all the executives and coaches and I was able to really take that leadership on with me and take my career to the next level.”
Stoudemire is joined in his year’s class by Mike D’Antoni, who was his head coach in Phoenix during the franchise’s “Seven Seconds or Less" era.
“Really honored. Really honored,” D’Antoni said in an interview with The Arizona Republic this week. “The people going in with makes it special. Amar’e is going in also, but you know, it's a pretty special moment.”
D’Antoni is one of Stoudemire’s presenters along with Jerry Colangelo (‘04), Grant Hill (‘18), Tracy McGrady (‘17), Steve Nash (‘18) and Rick Welts (‘18).
"It's awesome, man," said Shawn Marion in an interview the NBA posted on social media Aug. 14.
Marion, Stoudemire and Nash were teammates in Phoenix.
"It's an honor. Well done. Much respect."
Red carpet moments with the #26HoopClass. 🏀📸 pic.twitter.com/JNkONnwFtz
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) August 14, 2026
Stoudemire spoke on learning about his Hall of Fame selection while signing autographs at an event in Springfield with the rest for the 2026 class.
“I was driving and I got a phone call and they were like ‘Amar’e, I got some good news for you,’” Stoudemire recalls. “‘You’re going to be enshrined into the 2026 Naismith Hall of Fame.’ I was like, ‘WHAT?’ I was super excited.”
Then Stoudemire started making some calls of his own.
“I called everyone I could think of to let them know the news,” he continued. “My mom was still like, ‘What is that? What’s happening?’ Definitely a great, great moment for sure.”
.@Amareisreal talks his Hoophall induction journey so far. 👀🏀 #26HoopClasspic.twitter.com/yBOEWhyUkb
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) August 14, 2026
Stoudemire remembers being a 15-year-old and asked by his high school coach to write down his goals.
“I wrote down on my list, be a Hall of Famer,” Stoudemire said. “He was surprised by that. He was like, ‘a Hall of Famer? I’ve been coaching for 20 something years, I’ve been around all these players, and I asked them the exact same question and no one said Hall of Fame. Some people say, I want to go to the NBA. Some say, ‘I want to be an All-Star’”
From Florida, Stoudemire broke the mold right away as he became the first NBA player drafted out of high school to the league’s rookie of the year award.
A six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection, Stoudemire played 14 NBA seasons for four teams in the New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Suns.
Stoudemire was inducted into the Suns' 'Ring of Honor' in 2024.
He can now add Naismith Hall of Famer to his list of accomplishments.
“You have to really persevere and be ready to sacrifice in order to make that happen,” Stoudemire said.
His best years were in Phoenix where he averaged a career-high 21.4 points and 8.9 rebounds in 516 games.
Playing in an era that featured some of the game’s best power forwards, Stoudemire recalls his battles with another Hall of Famer, Kevin Garnett.
“Garnett was always amping himself up,” said Stoudemire as trash talking fueled Garnett's play. “Sometimes, I’m like, ‘You talking to me?’ I was ready for the action. He always got me amped up.”
Stoudemire earned the nickname S.T.A.T, but he also greatly contributed to winning. A freak athlete, Stoudemire was a huge part of two Phoenix teams that won 62 games in 2004-05 and 61 games in 2006-07.
The Suns reached the Western Conference finals three times during Stoudemire’s run in Phoenix.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Suns great Amar'e Stoudemire learned of Hall of Fame induction