Few basketball careers have carried the combination of resilience and domination like Elena Delle Donne’s, and now, she has finally earned her place among the sport’s immortals. However, as she spoke about the honor at hand, Delle Donne chose to focus on what the sport gave her.

During her Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement ceremony on August 15, the former Washington Mystics star delivered an emotional message to the sport that gave her more than just a career.

“Basketball, you gave me confidence, you gave me purpose, you gave me friendships that will last far beyond the game,” she said in a clip shared to Instagram by the Hall of Fame and ESPN W.

“You gave me a platform to leave this game a little better than when I found it. But maybe your greatest gift was teaching me to recognize greatness in places where no scoreboard exists. Tonight is an incredible honor and one I’ll cherish forever. But tomorrow, the lights will fade, we’ll trade our formal clothes for athleisure, the speeches will be over, and life will return to a beautiful, ordinary day. After everything basketball has given me, I think that’s my favorite part.”

Delle Donne’s speech wasn’t just an emotional message to the game of basketball, but also included plenty of humorous moments. She started off her speech by shouting out actor Larry David (who was present in the audience) and used his signature line to tell the audience she hoped her speech was “pretty, pretty, pretty good.”

However, it also included plenty of heartwarming moments, including when Delle Donne spoke about her relationship with her older sister Lizzie, who is blind and deaf, and also has cerebral palsy and autism.

“Whenever I experienced my worst lows, burnout, injury, defeat, doubt, the lesson I needed was never on the court. It was at home, waiting for me – with my sister, Lizzie,” she said, tearing up. “She’s never played in front of thousands of people. She’s never had a standing ovation. She’s never been interviewed after a big win. And yet I have never met anyone stronger.”

Della Donne was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame alongside the 1996 Olympic women’s basketball team, spearheaded by WNBA legend Dawn Staley. The lineup also included other WNBA legends such as Candace Parker and Chamique Holdsclaw. These amazing women were joined by former NBA player and six-time All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire, retired official Joey Crawford, and renowned coaches Doc Rivers and Mike D’Antoni. Della Donne found her place amongst these stars of the basketball industry.

With Lizzie behind her, Delle Donne has put together one of the most dominant WNBA careers ever seen. With a 10-season career, she has achieved almost every milestone possible.

Elena Delle Donne’s Career Makes Hall of Fame Case Impossible to Ignore

While Elena Delle Donne’s speech focused on the meaning of her journey and what fueled her greatness, the on-court contributions that brought her to Springfield are impossible to overlook. Delle Donne entered the WNBA as the 2nd overall pick in 2013 after an extraordinary career at Delaware, and made an immediate impact.

After winning the Rookie of the Year award, she would go on to become a seven-time All-Star and a four-time All-WNBA First Team player. Her stellar career included the 2015 and 2019 MVP awards, when she claimed the honor while becoming one of the strongest two-way forces in the league.

The 2019 season was a standout one for Delle Donne. That year, she led the Mystics to their first WNBA championship, earning her second MVP award along with the championship. That season, she also became the first WNBA player to finish a season shooting 50% from the floor, 40% from three, and 90% from the charity stripe.

Cap that off with her outstanding international career, including the 2016 Olympic Gold medal, and her status as one of the defining players of her generation is easy to see. However, on a night meant to celebrate what she did on the court, Delle Donne made it clear that her biggest victories came off the court.