PROVO, Utah – Former BYU men’s basketball great Danny Ainge will be inducted into the Naismith Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Thursday, Oct. 22, at the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City, Mo.
Ainge is joined in the Class of 2026 by Jay Wright, Tubby Smith, Ted Owens, Glen Rice and the late Walt Hazzard.
"The Class of 2026 represents the very best of college basketball-individuals whose performance, leadership and impact helped shape the game at the highest level," said Kevin Henderson, CEO of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. "Their legacies will forever be preserved as part of the sport's rich history."
Before being selected by the Boston Celtics with the 31st pick in the 1981 NBA Draft, Ainge was a John Wooden Award winner, consensus First Team All-American, two-time First Team Academic All-American and WAC Player of the Year during his four-year career at BYU.
He is one of six players in program history to score over 2,000 points, with his 2,467 points putting him third on the all-time list behind Tyler Haws and Jimmer Fredette. He still holds program records for career field goals made (987) and consecutive double-figure scoring games (112) while ranking second in points per game (20.91), field goal attempts (1,875) and double-figure scoring games (117).
Ainge beat out Indiana’s Isiah Thomas, Kentucky’s Sam Bowie and Virginia’s Ralph Sampson to win the John Wooden Award in 1980-81. He averaged 24.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 51.8 percent from the field and 82.4 percent from the field.
March 19, 1981: Danny Ainge (@danielrainge) takes it coast-to-coast and lays it in with one second left to lift BYU over Notre Dame 51-50 in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) March 20, 2026
pic.twitter.com/S1BtYYbYe8
The Eugene, Ore. native led the Cougars to their only Elite 8 appearance in program history as a senior with wins over Princeton, UCLA and Notre Dame. His 37 points in a 78-55 win over UCLA in the second round are still tied for the most points scored by a BYU player in an NCAA Tournament game. He followed that up with 12 points in a 51-50 win over the Fighting Irish in the Sweet 16, including going coast-to-coast in the final seconds to score the game-winning layup.
He averaged 19.1 points, 4.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game as a junior after appearing in 27 games as a sophomore where he shot 54.8 percent from the field and 76.8 percent from the free throw line.
Ainge had one of the most prolific freshman seasons in program history as the former three-sport All-American in high school averaged 21.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Prior to the 2025-26 season, he held 15 freshman single-season records, nine of which were broken by Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year AJ Dybantsa.