Staley was one of the most celebrated players in the women's game from the late 1980s until her retirement from the WNBA at the end of the 2006 season.
Before she won her third gold medal in the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, the captains of the other American teams selected her to carry the flag and lead the U.S. delegation into the stadium as part of the opening ceremony.
It's hard to top that highlight of Staley's career, which is now spent on the sideline, coaching South Carolina after an eight-year coaching stint at Temple that ended in May 2008.
But Saturday's announcement, during halftime of the WNBA All-Star Game in San Antonio, Texas, came close.
Staley said she was told about the selection a month ago, soon after the vote was taken, from hall board member Renee Brown, who is also the WNBA's vice president of basketball operations and player relations.
"In terms of my highlights, carrying the flag is still the tops," Staley said, "but this is very special, so it is right up there, you have to say that."
Staley, who turned 41 in May, was selected in her first year of eligibility after being retired five years as a player.
She is the most-recent inductee with Philadelphia ties following last month's induction of Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw, who played at St. Joseph's in the mid-1970s.
Coincidentally, former Tennessee star Nikki McCray, who is one of Staley's assistants at South Carolina, was also named an inductee. Staley said she was thrilled for McCray's selection and joked about one benefit.
"She deserves it, no question, but at South Carolina anything that helps recruiting is what we're about, so we'll take it," Staley said.
