Amar’e Stoudemire‘s reaction to learning he was going into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame?? “What?!?!”

TMZ Sports talked to the former NBA superstar prior to his induction into the HOF … where the retired hooper walked us through finding out he was about to join the world’s most exclusive group of hoopers.

“Man, I was ecstatic. I was ecstatic. I was caught by surprise. I got a call saying, ‘Hey Amar’e, we got some good news for you.’ I said, ‘Ok, alright, hit me with it.’ He’s like, ‘You are now gonna be enshrined into the 2026 Basketball Hall of Fame,” Stoudemire recounted.

Stoudemire says he was “bombarded with phone calls and congratulations from top to bottom.”

Of course, A.S. was one of the best players of his generation, achieving a gang of accolades during his incredible career, including making 6 All-Star teams and winning the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003. Stoudemire averaged 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds during his 14 seasons in the Association.

Could Amar’e ever have imagined he’d be where he is? We asked him.

“You always play the game to reach your full potential. You want to try to exceed expectations. You train before and after practice and in the offseason. You sacrifice family time to be on the basketball court, and to hit the weights, and really get yourself in top shape year after year after year,” Stoudemire said of the blood, sweat and tears he put into the game, to one day reach this level.

“It’s a lot to take on,” Amar’e said … “As you try to reach that full potential, you never know what it’ll end up being. And for me, thank God it ended up in the Hall of Fame.”