Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are the biggest NBA names selected as finalists for the 2025 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class.
On the WNBA side, superstars Sue Bird, Maya Moore, and Sylvia Fowles have also been named finalists.
Coaches Billy Donovan and Mark Few made the cut as well. The 2008 USA ‘Redeem Team’ has been nominated as a whole as well. Both Anthony and Howard were members of that team.
Next will be the final round of the nomination process, with a panel of 24 anonymous voters considering each finalist’s candidacy. At least 18 of the 24 panelists have to vote for a candidate for that finalist to earn election to the Hall of Fame.
The 2025 Class will be announced on April 5th in San Antonio during the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
That will be followed be enshrinement weekend on Sept. 5th and 6th.
Carmelo, Dwight No-Brainers?
Anthony is a 10-time All-Star, has made the All-NBA team six times, has one scoring title, and is a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
The Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks legend is currently the NBA’s 10th all-time scoring leader with 28,289 points. During his college days, Anthony also led Syracuse to a national championship in 2003.
Howard, meanwhile, starred for the Orlando Magic. He made eight All-Star teams as well as eight All-NBA teams. Furthermore, he’s a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, a five-time All-Defensive Team member, a five-time rebounding champ, and a two-time blocks leader.
Above all, he won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
Bird, Moore, Fowles Resumes Speak For Themselves
Bird played her entire 19-year WNBA career as a member of the Seattle Storm after they selected her first overall in the 2002 draft. During that time, she won four WNBA titles, made 13 All-Star teams, eight All-WNBA teams, and was a three-time assists leader.
She is the only WNBA player in history to have played at least 550 regular season games. She finished with 580.
If that wasn’t enough, Bird also won four Olympic gold medals with Team USA and two national championships with UConn.
Moore’s seven-year career with the Minnesota Lynx saw her make the All-Star team six times and an All-WNBA team seven times. She won four WNBA titles, one Finals MVP, and three All-Star Game MVPs. She won the 2014 regular season MVP trophy as well. In addition, Moore won the scoring title that year and has made two All-Defensive teams to boot.
She won two Olympic gold medals during her time with Team USA. Moore also won two national championships during her college days at the University of Connecticut. Moore retired abruptly during her prime to pursue criminal justice reform.
Fowles played for both the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx, accumulating many an accolade. She was the 2017 MVP, made eight All-Star teams, eight All-WNBA teams, and 11 All-Defensive teams. Fowles won two WNBA titles, winning Finals MVP on both occasions.
Like Bird, Fowles has four Olympic gold medals.
