2025 Basketball Hall Of Fame Finalists Include Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard & Sue Bird – Who Deserves It Most?

The 2008 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team, featuring Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, lead this year’s list of finalists for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Along with them, women’s basketball legends Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles made the list, as well as coaches Billy Donovan and Mark Few.

Anthony sits 10th on the NBA’s career scoring list with 28,289. The 10-time All-Star also helped lead Syracuse to a national championship in 2003.

Known for his defensive dominance, Howard won three consecutive NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards from 2009 to 2011. He was named to eight All-NBA teams, led the Orlando Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals, and claimed a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

Following a bronze medal finish in 2004 and no medals at the 2002 and 2006 world championships, Team USA’s men’s basketball team reclaimed its dominance by winning gold in the 2008 Olympics. The star-studded roster included Anthony, Howard, Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh and LeBron James. The team was built by Hall of Fame chairman Jerry Colangelo.

Moore’s decorated career saw her win two national championships at UConn and four WNBA titles with the Minnesota Lynx before she retired in 2018 to pursue criminal justice reform. Bird, who also won two NCAA titles at UConn, won four WNBA championships with the Seattle Storm and is widely recognized as one of the greatest point guards the game has ever seen.

Fowles dominated the paint at LSU, leading the program to four consecutive Final Four appearances. She later won two WNBA titles alongside Moore with the Lynx and was named the league’s MVP in 2017.

A two-time national champion coach, Donovan led the Florida Gators to four Final Fours in 19 seasons, winning titles in 2006 and 2007 with a roster featuring Al Horford and Joakim Noah. He left college basketball to coach in the NBA, first with the Oklahoma City Thunder and now with the Chicago Bulls.

As Gonzaga’s all-time winningest coach by percentage, Few has taken the Bulldogs to 25 straight NCAA tournaments and twice to the national championship game, in 2017 and 2021.

Other finalists for the Hall of Fame include veteran NBA referee Danny Crawford, five-time All-Star Marques Johnson, longtime college coach Jerry Welsh, three-time All-Star Buck Williams, Stanford and WNBA star Jennifer Azzi, women’s basketball trailblazer Molly Bolin, Serbian coach Dusan Ivkovic, Miami Heat owner Micky Arison, and Israeli icon Tal Brody.

The nominees advance to the final stage of the selection process, where a panel of 24 anonymous voters will evaluate their candidacy. To be inducted into the Hall of Fame, a candidate must receive at least 18 votes.

The announcement of the 2025 class will take place on Apr. 5 in San Antonio as part of the NCAA men’s Final Four festivities.

The enshrinement ceremony will take place on Sept. 5-6.