Carmelo Anthony is one of the greatest bucket-getters the game has ever seen, but “Olympic’ Melo” was on another level and helped lead the USA to three gold medals. Sue Bird is one of the few people on the planet who can best that—she has five Olympic golds, not to mention four WNBA titles and a reputation as one of the game’s great point guards.
Those two, along with Maya Moore and Dwight Howard, officially headline the 2025 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class, which was announced Saturday.
The full list of inductees announced Saturday is:
• Carmelo Anthony. One of the greatest scorers the game has ever seen, he won a national championship at Syracuse before an NBA career that saw him average 22.5 points and make 10 All-Star and six All-NBA teams. He also has three Olympic gold medals.
“This is the greatest accomplishment that I ever will attain,” Anthony said after the announcement.
• Dwight Howard. Howard was a dominant force on the court for much of a decade, he was a three-time Defensive Player of the Year (2009-11), eight-time All-NBA, he led the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals and won a ring in the bubble with the Lakers.
• Sue Bird. One of the greats ever to play the game, her resume is unimpeachable: four-time WNBA champion, 13-time All-Star, WNBA all-time leaser in wins (333), games played (580), assists (3,234), and minutes (18,079), five Olympic gold medals and she was a two-time NCAA champion at UConn.
• Sylvia Fowles. Four-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time WNBA champion and Finals MVP, an eight-time All-Star, and in college she led LSU to four consecutive final fours.
• Maya Moore. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, she won two NCAA titles at UConn, then went on to win four WNBA titles with the Minnesota Lynx during her seven-season career before stepping away from basketball to focus on criminal justice reform.
• 2008 US Olympic Men’s Basketball Team. The “Redeem Team” featured Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, ‘Melo, Howard, Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade and more, coached by Hall of Fame Mike Krzyzewski.
• Billy Donovan. Two-time NCAA national champion at Florida who has gone on to rack up more than 400 wins in the NBA between Oklahoma City and Chicago.
• Danny Crawford. He is a legendary long-time NBA referee, who officiated 2,000+ NBA regular-season games and 30 NBA Finals games.
• Micky Arison. Owner of the Mimi Heat since 1995, the franchise has won three NBA titles while under his control and has developed a culture that is its own.
“For some, this is an individual honor,” Arison said. “But for me, this speaks to what our entire Heat family — players, coaches, staff and fans — have built together.”
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