Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and Sue Bird are included in the Basketball Hall of Fame. The honor follows in September.
The former NBA stars Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard as well as the women’s basketball icons Sue Bird are included in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Massachusetts. The trio is part of the 2025 vintage, which was officially announced on Saturday. The new members slip into the legendary orange jacket on September 5th and 6th.
“This year’s year embodies excellence, innovation and a persistent passion for basketball – through groundbreaking performance, leadership qualities away from the field or through the global development of sport,” said John Doleva, managing director of Naishmith Hall of Fame.
Long careers, great successes
Anthony ended his career in 2023, exactly 20 years after his NBA debut at the Denver Nuggets. It ranks tenth in the eternal NBA scorer list with 28,289 points. Howard, number 1 of the 2004 Draft and icon of Orlando Magic, helped the Los Angeles Lakers 2020 to the championship in his NBA career with his defensive strength. The five-time Olympic champion Bird is considered one of the best players in WNBA history, the long-time playmaker at Seattle Storm ended her career in 2022 after 21 seasons.
Other members of the Hall of Fame announced on Saturday include the “speech team” of the US men, who won Olympic gold in 2008. Anthony and Howard both belonged to this team, as did Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, Deron Williams, Tayhaun Prince, Carlos Boozer and Michael Redd.