SAN FRANCISCO – Highlighting this year’s finalists for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame are Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, and their teammates from the triumphant 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, which secured the gold medal.

The roster of nominees also features trailblazers in women’s basketball, including Sue Bird, Maya Moore, and Sylvia Fowles, as well as distinguished coaches Billy Donovan and Mark Few.

Carmelo Anthony, a 10-time All-Star, ranks 10th in NBA history with a total of 28,289 points. Notably, he led Syracuse to a national championship in 2003.

Dwight Howard was a dominant defensive force in the league, clinching three consecutive NBA Defensive Player of the Year titles from 2009 to 2011. He earned selection to eight All-NBA teams and guided the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009, before winning a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

The 2008 Olympic Team played a pivotal role in reinstating Team USA to its previous glory on the global stage after a disappointing bronze medal performance in 2004, combined with a lack of medals at the 2002 and 2006 world championships. This outstanding group featured not only Anthony and Howard, but also NBA icons like the late Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James. Jerry Colangelo, the Hall of Fame chairman, was instrumental in assembling this team.

Maya Moore achieved remarkable success, clinching two national championships at the University of Connecticut and four WNBA titles during her seven-year tenure with the Minnesota Lynx. She retired in 2018 at the peak of her career to advocate for criminal justice reform. Sue Bird also secured two NCAA titles at UConn and four in the WNBA with the Seattle Storm, earning recognition as one of the greatest point guards in women’s basketball history.

Sylvia Fowles established herself as a powerful force at LSU, leading her team to four Final Four appearances. As a professional player, she secured two championships with the Lynx and was named the WNBA MVP in 2017.

Billy Donovan guided the Florida Gators to four Final Four appearances during his 19 seasons, and he remains the last men’s basketball coach to win consecutive NCAA Division I titles in 2006 and 2007, doing so with standout players Al Horford and Joakim Noah. After his college coaching career, he has led the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Chicago Bulls.

Mark Few holds the distinction of being the winningest active coach by percentage at Gonzaga, leading the Bulldogs to two national championship games (2017 and 2021) and achieving 25 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

Additional Hall of Fame finalists include: former NBA referee Danny Crawford; five-time All-Star Marques Johnson; longtime college coach Jerry Welsh; three-time NBA All-Star Buck Williams; former Stanford and WNBA star Jennifer Azzi; women’s basketball pioneer Molly Bolin; Serbian coach Dusan Ivkovic; Miami Heat owner Micky Arison; and Israeli basketball legend Tal Brody.

This group will advance to the final phase of the nomination process, where a panel of 24 anonymous voters will assess each candidate’s qualifications. A nominee must secure votes from at least 18 out of 24 panelists to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The announcement for the 2025 class is set for April 5 in San Antonio, coinciding with the NCAA Men’s Final Four, while the enshrinement festivities are scheduled for September 5-6.