Hall of Fame season continues as on the eve of NBA All-Star Weekend, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame has announced the Finalists for the 2025 Class.
The Hall made waves when they recently altered (again) the requirements, moving the eligibility limits to two years from three years.
This altered the landscape, as their were no surefire entrant for this year’s class.
The Finalists are:
2008 United States Olympic Team (TEA). Coached by Mike Krzyzewski (with Jim Boeheim, Nate McMillan, and Mike D’Antoni), the United States beat Spain in the finals. The roster included Carlos Boozer, Jason Kidd, LeBron James, Deron Williams, Michael Redd, Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, Tayshaun Prince, and Carmelo Anthony.
Dusan Ivkovic (PLA). A FIBA Hall of Fame inductee, Ivkovic played ten seasons for Radnicki Belgrade in the Yugoslavian League. Although the Point Guard had a nice career and was nominated as a player, he had far more success as a coach at the club level and for Yugoslavia and Serbia, winning three EuroBasket Gold Medals and a FIBA World Gold Medal in 1990. Why wasn’t he nominated as a Coach?
Danny Crawford (REF). Crawford was an NBA Referee from 1984 to 2017 and worked 23 straight NBA Finals.
Marques Johnson (PLA). Johnson helped UCLA win the National Championship in 1975 and two years later, he was the National College Player of the Year. He was a six-time All-Star (five with Milwaukee and one with the Los Angeles Clippers) with three All-NBAs (one First Team and two Second Teams) and had nearly 14,000 career Points. Johnson is enshrined in the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Molly Bolin (PLA). Bolin was one of the biggest stars of the Women’s Professional Basketball League in the late 70s, the first pro basketball league for women. She was a three-time league All-Star and was the Co-MVP in 1980.
Buck Williams (PLA). Williams won the 1982 Rookie of the Year Award and was a three-time All-Star in his time with the New Jersey Nets. He also player for Portland and New York and was a four-time All-Defensive Selection (two First Team and two Second Team) and had 16,784 career Points and 13,017 Rebounds.
Jennifer Azzi (PLA). Azzi was the Naismith Basketball Player of the Year in 1990, leading Stanford to a National Championship. She was also on the gold medal-winning 1996 Olympic Women’s Team and won two more gold medals at the FIBA World Championship (1990 & 1998). She was also inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and was a Naismith Basketball Finalist in 2023.
Mark Few (COA). Few are arguably the most important men in Gonzaga's history; as of this writing, he is still their head coach. He took the Bulldogs to two Final Fours (2017 & 2021) and won 19 WCC Tournaments. He is also a two-time Naismith Coach of the Year and 12-time WCC Coach of the Year.
Sue Bird (PLA). Bird is one of the best women’s players of all time, boasting the best resume among all candidates regardless of category. A former Naismith College Player of the Year at UConn and two-time NCAA Champion, Bird played her entire WNBA career with Seattle where she won four WNBA Titles, was a 13-time All-Star, five-time All-WNBA First Team selection, and for the United States won five Gold Medals (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 & 2020) and four World Championships (2002, 2010, 2014 & 2018).
Maya Moore (PLA). After a solid career at UConn, Moore had an incredible pro career with the Minnesota Lynx, where she won four WNBA Titles, was the 2014 WNBA MVP, and was a six-time WNBA All-Star. As a one-time WNBA Scoring and Steals Champion, Moore also won two Olympic Gold medals and two World Championship Gold Medals.
Tal Brody. Brody played collegiately at Illinois, but after he competed at Maccabiah Games in Israel, he was asked to stay, which led to a successful career where he put Maccabi Tel Aviv and Israeli basketball on the map, which was the tagline he is known for.
Jerry Welsh (COA). Welsh was the Head Coach at SUNY Potsdam, where he had a record of 494-141 from 1968 to 1991 and won two National Championships in 1981 and 1986.
Billy Donovan (COA). Currently the Head Coach of the Chicago Bulls, Donovan’s Hall of Fame path lies in the University of Florida, where he took the Gators to four SEC Tournament Championships, four Final Fours, and two NCAA Championships (2006 & 2007). The three-time SEC Coach of the Year also had stints as the Marshall Head Coach and Oklahoma City Thunder HC.
Dwight Howard (PLA). Howard was a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, an eight-time All-Star, and a five-time First Team All-Star, most of which were accolades from his early years in Orlando. He played for the Lakers thrice, winning his only title there in 2020. Howard also played for Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, and Philadelphia, boasting five Rebounds Titles, two Blocks Titles, and an Olympic Gold Medal in 2008.
Micky Arison: Arison bought the Miami Heat in 1995, and under his ownership, the Heat won three NBA Championships (2006, 2012 & 2013).
Sylvia Fowles (PLA). One of the finest defensive players in WNBA history, Fowles split her professional North American career with the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx, the latter of which she won two WNBA Championships and Finals MVPs (2015 & 2017). A WNBA MVP in 2017, Fowles won four Defensive Player of the Year Awards, an eight-time All-Star, and a three-time First Team All-WNBA Selection. Internationally, she won four Gold Medals (2008, 2012, 2016 & 2020) and a World Championship (2010).
Carmelo Anthony (PLA). A member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, Anthony led Syracuse to a National Championship in 2003 and would become a ten-time All-Star and a six-time All-NBA player (two Second Team and three Third Team). Melo is also a former NBA scoring champion who compiled 28,289 career Points and internationally is a three-time Olympic Gold Medal winner (2008, 2012 & 2016). He played for Denver, New York, Oklahoma City, Houston, Portland, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Hall also announced that Adrian Wojnarowski won the 2025 Curt Gowdy Insight Award, George Blaha and Clark Kellogg won the 2025 Curt Gowdy Electronic Award, Michelle Smith won the 2025 Curt Gowdy Print Media Award and Jeff Twiss won the 2o25 John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award.
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