NBA All-Star weekend is a time to showcase up-and-coming stars as well as the present ones. During All-Star weekend, the NBA also announced the finalist of the upcoming NBA Hall of Fame. Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard headline the men as finalist of the 2025 Hall of Fame. The gold medal-winning 2008 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team. Anthony and Howard were also a part of that team also. Women’s basketball legends Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles are also among the nominees. And coaches Billy Donovan and Mark Few were nominated.

Carmelo Anthony was a 10-time All-Star and ranks 10^th on the NBA’s career scoring list. Anthony was one of the most influential players of his generation. Melo also led Syracuse to a national championship in 2003.

Dwight Howard was arguably the most dominant defensive presence in his era. Howard won defensive player of the year three consecutive years from 2009-2011. He also made eight All-NBA teams and led the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009. Later in his career, Howard captured that elusive title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

The 2008 Olympic men’s team returned Team USA to the top spot internationally after it earned a bronze medal at the 2004 Games and no medals at the 2002 and 2006 world championships. The 2008 team included Anthony, Howard, the late Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh and LeBron James. It was assembled by Jerry Colangelo, the chairman of the Hall of Fame.

Maya Moore won two national championships at UConn and four WNBA titles in her seven-year career with the Minnesota Lynx. Moore would retire in her prime to pursue criminal justice reform. Moore is one of the most influential women basketball players. Moore would inspire a future star we know as Caitlin Clark.

Sue Bird won a pair of national championships while playing at UConn. She played her entire career for the Seattle Storm. She was a part of four WNBA championships. Bird is considered as one of the greatest point guards of all time.

Sylvia Fowles played her college ball at LSU. She was a dominant interior force and led the Tigers to four consecutive Final Four appearances. In the WNBA, she won two titles with Moore as a member of the Lynx. She was the WNBA MVP in 2017.

Billy Donovan led Florida to four Final Four appearances in 19 seasons with the Gators. The Gators won back-to-back championships in 2006-2007. Those title-winning teams included longtime NBA stars Al Horford and Joakim Noah. Donovan left the college game and has spent the past decade coaching the Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls.

Mark Few is the winningest active coach by percentage at Gonzaga and has led the Bulldogs to two national championship games (2017, 2021) and 25 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

Other Hall of Fame finalists include longtime NBA referee Danny Crawford, five-time All-Star forward 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 basketball coach Dusan Ivkovic, Miami Heat owner Micky Arison and Israeli basketball legend Tal Brody.

The group moves to the final round of the nomination process, when a panel of 24 anonymous voters will consider the candidates. A candidate must receive votes from at least 18 of those 24 panelists to gain an election to the Hall of Fame.

The 2025 class will be announced April 5 in San Antonio during the NCAA men’s Final Four. The Enshrinement weekend is Sept. 5-6.

Please follow and like us: