Some of basketballs coolest signature moves of the 21st century get minted and immortalized this weekend Carmelo Anthonys buttery jab-step jumper, Dwight Howards soul-deflating swat, Sue Birds flick-of-the-wrist transition dime, Maya Moores gliding finger roll.
This years Hall of Fame class is relatively small, but it includes a cadre of the sports most impactful stars.
Venue: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Springfield, Mass.
Time: 7 p.m. ET, Saturday
TV: NBA TV
Streaming: Fubo (Stream Free Now)
A live broadcast from the red carpet begins at 6 p.m. ET on NBA TV.
Anthony, a collegiate national champion in his freshman year at Syracuse, made 10 NBA All-Star teams and won a scoring title in 2012-13. He was a consistent bucket as the game evolved in offensive fluidity. On the other end, Howard paced the league in rebounds five times and in blocks twice, while winning three Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Bird, a consummate initiator and assister, won at every stage of her decorated career: two NCAA titles at UConn, four WNBA championships with the Seattle Storm, five Olympic gold medals, five additional titles in the Russian National League and five more in the EuroLeague. Moore, her teammate on the United States national team, was a four-time champion with the Minnesota Lynx. She also anchored UConns back-to-back undefeated runs in 2008-09 and 2009-10 and was the Ws MVP in 2014. Moores final pro campaign was in 2018, her age-29 season; she first focused on ministry efforts, then worked to free now-husband Jonathan Irons from prison after his wrongful conviction.
The fifth player to be inducted Saturday is Sylvia Fowles. Like Howard in the NBA, she was a generational defender and intimidating paint presence across the WNBA. Fowles won two rings and two Finals MVPs with the Lynx, plus a regular-season MVP in 2017 and four DPOY awards between 2011 and 2021.
Other members of the 2025 class are coach Billy Donovan (back-to-back national champion at Florida, currently with the Chicago Bulls) official Danny Crawford (who reffed from 1985 to 2017) and executive Micky Arison (owner of the Miami Heat). The 2008 U.S. Olympics mens Redeem Team, which won the gold medal in Beijing, will also be enshrined.
This is the best feeling Ive ever had in my life, Anthony said. Winning the national championship hasnt sunk in yet.
Anthony emerged as the singular star during the three-week tournament. An 18-year-old forward who is 6-foot-8 and about 220 pounds, Anthony was averaging 22.3 points and 10 rebounds a game before tonight. He put the Orangemen in the final with 33 points and 14 rebounds in Saturdays 95-84 victory over Texas. In tonights game, Anthony had 13 first-half points and was involved in much more than that. He had 7 first-half assists, most of them coming when the Jayhawks tried to help Keith Langford cover Anthony and Anthony passed off. When waiting to come back after a brief rest, Anthony became Syracuses tallest cheerleader by standing in front of the scorers table, smiling and twirling two towels after teammates Gerry McNamara and Kueth Duany sank 3-pointers. Joe Lapointe at the 2003 NCAA title game
His chest bulges, his shoulders and forearms twitch, his calves explode, and soon Dwight Howard is in flight, an airborne Adonis with bad intentions. Rims bend, defenders cower, fans roar. At age 23, Howard, the Orlando Magic center, is already the most physically imposing player in the N.B.A., a worthy heir to Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille ONeal. He has Russells passion for defense and ONeals zeal for crushing defenders. His power and athleticism are breathtaking. Howard Beck during the 2009 NBA Finals
Theres a lot to get used to for Sue Bird, the No. 1 college player on the No. 1 college team last season, the first overall pick by the Seattle Storm in the Womens National Basketball Association draft this year, the playmaker with the sweet smile, the fluffy ponytail, the killer crossover and the assassins pull-up jumper.
Not only are the players bigger and stronger in the W.N.B.A. than those in college shes 5 feet 9 inches, 155 pounds not only are they quicker and wilier, but there is also the poke in the solar plexus when taking the shot, the elbow to the ribs when driving to the hoop or the forearm to prevent you from getting through on defense. And, to be sure, the arenas are different. Especially the one last night: Madison Square Garden, the hometown arena for Bird, who grew up in Syosset on Long Island. Ira Berkow during Birds 2002 WNBA rookie season
The Monster the nickname the Los Angeles Sparks interim coach, Penny Toler, pinned on Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx last week fits Moores play better than it does her personality. Could a monster make her own ice cream, as Moore does? Could a monster charm a 10-year-old girl seeking an autograph or the president of the United States? Would any team dare to let a monster dance on the court and address the home crowd after victories? Then again, Tolers description fits the kind of season Moore, a fourth-year professional player, is having.
Moore led the W.N.B.A. in scoring (a career-best 23.9 points per game) and ranked fifth in steals (1.88 per game) while averaging 34.7 minutes per game, more than anyone except Skylar Diggins of Tulsa (35.1 minutes). Her 812 points for the season were a franchise record and the third highest in W.N.B.A. history. This month, Moore, a former Connecticut star, set a league record with her 12th 30-point game of the season. Pat Borzi during Moores 2014 season
Fowles was named the leagues defensive player of the year four times, including last season. She won two championships with the Lynx, in 2015 and 2017, and was named the most valuable player of the finals both times. She won the leagues M.V.P. award in 2017 and has four Olympic gold medals. After having her name attached to those kinds of accolades for so long, Fowles said she was ready to find out what else she likes to do. She has spoken about her interest in becoming a funeral director.
Im curious to see what I am without basketball, she said. Im eager to see this new person.’ Shauntel Lowe after Fowles 2022 retirement
With their elbows locked, smiles iridescent and extreme image makeover complete, the United States mens basketball players took their final step into Olympic lore in the most appropriate way together.
They pulled one another up to the gold medal podium on Sunday after a 118-107 victory over Spain in an old-fashioned shootout that could long resonate as a standard for international play. After hammering their opponents by an average of 30.2 points through their first seven games, the Americans outlasted the Spaniards in their first wire-to-wire test of the Olympics, a game as aesthetically pleasing as it was entertaining. The United States never trailed in the second half but did not officially put Spain away until Dwyane Wade, unofficially the best player in these Olympics, drilled a 3-pointer with 2 minutes 2 seconds remaining. Pete Thamel at 2008s gold medal game in Beijing
The Florida Gators left one final, indelible memory as one of the great teams in modern college basketball. Their emphatic 84-75 victory over Ohio State in the national title game Monday night gave them back-to-back championships the first repeat titlist since Duke in 1991 and 1992 and a claim as arguably the best team since John Woodens dynasty days at U.C.L.A. Thamel at the 2007 NCAA title game
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