The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrined the Class of 2025 in Springfield on Sept. 6.
The class includes former NBA stars Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, as well as WNBA icons Maya Moore, Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowles.
The Basketball Hall of Fame also inducted Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan, former NBA referee Danny Crawford, Miami Heat Owner and Managing General Partner Micky Arison and the 2008 US Men’s Olympic Team.
With the introductions out of the way, let’s dive into why they were chosen.
Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony is one of the best scorers in NBA history. Starting at Syracuse University, he won a national championship in 2003, earning Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament.
His excellence continued when he was drafted into the NBA in 2003 and played 19 seasons. He won a scoring title, was a 10-time All-Star, made six All-NBA teams and won three Olympic gold medals. He is a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team and the 2008 US Men’s Olympic Team.
When he received his jacket, there were chants of “Melo! Melo!” He started his speech, tearing up, saying, “Pardon my language, but damn. Tonight, I just don’t step into the Hall of Fame, I carry the echoes of every voice that ever told me I couldn’t. … I had to build a new road. I had to write a new ending.”
He also dedicated his speech to his father, who died when he was a child. “You left this world too soon, but you never left me.” He said, “Even in your absence, you gave me strength. The silence, it gave me purpose. And even though I didn’t get to grow with you, I grew because of you. Your blood runs in mine. Your dream lives through me. This Hall of Fame jacket that I receive, I wear it for the both of us.”
Anthony thanked his sister, his mother, Syracuse, the Denver Nuggets and the Knicks.
When talking about what the game meant to him, he said, “Struggles don’t mean surrender; the road can be rough, but still lead to glory. You gave my pain purpose, you gave my past future.”
When speaking to the next generation, he said to be relentless, dream louder, know that statistics don’t measure heart and that you are more than possible you are inevitable.
He concluded by saying, “Greatness starts in the dirt, the dark and starts with a whisper saying I won’t be denied”
Even though he never won an NBA championship, he succeeded at every level.
Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard was the No. 1 overall pick for the Orlando Magic in 2004. He played 18 years in the NBA, winning a championship with the Lakers in 2020. He is an eight-time All-Star and All-NBA selection, a five-time rebound champion, a five-time All-Defense selection and a three-time Defensive Player of the Year. He played as one of the best defensive players and has the history to back it up.
Outside of his player career, he co-owns a basketball league in Taiwan. Howard also participated in the Slam Dunk Contest four times and won the 2008 contest.
“You believed in me as much as I did, but you wanted me to commit to it.” Dwight thanked his parents in his speech, “I wrote down my goals and placed it above my bed along with my cross, and you helped me achieve those goals, day after day.”
When talking about his mother he said “My mother lost seven children, and He allowed me to bring sunshine into her life,” he said. “I’m just honored to stand in front of you as one of the greatest basketball players ever.”
He praised his inspirations like Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O’Neal, his teammates from the 2009 Orlando Magic and the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers and his wife and kids.
When talking about Stan Van Gundy, he said , “There is no Dwight Howard without Stan Van Gundy.”He concluded by saying, “This is your universe, this is your one song. How do you want your song to sound when people hear it? Would they want to throw it out or run it back? And remember, “You only die once, but you live every day.”
2008 Olympic Team (The Redeem Team)
The 2008 Men’s Olympic Team aka “The Redeem Team” made up for the 2004 and 2006 teams, winning bronze medals. This team consisted of LeBron James, the late Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, newly inducted Hall of Famers Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard among others. They brought the gold medal back to the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Mike Krzyzewski, the coach of the Redeem Team, said the gold medal was “the best moment in my coaching career.“
On their late teammate Kobe Bryant, Lebron James said, “We just wanted to get to his level and make him proud.”
Jason Kidd, a former NBA player and 2011 champion with the Dallas Mavericks said “It was my job to pass the info from Payton and Stockton to CP and D-Will.” “It was a beautiful thing to watch Kobe and LeBron battle and they set the tone every morning.”
Krzyzewski concluded the speech saying, “Our goal was to win the gold medal but also to win the respect of our country again, and the respect of the world.”
Maya Moore
Former WNBA star Maya Moore played eight seasons with the Lynx and was a four-time WNBA champion, WNBA MVP and WNBA Finals MVP, six-time All-Star, three-time All-Star MVP, five-time All-WNBA First Team, two-time NCAA national champion with UConn and NCAA tournament MOP. She also won two Olympic gold medals.
When speaking about her induction she said “Now that I’m in the Hall, I believe I have become Auntie Maya.”
When discussing her legacy, she said, “How can you become a better teammate in your home? How can you be more connected to your neighbors and your city? We don’t have a legacy by ourselves.”
When talking about her drive to win, she said, “Championship culture begins in the dark and is hidden. Genuine conversation, time spent but once it springs to life you can’t deny it. It’s strong and inspiring and each of us has the responsibility to keep that alive wherever we are.”
Moore retired in the 2019 WNBA season to focus on social justice issues and helped overturn her husband Jonathan Irons’ wrongful conviction.
She closed her speech by challenging the next generation. She said, “Figure out what motivates you every day you get out of bed. I want to challenge you up-and-comers every day to seek out joy and connection as your biggest motivator.”
Sue Bird
Bird is one of the most decorated women’s basketball players ever. In college, she won 2 NCAA Championships with Geno Auriemma. In her 21 WNBA seasons with the Seattle Storm, she won five Olympic a four-time WNBA championships, 13-time All-Star selections, and five All-WNBA First Team selections.
Bird quoted UConn Coach Geno Auriemma by saying, “Basketball is not a game of how-to, it’s a game of want-to.”
When talking about Geno, she said“It’s not often you get to take shots and he doesn’t have a mic to come back so.”
Bird said being on the stage Saturday made her appreciate her journey from Syosset, New York. She predicted in her high school yearbook that she would either become a lawyer, doctor, soccer or basketball player.
She said.”There was no logical place for a kid like me.” Even though she didn’t become a soccer player, she ended up being one of the best female athletes to ever play.
Sylvia Fowles
Sylvia Fowles didn’t take basketball seriously until the eighth grade. She was the youngest of five children.
She went to college at LSU, where she would be a two-time NCAA All-American and earn SEC Player of the Year honors. She ended up being the No. 2 pick to the Chicago Sky in 2008, where she would only spend seven seasons and was traded to the Minnesota Lynx.
She thanked her mother, her high school coaches, LSU and both the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx.
During her 15-year career, Fowles was a two-time WNBA champion, two-time WNBA Finals MVP, an eight-time All-Star, three-time All-WNBA First Team and a four-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. She won 4 gold Olympic medals and four DPOY awards is behind Tamika Catchings’ with five. Catchings played all 15 seasons for the Indiana Fever and won a championship in 2012.
Micky Arison
Micky Arison has owned the Miami Heat since 1995. In this span he won three NBA championships in 2006, 2012 and 2013. Arison said that since drafting Alonzo Mourning the Miami Heat have won the most playoff games.
Arison thanked former Heat players in attendance, including Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem and Alonzo Mourning for their contributions to what has become known as “Heat Culture.” Arison also thanked Dwayne Wade who he said is “the greatest Miami Heat player of all time.”
He also joked when he reminisced about the championship teams led by James, Wade and Bosh by referencing James’ infamous prediction on the championships they would win. He said “In 2010, with Dwyane, LeBron and Chris Bosh we knew we could win. Not one, not two … I guess it was just two.”
Billy Donovan
Billy Donovan is one of the most recognizable NBA coaches. He started his basketball career as a Point Guard at Providence College, which led to an unexpected Final Four appearance in 1987.
Donovan started his coaching career at Marshall for two seasons, where he was the youngest head coach in Division 1 basketball. After his time at Marshall, he went to Florida and won two NCAA championships and appeared in four Final Fours.
He left college in 2015 to pursue an NBA coaching career, landing with the Oklahoma City Thunder for five years and the Chicago Bulls for the last five. He was named NBA Coach of the Year in 2020 after leading Oklahoma City to a 44-28 record.
He thanked the Bulls organization, Coach Rick Pitino, current St. John’s University men’s basketball head coach, the Oklahoma City Thunder, Marshall, Florida teams players and staff, his mom, dad, five children and his wife of 36 years.
Danny Crawford
Danny Crawford served as an NBA referee for 32 seasons from 1985 to 2017. He officiated in 23 consecutive Finals.
He thanked the NBA for giving me “the best job in the world.” He praised commissioners David Stern and Adam Silver for their leadership. He also thanked his wife and his children.
