Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Sue Bird highlight Basketball Hall of Fame class
Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are going into the Basketball Hall of Fame later this year, not once but twice, and LeBron James and Chris Paul are part of the group that's headed to the Hall as well, even before their playing careers end.
Anthony and Howard were announced as members of the Class of 2025 on Saturday, as was the 2008 U.S. Olympic men's basketball team they played on — dubbed the "Redeem Team," the one that captured gold at the Beijing Games and started a still-going run of five consecutive Olympic titles and counting for USA Basketball's men's program.
Also selected for enshrinement: WNBA greats Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles, Chicago Bulls coach and two-time NCAA champion Billy Donovan, Miami Heat managing general partner Micky Arison and longtime NBA referee Danny Crawford.
"I made it to the real basketball heaven," Howard said.
Enshrinement weekend is Sept. 5-6 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, and the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
"When the call comes and, in my case, I saw Springfield on the phone," Anthony said on the televised announcement. "You know what time it is Springfield is on the phone. You know who it is. You get the phone call and you hear, 'You're in.' And I think for me, it was a burden off of my shoulders."
Donovan won back-to-back titles as a college coach with Florida. Arison oversaw Miami's path to NBA titles in 2006, 2012 and 2013. Crawford worked NBA games for 32 seasons and was picked to work the NBA Finals in 23 of those years.
"For some, this is an individual honor," Arison said. "But for me, this speaks to what our entire Heat family — players, coaches, staff and fans — have built together."
Combined, the five players selected as individuals – Bird, Moore, Fowles, Howard and Anthony – were part of 11 WNBA or NBA championship teams, won 15 Olympic gold medals, made 37 All-NBA or All-WNBA appearances and were named as All-Stars 45 times in their careers.
"Surreal," Bird said of her selection. "I don't think there's any way to really wrap your head around it."
Added Fowles: "I don't think [any] one of us go into this thinking that we're going to be Hall of Famers. You just do your job ... and when it's all said and done, the job is complete and here we are."
The Redeem Team's selection means that Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Jason Kidd and Kobe Bryant — already enshrined as Hall of Famers — essentially now go in for a second time. James and Paul, who are obviously both locks to get into the Hall after they retire, also played for that Olympic team, as did Michael Redd, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams and Tayshaun Prince.
The Redeem Team had that moniker because it was the team tasked with restoring USA Basketball's place atop the world stage, after the 2004 Olympic team only managed a bronze medal at the Athens Games. The Redeem Team went 8-0 in Beijing, winning those games by an average of 27.9 points.
"USA Basketball is thrilled to see the 2008 U.S. Men's Olympic Team elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame," USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said. "The Redeem Team's celebrated run in Beijing marks a pivotal moment in U.S. men's Olympic basketball history and has propelled us to five straight gold medals.
"Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, members of that team and individual inductees, are two of the many legends in this Class who have contributed to our organization's success over the last 20-plus years, including Sue Bird, Billy Donovan, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles," Tooley added.
UConn's women's program already had coach Geno Auriemma, Swin Cash (enshrined as a player) and Rebecca Lobo (enshrined as a contributor) in the Hall of Fame, and Bird and Moore going in together will obviously add to what's always a huge weekend in New England.
"They're hall of famers for me, they're hall of famers for their family, they're hall of famers for everybody — they're even hall of famers for UConn haters," Auriemma said. "That's one thing they can all agree on."
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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