Carmelo Anthony, Sue Bird Among Finalists for 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame Class

Finalists for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 were officially announced on Friday, headlined by Carmelo Anthony and Sue Bird.

Former players Dwight Howard, Maya Moore, Buck Williams, Sylvia Fowles, Marques Johnson, Jennifer Azzi and Molly Bolin were among the finalists as well.

Several former coaches, executives and referees were also selected. These finalists included Micky Arison, Billy Donovan, Jerry Welsh, Tal Brody, Mark Few, Danny Crawford and Dušan Ivković.

The 2008 USA men’s basketball Olympic team was also nominated.

Anthony spent time with six organizations throughout his 19-year NBA career, earning 10 All-Star selections and six All-NBA nods. He also won a scoring title during the 2013-14 season and was selected as a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

The Denver Nuggets acquired Anthony with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft after he won a national championship during his freshman year at Syracuse.

He quickly established himself as one of the top scorers in the NBA, averaging over 20 points per game in each of his first 14 seasons in the association with the Nuggets and New York Knicks.

Anthony owns career averages of 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 34.5 minutes per game on 44.7/35.5/81.4 shooting splits. He currently sits at No. 10 on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Bird similarly found early success in the WNBA following a stellar college career, winning the NCAA Tournament twice in four years at UConn.

She spent her entire professional career as a member of the Seattle Storm, making 13 All-Star appearances. Bird repeatedly stepped up in the playoffs throughout her tenure with the Storm, winning four championships.

She proved herself as one of the best passers and long-range shooters in WNBA history, as her 3,234 total assists are the most all-time. Bird also ranks No. 2 on the league's all-time three-point field goals list.

She averaged 11.7 points and 5.6 assists per game while shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from behind the arc with the Storm.

The finalists will now move on to the Honors Committee for consideration as members of the Class of 2025.

The new class will be announced on April 5.