Sue Bird, Mark Few named finalists for 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame class

Seattle Storm icon Sue Bird and Gonzaga men's basketball coach Mark Few are one step closer to going into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

BY TIM REYNOLDS

Feb 14, 2025, 4:45 PM

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Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird reacts after attempting a basket against Washington in 2022. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) —Sue Bird and Mark Few are one step closer to going into the Basketball Hall of Fame

So are Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, who, if all goes well, might get in twice.

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Bird, Few, Anthony and Howard were among the finalists announced Friday by the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame for enshrinement as part of the class of 2025.

At guard, from UConn, a Class of 2025 Finalist, Sue Bird. #25HoopClass pic.twitter.com/87qrPjgTVA

— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) February 14, 2025

Bird, the iconic former Seattle Storm guard, is one of four women’s basketball greats named as finalists.

Few, the legendary longtime Gonzaga Bulldogs men’s head coach, is one of three college coaches among the list of finalists.

Coach of the Gonzaga Men’s Basketball team, a Class of 2025 Finalist, Coach Mark Few. #25HoopClass pic.twitter.com/rtBU4xjXbh

— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) February 14, 2025

Also a finalist is NBA legend Marques Johnson, who had a memorable stint in the 1990s calling Seattle SuperSonics games as a color analyst alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Calabro.

Both Anthony and Howard both made it as individuals — and for their roles on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team that won gold at the Beijing Games, the so-called “Redeem Team” that also is now one step from induction.

“I think any time you have an association with a group of people that come together for a common cause and good, you see a lot of good things happen,” said Hall of Fame chairman Jerry Colangelo, who also was managing director of the 2008 Olympic team. “I’ve said some things about that experience … ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ being played, the flag being raised, it was a moment of total completion.”

The other women’s basketball players on the list with Bird are Sylvia Fowles, Maya Moore and Jennifer Azzi – all of whom are Olympic gold medalists. Bird won five Olympic golds, Fowles won four, Moore won two, and Azzi was part of the team that won gold at Atlanta in 1996.

“You look at the accomplishments for each of them in terms of championships, in terms of winning gold, in terms of being the players they were for as long as they were, it’s a real tribute to the game of basketball and women’s basketball in particular,” Colangelo said.

The other finalists as picked by the North American committee were Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan (a two-time NCAA champion coach at Florida); retired NBA referee Danny Crawford; NBA legend Buck Williams; and Jerry Welsh — who coached Potsdam in upstate New York to NCAA Division III titles in 1981 and 1986.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Announces 17 finalists for Class of 2025 Election.

🔗: https://t.co/X1s49XsuJd #25HoopClass pic.twitter.com/e7IHheA5pC

— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) February 15, 2025

“I tell everybody he’s not really a coach,” said Steve Babiarz, who played on Welsh’s 1986 national championship team. “He’s everybody’s mentor, a second father. Coaching was secondary. He brought student-athletes there to be successful and his personality, his character, the way he’s about family, I mean, I played for him 40 years ago and I talk to him every single month since I left Potsdam. He’s my hero.”

Miami Heat managing general partner Micky Arison is also a finalist for enshrinement. Arison was put forward by the Contributors Committee, as was longtime Maccabi Tel Aviv star Tal Brody.

“He’s just a great owner,” Heat President Pat Riley, a 2008 Hall of Fame inductee, said of Arison. “It’s a family organization.”

The Women’s Veteran Committee put forward Molly Bolin, who was the first player signed by the Women’s Professional Basketball League. And the International Committee selected as a finalist former Serbian professional player and longtime coach Dusan Ivkovic — already a FIBA Hall of Famer.

The finalists have one more step to go: the Hall’s Honors Committee will meet in the coming weeks, with 18 votes from that 24-person panel needed for election. The class will be unveiled at the NCAA men’s Final Four in San Antonio on April 5.

“Selection as a finalist for the Class of 2025 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is a remarkable achievement, signifying a career of excellence and lasting influence on the game,” Colangelo said. “This recognition goes beyond statistics and accolades — it honors those who have defined eras, inspired generations, and elevated basketball through their talent, leadership and dedication.”

Enshrinement weekend is Sept. 5-6 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, and the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

• Media, lifetime achievement awards

Detroit Pistons play-by-play announcer George Blaha, CBS analyst Clark Kellogg, women’s basketball writer Michelle Smith and influential NBA journalist Adrian Wojnarowski were revealed Friday as the winners of this year’s Curt Gowdy Media Awards by the Hall of Fame.

The Gowdy awards, the Hall said, are “presented to members of the print, electronic, and transformative media whose efforts have made a significant contribution to the game of basketball.”

Also honored Friday was longtime Boston Celtics vice president of media and alumni relations Jeff Twiss, who received the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award. That award, the Hall said, is “the most prestigious award presented by the Hall of Fame” other than enshrinement.

Blaha has been the voice of the Pistons since 1976. Kellogg joined CBS Sports in 1993 and has been a part of its NCAA Tournament coverage for more than three decades. Smith has written for ESPN, the San Francisco Chronicle and AOL Fanhouse, among others. Wojnarowski was a news-breaker for ESPN and a New York Times best-selling author who retired from journalism last year to become the general manager of the men’s basketball team at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure.

Twiss has been with the Celtics since 1981, and Boston has won four NBA titles in that span.

Seattle Sports staff made alterations to this post.

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