Anthony and Howard head the class of the Naismith Hall

Basketball stars Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are among those selected for the Naismith basketball hall.

Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard They will enter to Basketball Hall of Fame At the end of this year, not one, but twice. AND LeBron James and Chris Paul They are also part of the group that will enter the room, even before they finish their careers as players.

Anthony and Howard were announced on Saturday as members of the 2025 class, as well as the 2008 Basketball Male Olympic team in which they played, nicknamed the “Redeemer team”, which won the gold in the Beijing Olympic Games and started an still valid streak of five consecutive Olympic titles (and counting) Basketball.

They were also selected for consecration: the great figures of the WNBA Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles; the Chicago Bulls coach and twice champion of the NCAA Billy Donovan; the general managing partner of the Miami Heat, Micky Arison; and the veteran NBA referee, Danny Crawford. The consecration weekend is September 5 and 6 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, and the Fame Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts.

“When the call comes, and in my case, I saw Springfield on the phone,” Anthony said in the televised announcement. “You know what time it is, Springfield is on the phone. You know who he is. You receive the call and listen: ‘You are inside.’ And I think, for me, it was a great relief.”

Donovan won consecutive titles as a university coach with Florida. Arison supervised Miami’s path to the NBA titles in 2006, 2012 and 2013. Crawford worked on NBA matches for 32 seasons and was selected to direct the NBA finals in 23 of those years.

“For some, this is an individual honor,” said Arison. “But for me, this speaks of what our entire Heat family: players, coaches, personal and fans, we have built together.”

The REDEM team selection means that Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Jason Kidd and Kobe Bryant, already consecrated as members of the Hall of Fame, practically now enter for the second time. James and Paul, who obviously have their entry to the living room after their retirement, also played for that Olympic team, as well as Michael Redd, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams and Tayshaun Prince.

The REDEM team received that nickname because it was the team in charge of restoring the place of USA Basketball at the top of the world scene, after the 2004 Olympic team only won a bronze medal in the Athens Games. The REDEM team had an 8-0 record in Beijing, winning those games for an average of 27.9 points.

“USA Basketball is delighted to see the 2008 Male Olympic team chosen for the Naismith basketball hall,” said Jim Tooley, executive director of the USA Basketball. The celebrated performance of the Redeemer team in Beijing marks a crucial moment in the history of the Male Olympic basketball in the United States and has catapulted us five consecutive gold medals.

The women’s program of UConn already had coach Geno Auriemma, Swin Cash (consecrated as a player) and Rebecca Lobo (consecrated as a collaborator) in the Hall of Fame, and the joint arrival of Bird and Moore will undoubtedly contribute to what is always a great weekend in New England.

“They are members of the Hall of Fame for me, they are members of the Hall of Fame for their family, they are members of the Hall of Fame for all; they are even members of the Hall of Fame for those who hate Uconn,” said Auriemma. “That everyone agrees.”