Dwight Howard and Maya Moore are among the list of first-time nominees for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
Howard, from Atlanta and Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, went directly to the NBA out of high school and was the No. 1 overall pick in 2004 by the Orlando Magic. Howard played 18 NBA seasons with the Magic (2004-12), Lakers (2012-13, 2019-20, 2021-22), Rockets (2013-16), his hometown Hawks (2016-17), Hornets (2017-18), Wizards (2018-19) and 76ers (2020-21).
The center won an NBA championship with the Lakers in 2020. His career accolades include being an eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA Team, five-time All-Defensive Team and three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
In his career of 1,242 NBA games, Howard averaged 15.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. He finished with totals of 19,485 points and 14,627 rebounds, which is 10th all-time in the NBA.
Moore played at Collins Hill High, where she helped her team to four straight state finals and three championships. She played collegiately at Connecticut, where she won two national championships. She was the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft by the Minnesota Lynx in 2011.
Moore played eight seasons in the WNBA, all with the Lynx, before leaving the game in 2018. The Lynx won four WNBA titles with Moore in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017.
Her career accolades include a WNBA Most Valuable Player, a WNBA Finals MVP, three WNBA All-Star game MVPs, a WNBA Scoring title and the WNBA Rookie of the Year. She is a two Olympic gold medalist in 2012 and 2016.
The list of 189 candidates also includes Doc Rivers as a first-time nominee. Rivers, the current coach of the Bucks, played 13 NBA seasons, including his first eight with the Hawks (1983-91).
Other first-time nominees include Carmelo Anthony, Marc Gasol, Sue Bird, Syliva Fowles, Chamique Holdsclaw and Billy Donovan.
The Hall of Fame also unveiled an update to its eligibility requirements, reducing the waiting period for player candidates from three full seasons out of the game to two seasons. The change was unanimously approved by the Hall of Fame’s Board of Governors.
Finalists for the Class of 2025 will be selected on Feb. 14 in San Francisco at NBA All-Star weekend. The enshrinement class will be revealed on April 5 in San Antonio at the men’s NCAA Final Four.
Enshrinement events take place on Sept. 5 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut and Sept. 6 at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
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