Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Sue Bird among Hall finalists - ESPN

SAN FRANCISCO — Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and a team they were part of — the gold medal-winning 2008 U.S. Olympic men's basketball team — headline the group of finalists for this year's Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class announced Friday.

Among the other nominees are women's basketball legends Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles. Coaches Billy Donovan and Mark Few were also nominated.

Anthony, a 10-time All-Star, is 10th on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 28,289 points. He also led Syracuse to a national championship in 2003.

Howard was the preeminent defensive presence of his era, winning three straight NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards (2009 to 2011). He made eight All-NBA teams, led the Orlando Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals and won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

The 2008 Olympic men's team returned Team USA to the top spot internationally after it earned a bronze medal at the 2004 Games and no medals at the 2002 and 2006 world championships. The 2008 team included Anthony, Howard, the late Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh and LeBron James. It was assembled by Jerry Colangelo, the chairman of the Hall of Fame.

Moore won two national championships at the University of Connecticut and four WNBA titles in her seven-year career with the Minnesota Lynx before she retired in 2018 during her prime to pursue criminal justice reform. Bird also won two titles at UConn and four in the WNBA during her career with the Seattle Storm and is considered one of the greatest point guards in the history of women's basketball.

Fowles was a dominant interior presence at LSU, which she led to four Final Four appearances. As a professional, she won two titles with Moore as a