One of the more highly anticipated dates on the annual women’s basketball calendar is when a new class of greats becomes forever enshrined into immortality at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville.
This year’s induction ceremony will occur in June – a bit later than last year’s did, but we anticipate will have a very high level of pomp and circumstance.
When one looks at the names that are in this year’s class, one can see that Sylvia Fowles and Sue Bird are indeed the headliners. Both Fowles and Bird retired from the WNBA following the 2022 season.
Also included in the 2025 class will be Cappie Pondexter and Alana Beard.
Two coaches are also included in said class. One of them is Mark Campbell and given he coaches in the state of Tennessee he is sure to command a rather big home state crowd in June. Another noteworthy name is Lucille Kyvallos who was the former women’s basketball coach at Queens College in New York City.
Danielle Donehow – executive director of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association – will also be enshrined in summer of 2025.
We have plenty of thoughts on what will definitely a banner day for the game on June 14.
Syl and Sue
The fact that Bird and Fowles will be part of the same class certainly takes us back to the 2022 season when both put their jerseys away for good.
One of the storylines of that 2022 season was how the media covered the farewell tours of both Bird and Fowles. Plenty of independent and Black media (such as us) mentioned how mainstream media outlets rightfully were giving Bird her flowers but did not exactly bestow a similar-sized bouquet to Sweet Syl.
One wonders if this will come up at some point during either one of their speeches.
Lynx
If Hall of Fame classes are starting to make one feel older and older, one is not alone.
With the induction of Fowles into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame this means that four of the five noteworthy greats that were at one point or another part of that 2010s Minnesota Lynx run have been (or will be) enshrined.
Fowles is part of the 2025 class. The 2024 class included Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus. The 2023 class included Lindsay Whalen.
One has to believe that Rebekkah Brunson will not be that far behind. She retired following the 2020 bubble season and now is an assistant coach with the Lynx.
Cappie
When talking about all-time great players, sometimes the name Cappie Pondexter gets lost in the overall WNBA discourse.
Perhaps her upcoming enshrinement into Knoxville will remind people just how much a force Pondexter was. She won a pair of WNBA championships (2007 and 2009) with the Phoenix Mercury. She was a former Finals MVP with that 2007 Mercury rendition. She made seven All-Star Games and was a gold medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Respect needs to be put on her name. And while she has gone through plenty of trials and tribulations (some of them self-inflicted) she has grown from those mistakes.
Alana
One can expect a healthy contingent from Louisiana to make the trek up to Knoxville for next year’s induction ceremony at the Tennessee Theatre.
This is not only the case for Fowles. It is also the case for The Boot’s very own Alana Beard. She was originally selected by the Washington Mystics and qualified for four All-Star Games. She also won a championship in 2016 with the Los Angeles Sparks.
It is a forgotten fact regarding Beard, but she also was part of an effort with the African American Sports & Entertainment Group to bring a WNBA team to Oakland. The Bay Area’s expansion efforts did ultimately succeed with the Golden State Valkyries debuting next year, but Beard has shown that she is committed to growing the game even after her playing days have concluded.
Other Enshrinees
As mentioned earlier, the other names on the list may not be placed on the marquee the way Bird, Fowles, Pondexter or Beard may but they are no less important.
Kyvallos formerly coached the women’s basketball team at Queens College. Her team was the first women’s team ever to play a game at Madison Square Garden and she is already part of several Halls of Fame – including when her 1972-73 team was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame.
Jackson is on the other side of Tennessee. It is where Union University is located. Campbell not only serves as the school’s women’s basketball coach but also as its director of athletics. He is first all-time at Union in wins and won four NAIA national championships – in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010.
The Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association has had three executive directors throughout its history. Donehew is one of those and she assumed that role in 2014. She actually is familiar with the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame as part of its Board of Trustees as well as being a former president of its Board of Directors. Donehew was also instrumental in the establishment of the Atlanta Dream and played her collegiate basketball with Georgia Tech from 1996-2001.
