This past weekend marked the induction ceremony for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In what may have been the most illustrious group of honorees ever, a pattern of interconnectivity emerged. Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard both played on the 2008 Olympic team, which was also honored as a collective unit. Another member of that 2008 team, LeBron James, was also on the 2012 Olympic team, which connects him to the three women honored: Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles and Maya Moore.
The connection between Bird, Fowles and Moore runs even deeper. The three women were Olympic teammates in 2012 and ’16, with Bird and Fowles also being vital members of the 2008 and 2020/21 gold medal teams. Fowles was also part of Moore’s third and fourth WNBA titles with the Minnesota Lynx. Bird, a native of Syosset, New York in Nassau County, Long Island, is one of New York’s all-time high school greats, playing first for Syosset High School then her final two years at Christ the King in Queens, where as a senior she led her team to the national title, earning New York State Player of the Year honors.
In no way diminishing the basketball legacies of the male honorees, but they all made a lot of money during their NBA careers. For the women, basketball was a higher calling. They played in the WNBA and on Olympic teams for a love of the game, national pride, personal drive for excellence and a desire to build a foundation for future generations. Bird and Moore were both part of University of Connecticut national championships as well as notable winning streaks, which taught them about what it takes to achieve extraordinary results.
Fowles and Bird both retired after the 2022 WNBA season. Moore stepped away from basketball in 2019 to commit her life to criminal justice reform and she officially retired in 2023. In 2020, she succeeded in freeing a wrongly convicted man, Jonathan Irons, from prison. They married soon after and have a life filled with purpose. I always say that Moore knew what it meant to be excellent, and she demonstrated that in her Hall of Fame speech.
“One of the most profound aspects of team sports is seeing a group of individuals over time start to trust each other and truly play for each other,” said Moore. “You overcome through love, dedication and trust. … You don’t have to be me or Sue or Syl or any of these greats here tonight to feel the joy of winning together. These teams can inspire us to take these values and create championship culture right where your feet are. I’m so grateful how I’ve been able to take my championship experiences to an even more precious context, which is our collective communities.”
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