Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan officially earned a spot in the basketball history books.
Donovan was a first-ballot selection for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, one of eight individuals named to its 2025 class Saturday. His selection was predicated on a heralded career as a collegiate coach for leading Florida to consecutive national championships in 2006 and 2007. He remains one of only three men’s coaches to accomplish the feat.
Donovan, 59, started his career as an assistant at Kentucky under Hall of Famer Rick Pitino, who also was his college coach at Providence. Donovan was the lead assistant for the Wildcats during a 1993 run to the Final Four.
Over a 21-year career as a college coach, Donovan made four Final Four appearances in 19 seasons with the Gators and had a combined 502 victories with Florida (1996-2015) and Marshall (1994-96). His top players at Florida included future NBA stars Joakim Noah and Al Horford.
Donovan went on to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to five consecutive winning seasons in his first stint as an NBA coach before joining the Bulls in 2020.
Former Chicago Sky star Sylvia Fowles also was named to this year’s Hall class as a first-ballot selection. The Sky drafted Fowles with the No. 2 pick in 2008 after she led LSU to four consecutive Final Four appearances. She was a three-time All-Star and won two Defensive Player of the Year awards with the Sky before being traded in 2015 to the Minnesota Lynx, with whom she won two WNBA championships and an MVP trophy in 2017.
Fowles finished her career as an eight-time All-Star and four-time Defensive Player of the Year. She averaged 15.7 points and 9.8 rebounds over 15 seasons. Her jersey number is retired by LSU and the Lynx.
“I don’t think (any) one of us go into this thinking that we’re going to be Hall of Famers,” Fowles said. “You just do your job … and when it’s all said and done, the job is complete and here we are.”
WNBA greats Sue Bird and Maya Moore joined Fowles as the other women’s player selections. NBA greats Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard were the two men’s player selections.
Combined, the five players selected as individuals — Bird, Moore, Fowles, Howard and Anthony — were part of 11 WNBA or NBA championship teams, won 15 Olympic gold medals, made 37 All-NBA or All-WNBA appearances and were named as All-Stars 45 times in their careers.
Also named to the 2025 class were longtime referee Danny Crawford and Miami Heat owner Micky Arison as a contributor. The 2008 U.S. Olympic men’s team — which won the gold medal in Beijing and included Anthony, Howard, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul, among others — also was selected.
The 2025 class will be enshrined during a weekend event Sept. 5-6 in Springfield, Mass., and Uncasville, Conn.
The Associated Press contributed.
