Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Sue Bird headline finalists for Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

SAN FRANCISCO — Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are locks to be first-ballot Hall of Famers — and they could get in twice in one year.

‘Melo and Howard are among the finalists for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, who were announced on Friday in a ceremony tied to the NBA All-Star Weekend. The duo can get in as individuals — both will, as they have undeniably stacked resumes — but also as members of the 2008 USA Basketball gold medal-winning men’s team, the Redeem Team.

Another lock for the Hall of Fame is Sue Bird, the two-time NCAA champion at UConn who went on to win five Olympic gold medals and four WNBA championships.

“You look at the accomplishments for each of them in terms of championships, in terms of winning gold, in terms of being the players they were for as long as they were, it’s a real tribute to the game of basketball and women’s basketball in particular,” said Hall of Fame chairman Jerry Colangelo (who also happened to be the managing director of the 2008 Olympic team.

Carmelo Anthony was an NCAA champion at Syracuse, who went on to be a six-time All-NBA player and a 10-time All-Star, who averaged 22.5 points a game for his career. He also led the league in scoring in 2013. ‘Melo was one of the great bucket-getters the league has ever seen.

Younger fans don’t realize how great the younger Dwight Howard was arguably the best defender of his generation, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, an eight-time All-NBA player, and an eight-time All-Star who won an NBA ring in the bubble with the Lakers. His HOF resume is not in doubt.

The rest of the finalists for the Hall of Fame are:

• The 2008 USA Basketball men’s Olympic team
• Maya Moore
• Billy Donovan
• Mark Few
• Marques Johnson
• Micky Arison (Heat owner)
• Jerry Welsh
• Tal Brody
• Sylvia Fowles
• Jennifer Azzi
• Buck Williams
• Molly Bolin
• Danny Crawford
• Dusan Ivkovic

Among those just missing the cut to become Hall of Fame finalists are the legendary Suns duo of Shawn Marion and Amar’e Stoudemire, as well as Doc Rivers.