Women's Basketball Hall of Fame 2025 class a reminder of who believed in the sport

As the WNBA enters another season in an era of remarkable growth and popularity, it was only fitting that four of the league's greats were part of the 2025 class of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Cappie Pondexter and Alana Beard were inducted June 14 at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville.

They were joined by former coach Lucille Kyvallos and current Union University coach Mark Campbell, as well as executive Danielle Donehew for her contributions to the sport.Whether they played together or against each other, Bird said there's a shared experience among the players in the class that's meaningful."When we're just in the room together, you can feel it," the former UConn and Seattle Storm guard said.

"It's like we did something at the same time together, and we are part of a generation that helped build, and that really is special.

So to go into the Hall of Fame with them does mean a lot."Both college and professional women's basketball have enjoyed an extraordinary increase in attendance and viewership the past few years.

Beard, who won a WNBA championship in 2016 with the Los Angeles Sparks, calls the potential of players on the court today "limitless.""One thing that I enjoy more than anything is watching these young women step into their power and owning that," said Beard, who retired in 2020.

"For so long as athletes, we were told to focus on one thing.

You'll get distracted if you look left or right .

.

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and not be as successful as you can be.

But these young women understand that there is so much more to gain."Sue Bird 'filled with overwhelming pride'Bird, who recently was named managing director of the USA Basketball women's national team, believes the sport will be the biggest story of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and she wants to be part of it.Bird said she and her peers always knew there was interest in women's basketball, and today's game is proof, even when there were people who tried to put it down.

But players like Bird, Fowles, Beard and Pondexter believed in it, and they wouldn't let anyone tell them differently."I am filled with overwhelming pride we all should," Bird said in her speech.

"The game isn't just surviving, it's thriving.

To witness this generation of players stepping into their power, being unapologetic and celebrated for their talent, that's the real dream come true.

To all the current players, this is your league now, don't let anyone else define it.

Trust yourselves, trust each other, and keep pushing us forward."The history of the game has never been more important, with new waves of fans every season.

The induction of the 2025 class was a celebration of that history, from Kyvallos' account of when she coached the first women's collegiate basketball games at Madison Square Garden in 1975 in front of more than 12,000 fans, to the recognition of the generation that helped establish the WNBA as it is now.Beard and Fowles addressed the young players coming up.

"Who you become will always be determined by the audacity of your dreams and your willingness to see them through," Beard said."Your dreams are valid," Fowles said.

"Your voices matter.

Your power is real, whether you're the tallest person on the court or the last one always picked keep going.

You don't have to have it all figured out today.

Just don't stop showing up."Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee womens athletics.

Email her at [email protected] and follow her on X @corahalll.

If you enjoy Coras coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: WBHOF 2025 class has college, WNBA greats credited for growth of sport.

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