Sue Bird and Maya Moore were dominant players during their careers in the WNBA, albeit in very different ways. Both roads led to the same place though, as both former WNBA stars have been elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Sue Bird and Maya Moore join a star-studded class, including former NBA All-Stars Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard. The selection was well deserved for both players, who were among the league’s best throughout their careers. Bird might have had a longer run of high-level play, but Moore’s eight years as a pro are as good a stretch as the WNBA has ever seen.
Both were fiery competitors as they clashed with one another in the WNBA, but were close teammates and friends in the Olympics as they helped Team USA win three straight gold medals in 2012, 2016 and 2020. Their talent and charisma also helped each of them grow their fanbases, which continue to support them even after they retired.
Fans took to X to react to the news, congratulating Sue Bird and Maya Moore on their selection into the Hall of Fame. One fan had only a few words, but they were more than enough to describe the level of talent of the 2025 class, one of the best in recent memory.
“Maya Moore was like Melo in the WNBA,” commented one fan, comparing Moore to the former New York Knick.
“Deserved, WNBA legends,” said another fan.
“All I have to say for Maya Moore is what took so long?” questioned one fan.
While the support for Sue Bird and Maya Moore was overall very positive, there were fans that said neither deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.
“Wow, zero NBA championships — not even any finals appearances and this qualifies them for the HOF? #SMH,” one fan asked.
“So now we just put anyone in the hall of fame,” said another.
What have Sue Bird and Maya Moore been doing since retiring from the WNBA?
Despite the age gap between them, both Sue Bird and Maya Moore retired from the WNBA with a year of one another, with Bird’s announcement coming in 2022 while Moore confirmed that she would not be returning to the league in 2023. Both players are still spoken highly of by fans even though they have moved on into their post-career lives.
Since walking away from the league in 2019, Maya Moore has been a major advocate for social justice, co-founding the non-profit “Win With Justice” to fight discrimination in the justice system. She turned heads when she fought for and then married Jonathan Irons, a man who had been wrongly convicted and sent to prison.
Sue Bird, on the other hand, has continued to be involved in the sports world alongside her partner, former USWNT soccer player Megan Rapinoe. The two are part owners of the Seattle Storm and Gotham FC, as well as co-hosts on the A Touch More podcast. Bird also appears on ESPN in special NCAA women’s basketball broadcasts.
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Edited by Zachary Howell
