Former Chicago Sky center Silvia Fowles was named a finalist for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025, it announced in a Friday tweet.
Fowles, an 8-time All-Star and All-WNBA selection, made her case for the Hall of Fame during her 15 seasons with the Sky and Minnesota Lynx. She joined former Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird, former Lynx guard Maya Moore and a former Stanford standout in Jennifer Azzi as a Women's Committee Finalist. Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, who won two National Championships with the Florida Gators alongside former Bulls center Joakim Noah, was named a North American Committee Finalist. The class will be announced on April 5 at the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, according to a Friday release.
A Hall-of-Famer for the LSU Tigers, Fowles immediately made an impact for the Sky after being selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft. The 6-foot-6 big earned three All-Star and two Defensive Player of the Year selections in her seven seasons with Chicago. She played a monumental role in taking the Sky to their first playoff appearance in 2013 and their first Finals appearance one year later. Fowles would be traded to the Lynx in a 3-team deal that sent 3-time All-Star forward Erika De Souza to Chicago in 2015. She would go on to win two championships with Moore and the Lynx, including a win over Hall-of-Fame forward Tamika Catchings and the Indiana Fever the very year she was traded.
Whether it be former or current, Chicago Sky players have been earning their fair share of accomplishments this offseason.
Forward Candace Parker, who was selected one pick before Fowles in 2008, is starring in TNT's studio coverage of Unrivaled. She was one of many larger investors in an ownership group that submitted a bid for a WNBA expansion franchise earlier this month. Her former teammate in guard Allie Quigley was inducted into the DePaul Hall of Fame in January. Current Sky forward Angel Reese starred in a signature meal collaboration with McDonald's a few weeks after she first suited up for the Rose Basketball Club in Unrivaled.