On May 17, Dawn Staley was officially inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 during a ceremony held in Manama, Bahrain. The class included eight honorees seven players and one coach.
Staley was recognized for her outstanding playing career. Other inductees included Alphonse Bilé (Côte d’Ivoire), Andrew Bogut (Australia), Leonor Borrell (Cuba), Pau Gasol (Spain), Ticha Penicheiro (Portugal), Ratko Radovanovic (Serbia), and U.S. coaching legend Mike Krzyzewski.
During her speech, Staley expressed deep gratitude: “I want to thank FIBA, the nominating committee, my fellow honorees, and everyone who has supported me throughout my journey my family, my coaches, my teammates. Being honored by your home country is amazing, but being celebrated globally is beyond humbling.”
Staley’s journey with FIBA began at the 1989 U19 World Cup in Spain a tournament she admitted she didn’t fully understand at the time.
Throughout her playing career, Staley was a three-time Olympic gold medalist and played a pivotal role on the 1996 team that helped establish the U.S. women’s basketball dynasty. She was also selected by her fellow Olympians to carry the American flag at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Beyond the Olympics, she won gold at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups and a bronze at the 1994 edition.
Reflecting on her career, she said, “We created a global sisterhood fierce rivals on the court, but always supportive off it. I was lucky to share the journey with legends like Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes my sisters in sport, in life, and in gold.”
After retiring as a player, Staley transitioned to coaching. She served as an assistant coach on the 2008 and 2016 Olympic gold medal teams and led Team USA to victories at the 2018 World Cup and the 2019 and 2021 AmeriCups. As head coach, she guided the U.S. to Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2020.
Staley’s FIBA induction marks her third Hall of Fame honor she was previously enshrined in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2012) and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2013), all recognizing her impact as a player.
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