Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee, Alana Beard, gives her remarks during the 2025 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Tennessee Theatre, June 14, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Shawn Millsaps/Special to News Sentinel) Shawn Millsaps / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sparks' Legend Earns Hall of Fame Induction, Joins Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowles in 2025 Class

Originally posted on Los Angeles Sparks on SI
By Ben Geffner | Last updated Jun 15, 2025 9:00 PM ET

Former Sparks' guard-forward Alana Beard was officially inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2025 on Saturday at the Historic Tennessee Theater in Knoxville, Tennessee

Beard was honored alongide basketball greats Sue Bird, Mark Campbell, Danielle Donehew, Sylvia Fowles, Lucille Kyvallos and Cappie Pondexter, per a release.

The 5-foot-11 guard-forward averaged 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists across 420 WNBA games — a professional basketball career spanning from 2004 to 2019. She was a four-time league All-Star, nine-time All-Defensive Team honoree and secured back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in both 2017 and 2018.

Former LA Sparks' legend & 2016 WNBA champion Alana Beard was officially inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2025 on Saturday.

More on @Alanabeard20’s honor: https://t.co/grMngl8PRL
pic.twitter.com/frfmE1YPbD
— LA Sports Report (@LA_SportsReport) June 16, 2025

Furthermore, she helped the Sparks to their 2016 WNBA Championship title — the franchise's third league crown.

Prior to the WNBA, she left Duke as the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,687 points. Beard led the Blue Devils to four straight ACC titles and back-to-back Final Four appearances.

Congrats to Alana Beard on being inducted into the @WBHOF tonight.

An incredible accomplishment & one of the best to represent the Sparks. pic.twitter.com/jfjceU4b8S
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) June 14, 2025

"One thing that I enjoy more than anything is watching these young women step into their power and owning that," Beard, who retired in 2020, told the Knoxville News Sentinel. "For so long as athletes, we were told to focus on one thing.

"You'll get distracted if you look left or right . . . and not be as successful as you can be. But these young women understand that there is so much more to gain," she added.

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Sparks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: