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1925

Roy Rubin is born in The Bronx, New York. His coaching career started at Christopher Columbus High School, which he guided to six New York Borough championships.

1931

Cliff Hagan is born in Owensboro, Kentucky. The Boys & Girls Club in his hometown was named after him in 1967.

1953

NBA All-Star World B. Free is born (as Lloyd Free) in Atlanta, Georgia.

1955

Otis Birdsong is born in Winter Haven, Florida. He led Winter Haven High School to the Florida state title in 1973.

1968

Brent Price is born in Shawnee, Oklahoma where his father Denny was just starting his coaching career at Shawnee High School.

1976

As part of a cost-cutting measure for the struggling Buffalo Braves franchise, Bob McAdoo is traded to the Knicks, along with Tom McMillen, in exchange for John Gianelli and cash. McAdoo became just the third player in NBA history to be traded within two years of being named league MVP, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the list.

1978

The first major U.S. women’s professional basketball league, the WBL, begins play in its inaugural season, with the Chicago Hustle defeating the Milwaukee Does.

1983

Ralph Sampson ties Mark Eaton’s NBA rookie single game record (and sets a Rockets franchise record) with 13 blocks in a 115-112 Rockets victory over the Bulls in overtime. With 28 points and 13 rebounds in the game, Sampson also joins Eaton as only the second rookie in NBA history with a triple-double that includes blocks (only David Robinson and Victor Wembanyama have accomplished the feat since).

1986

Aron Baynes is born in Gisborne, New Zealand. His family relocated to Australia when he was three and he won a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics with the Australian national team.

1987

Gerald Henderson, Jr. is born in Caldwell, New Jersey while his father, Gerald, Sr., was playing for the Knicks.

1988

Jerry Sloan is named head coach of the Jazz, replacing the resigning Frank Layden. During halftime of Sloan’s first game as coach, a 97-89 loss to the Mavericks, the Jazz recognize Layden by retiring jersey #1 in his honor.

1989

NBA veteran Eric Bledsoe is born in Birmingham, Alabama.

1995

Kelly Oubre, Jr. is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. The family relocated to the Houston area after Hurricane Katrina and Oubre starred for the George Bush High School basketball team in Fort Bend, Texas.

2000

Gary Payton becomes the all-time leading scorer in SuperSonics history with his 14,019th point during a loss to the Rockets.

2004

Tracy McGrady puts on one of the most impressive scoring outbursts in NBA history, dropping 13 points in the final 35 seconds of the game to give the Rockets an improbable, come-from-behind, 81-80 win over the Spurs.

2005

The Bulls retire Scottie Pippen’s #33 jersey in a pre-game ceremony with Michael Jordan, Horace Grant, and Phil Jackson in attendance.

On this date: full archive

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