1982

Chaminade, a tiny NAIA school from Honolulu, shocks Ralph Sampson and #1 ranked Virginia 77-72, in maybe the biggest upset in major U.S. basketball history. The game was sparsely attended (the official attendance figure was 3,383), ended after 3 A.M. Eastern time, and had no local or national televised broadcast.

1924

Naismith Hall of Fame inductee Bob Kurland is born in St. Louis, Missouri.

1962

NBA veteran Jerry Reynolds is born in Brooklyn, New York.

1968

Bill Russell becomes the first pro basketball player ever to be named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, recognized as such for his trailblazing role as player-coach of the Celtics.

1977

NBA veteran and media personality Paul Shirley is born in Redwood City, California.

1986

Magic Johnson scores a career high 46 points in a 127-117 Lakers victory over the Kings. Johnson scored 40+ points in a single game just six times in his career.

2020

For the first time in nine months, fans are in attendance for an NBA game, as 300 fans are allowed into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to watch the Cavaliers defeat the Hornets 121-114. On the same night, fans are on hand in Orlando to watch the Magic defeat the Heat 113-107 and in Tampa to watch the Pelicans defeat the Raptors 113-99. Due to COVID-19 restrictions in Canada, the Raptors spent the entire ’20-’21 season playing their home games in Tampa at Amalie Arena. Houston, Utah, Memphis, and New Orleans also allowed a limited number of fans into home games early in the season.