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1928

George Yardley is born in Los Angeles, California.

1950

In the deciding game of the inaugural FIBA World Championship, the host Argentinians defeat the United States 64-50 to earn the gold medal. The U.S. settles for silver with Chile earning bronze. Argentina’s Oscar Furlong is named tournament MVP while American John Stanich of the AAU squad Phillips 66ers (and a former All-American at UCLA) is named to the All-Tournament team.

1957

Steve Johnson is born in Akron, Ohio.

1974

Tariq Abdul-Wahad (nee Olivier Michael Saint-Jean) is born in Maisons-Alfort, France. In 1997, he became the first French player in NBA history when he made his debut for the Kings.

1981

Wes Unseld has his jersey #41 retired by the Bullets. Unseld spent his entire 12-year career with the franchise, earning Rookie of the Year, league MVP, and Finals MVP, and becoming the all-time franchise leader in rebounds.

1982

Janel McCarville is born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

1985

Tyler Hansbrough is born in Columbia, Missouri.

1987

Ty Lawson is born in Clinton, Maryland.

1989

The Minnesota Timberwolves play their first game in franchise history, a 106-94 loss to the SuperSonics in Seattle.

Bill Walton has his jersey #32 retired by the Trail Blazers in a pre-game ceremony. In four seasons with the franchise, Walton earned league MVP and Finals MVP while leading Portland to its only NBA title in 1977.

1995

Alonzo Mourning is traded from the Hornets to the Heat, along with Pete Myers and LeRon Ellis, in exchange for Matt Geiger, Khalid Reeves, Glen Rice, and a first round pick.

The expansion Raptors and Grizzlies both win in their NBA debuts. Vancouver defeats the Trail Blazers 92-80 in Portland behind 29 points and 13 rebound from Benoit Benjamin. Toronto defeats the Nets 94-79 at home in the SkyDome, getting 30 points from Alvin Robertson.

1996

Just a couple months after his 18th birthday, Kobe Bryant makes his NBA debut, playing six scoreless minutes off the bench in a 91-85 Lakers win over the Timberwolves. He becomes the second youngest player in NBA history at the time, and is still the fourth youngest.

1999

For their first regular season game at the newly opened Staples Center, the Lakers host a pre-game ceremony in which the retired jerseys and championship banners from The Forum are lifted to the rafters. Afterwards, future jersey retirement honoree Shaquille O’Neal scores 28 points to lead the Lakers to a 103-88 victory over the Grizzlies.

2008

Allen Iverson is traded from the Nuggets to the Pistons in exchange for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and Cheikh Samb.

2010

During a Celtics victory over the Bucks, Paul Pierce becomes just the third player in Celtics history to reach 20,000 career points, joining Larry Bird and John Havlicek. Pierce eventually passed Bird and ended his career second in franchise history in scoring, with 24,021 points.

2012

The Nets play their first home game in Brooklyn after re-locating from New Jersey, a 107-100 victory over the Raptors. The Nets were previously scheduled to make their Brooklyn debut two days earlier, but a game against the Knicks was postponed due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

2023

The first ever NBA In-Season Tournament kicks off with the Pacers defeating the Cavaliers 121-116. Indiana would eventually make a surprise run all the way to the championship game of the tournament.

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