A dedication to basketball history, catalogued and ranked for posterity, then presented in convenient list form

On this date in basketball history: November 4

The Hornets and Magic begin play; George Mikan unleashes in the NBA; Billy Cunningham is named head coach of the Sixers

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1988

The expansion Charlotte Hornets play their first NBA regular season game, a 133-93 home loss to the Cavaliers. Kurt Rambis and Kelly Tripucka lead the Hornets with 16 points each. The Hornets are the first new NBA team in eight years and usher in an expansion era, joined soon after by the Heat, Magic, Timberwolves, Raptors, and Grizzlies.


1930

Dick Groat is born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania.

1948

George Mikan scores 19 points in his NBA debut, an 84-72 Minneapolis Lakers victory over the Baltimore Bullets. Mikan and the Lakers had previously played in the NBL.

1961

Wilt Chamberlain scores 58 points in a Philadelphia Warriors win over the Pistons. This begins a streak of 65 games in which Chamberlain scores 30 or more points, which is by far the all-time NBA record.

1975

Mikki Moore is born in Gaffney, South Carolina.

Lorenzen Wright is born in Oxford, Mississippi.

1977

Billy Cunningham is hired as head coach of the 76ers, replacing Gene Shue, who was fired six games into the ’77-’78 season despite leading the team to the NBA Finals just a few months prior. Cunningham, who helped the 76ers win a title as a player in 1967, would eventually lead them to another one as a coach in 1983.

1986

The highly influential video game “Double Dribble” is released in arcades in the United States. Its impact would increase exponentially less than a year later, when it was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System.

1987

Maurice Lucas has his jersey #20 retired by the Trail Blazers. Acquired via the ABA dispersal draft in 1976, Lucas spent five seasons with Portland, making three All-Star teams and helping lead the team to a championship in 1977.

1989

The expansion Orlando Magic play their first NBA regular season game, a 111-106 home loss to the New Jersey Nets. Terry Catledge is Orlando’s leading scorer with 25 points.

Following two years of military service, David Robinson finishes with 23 points and 17 rebounds in his much anticipated NBA debut, as the Spurs defeat the Lakers 106-98.

2000

Tyrese Maxey is born in Dallas, Texas.

Malik Sealy has his jersey #2 posthumously retired by the Timberwolves. Sealy spent two seasons with Minnesota before passing away at age 30 in a car accident.

2016

Stephen Curry shoots 0-for-10 from three-point range in a Warriors loss to the Lakers, ending his record streak at 157 consecutive games with a three-point field goal. He would later shatter his own record with a new streak starting in 2018.