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

On this date in basketball history: December 26

The Celtics roll out the first all-Black starting five; Jason Kidd is traded from the Mavs to the Suns; Jim Fox sets a Sonics rebounding record

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1964

In a 97-84 victory over the St. Louis Hawks, the Celtics become the first team ever to field an all-Black starting five, with Willie Naulls filling in for an injured Tom Heinsohn alongside usual starters K.C. Jones, Sam Jones, Satch Sanders, and Bill Russell. It was the third of what would eventually be 17 straight wins for a Boston team that is now regarded as one of the greatest in NBA history.


1966

NBA Three-Point Contest champion Tim Legler is born in Washington, D.C.

1973

Jim Fox sets the SuperSonics (now Thunder) single game franchise record with 30 rebounds in a 129-105 victory over the Lakers. Fox, a career journeyman, had the game of his life, also finishing with 25 and nine assists.

1986

Joe Alexander is born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. His parents were ex-pat Americans and Alexander also spent much of his childhood in Beijing and Hong Kong before eventually finishing his high school career in Maryland.

1996

Disgruntled star Jason Kidd is traded from the Mavericks to the Suns, in exchange for Sam Cassell, Michael Finley, and A.C. Green.