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1949

Spencer Haywood is born in Silver City, Mississippi. Raised in a family of sharecroppers, he was working as a cotton picker by age 13.

1948

The Baltimore Bullets defeat the Philadelphia Warriors 88-73 in game six of the BAA Finals, closing out one of the most shocking upsets in NBA playoffs history. The Bullets eventually become the first and only franchise to win a BAA or NBA title and then later fold.

1950

The St. Louis Bombers fold after four seasons in the BAA/NBA. They were a charter member of the league but struggled from the beginning to contend and draw fans.

1952

Phil Smith is born in San Francisco, California. In 2002, then San Francisco mayor Willie Brown named September 27 as “Phil Smith Day” in the city.

1958

Elgin Baylor (Seattle) is the first overall pick of the Minneapolis Lakers in the NBA Draft in New York. Guy Rodgers (Temple) is the territorial pick of the Philadelphia Warriors, while the Syracuse Nationals land Hal Greer (Marshall) in the second round, with the #13 overall pick.

1965

Dennis Hopson is born in Toledo, Ohio. He is now the athletic director at his alma mater, Bowsher High School.

1968

Vernell “Bimbo” Coles is born in Covington, Virginia. A three-sport star at Greenbriar East High School, he was selected by the California Angels in 1986 MLB Draft but opted to stick with basketball.

1972

Arguably the greatest team in NBA history to not reach the Finals, the Bucks are eliminated in the Western Conference Finals with a 104-100 loss to the Lakers in game six. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averaged 33.7 points and 17.5 rebounds per game in the series in a losing effort.

1987

Expansion franchises are officially granted by the NBA to the cities of Orlando, Miami, Charlotte, and Minneapolis. The Hornets and Heat begin play in ’88-’89, with the Magic and Timberwolves following in ’89-’90.

1988

Charles Oakley grabs 35 rebounds (along with 26 points) in a 107-103 Bulls loss to the Cavaliers. It’s the second highest total by any player in a post-merger NBA game, trailing only Moses Malone’s 37 rebounds in a 1979 contest.

1989

DeJuan Blair is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He led Schenley High School to the Pennsylvania state title in 2007 and was named state Player of the Year.

1990

Shelvin Mack is born in Lexington, Kentucky. He was recruited by the University of Kentucky after his senior year at Bryan Station High School but opted to pick the program that had recruited him first, Butler University.

1994

Duncan Robinson is born in York, Maine. He is only the second Maine-born player in NBA history, following Jeff Turner.

1999

Former UCLA teammates Tyus Edney and George Zidek team up to lead Lithuanian club Zalgiris to its a EuroLeague championship by defeating the Italian team Virtus Bologna 82-74 in the final. Edney is named Final Four MVP.

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