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1932

Meadowlark Lemon is born in Wilmington, North Carolina. Growing up in poverty, he crafted his first basketball hoop out of a coat hanger and an onion sack.

1952

George Mikan and the Minneapolis Lakers clinch their third title in a four year stretch by defeating the Knicks 82-65 in game seven of the NBA Finals. George Mikan leads the way with 22 points and 19 rebounds.

1956

NCAA All-American Dave Corzine is born in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

1961

Two-time NBA All-Star Kenny Sears signs a contract with the San Francisco Saints of the American Basketball League. He was soon after sued by his NBA franchise, the Knicks, but countersued and ultimately won, eventually playing the ’61-’62 season in the ABL before returning to the Knicks after the fledgling league folded.

1965

Mark Bryant is born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. He holds the Columbia High School career records for scoring, rebounding, and blocks.

The Celtics clinch their eighth championship in nine years with a 129-96 victory over the Lakers in game five of the NBA Finals. Bill Russell finishes with 22 points and 30 rebounds, while Jerry West scores 33 points for the short-handed Lakers, who were missing Elgin Baylor due to a knee injury.

1968

The name Suns is officially revealed for the Phoenix NBA expansion franchise, as chosen by general manager Jerry Colangelo from over 28,000 fan suggestions.

1976

Tim Duncan is born in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Originally a standout swimmer, Duncan turned to basketball at age 13 after Hurricane Hugo damaged his home nation’s only Olympic-sized swimming pool.

1979

Khalid El-Amin is born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was named Minnesota Mr. Basketball in 1997 while leading Minneapolis North to a state title.

1985

Lenny Wilkens is fired as head coach of the SuperSonics, ending an eight-year tenure that included two NBA Finals appearances and one title. He is replaced by Bernie Bickerstaff.

1993

During a Timberwolves win over the Jazz, Micheal Williams breaks the record for most consecutive made free throws, hitting his 84th in a row to surpass Calvin Murphy’s mark from ’80-’81. Williams would eventually stretch his record to 97 consecutive free throws before missing.

1998

Satou Sabally is born in New York City, New York. Her family soon after relocated to Berlin, where she was playing pro ball as early as age 14.

2003

LeBron James officially declares himself eligible for the NBA Draft. He subsequently became the second high schooler to be drafted #1 overall.

2004

For the first time ever, the Nets defeat the Knicks in a playoff series, finishing a first round sweep with 100-94 victory in game four. Kenyon Martin leads the Nets with 36 points and 13 rebounds. After this loss, the Knicks would not return to the playoffs for seven years.

The Grizzlies play their final home game at the Pyramid Arena, a 110-97 loss to the Spurs in game four of a Western Conference playoffs first round series. The Grizzlies moved into the new FedEx Forum in 2004, while the Pyramid Arena is now the home of the world’s largest Bass Pro Shops superstore.

2022

The Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving-James Harden superteam era for the Nets ends with an Eastern Conference Quarterfinals sweep at the hands of the Celtics, who win game four 116-112. Harden had been traded earlier in the season to the 76ers, while Durant and Irving would be traded during the ’22-’23 season to the Suns and Mavericks, respectively.

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