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1939

Larry Siegfried is born in Shelby, Ohio. He was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

1942

Roger Brown is born in Brooklyn, New York. While starring at Wingate High School, he was crosstown prep rivals with Connie Hawkins of Boys High.

1961

Mike Breen is born in New York City, New York. His broadcasting career started in his hometown, doing radio play-by-play for the Marist College men’s basketball team.

1963

The NBA approves the Syracuse Nationals relocating to Philadelphia. They would soon after change their name to the 76ers.

1975

The Kentucky Colonels earn their first and only ABA title with a 110-105 victory over the Indiana Pacers in game five of the ABA Finals. Artis Gilmore finishes with 28 points and an ABA Finals single game record 31 rebounds, and is named Playoffs MVP.

1985

A highly anticipated NBA Finals re-match is set, as the Celtics and Lakers both close out their Conference Finals series with a game five win. The Celtics defeat the 76ers 102-100 behind 23 points from Dennis Johnson, while James Worthy’s 25 points leads the Lakers to a 153-109 victory over the Nuggets.

1988

Chase Budinger is born in Encinitas, California. He was a McDonald’s All-American in basketball at La Costa Canyon High School, while also leading the volleyball team to three California state titles.

1989

In one of the closest voting results in the award’s history, Magic Johnson edges out Michael Jordan for his second NBA league MVP.

1990

Magic Johnson is named league MVP in an extremely tight and controversial vote over second place Charles Barkley and third place Michael Jordan. It’s the third MVP award of Johnson’s career, which equals the amount of his longtime rival Larry Bird.

1993

“NBA Jam” is released in arcades in the United States.

The SuperSonics close out an extremely tight Western Conference Semifinals series with a 103-100 overtime victory in the winner-take-all game seven. Hakeem Olajuwon finishes with 23 points, 17 rebounds, and nine assists for the Rockets, who would win their next nine playoff series in a row over the next three seasons.

1994

As decided by fan voting, “Raptors” is officially unveiled as the name of the expansion NBA franchise in Toronto, set to begin play in ’95-’96.

Behind 17 points and 20 rebounds from Charles Oakley, the Knicks eliminate the defending champion Bulls with an 87-77 victory in game seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. It breaks a streak of 13 consecutive playoff series wins for Chicago.

1997

Lauri Markannen is born in Vantaa, Finland. Both of his parents were professional basketball players, while his older brother Eero has played soccer professionally and for the Finnish national team.

2006

A Conference Semifinals series between the defending champion Spurs and the Mavericks comes down to a thrilling game seven, where Dirk Nowitzki’s 37 points and 15 rebounds leads Dallas to a 119-111 overtime win, despite 41 points and 15 rebounds from Tim Duncan.

2009

An improbable LeBron James buzzer beating three-pointer gives the Cavaliers a 96-95 victory over the Magic in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals.

2017

Stephen Curry finishes with 36 points and Kevin Durant adds 29 as the Warriors defeat the short-handed Spurs 129-115 in game four of the Western Conference Finals, finishing a sweep and clinching their third consecutive NBA Finals appearance. The Spurs were playing without Kawhi Leonard, who injured his knee in game one of the series.

2023

Nikola Jokic dominates with a triple-double (30 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists) as the Nuggets defeat the Lakers 113-111 in game four of the Western Conference Finals to sweep the series and clinch their first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history. Jokic additionally breaks Wilt Chamberlain’s record in a single postseason with his eighth triple-double of the 2023 playoffs.

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