1997
Steve Kerr is the unlikely hero for the Bulls in the clinching game six of the NBA Finals against the Jazz, hitting a go-ahead jumper in the waning moments to give the Bulls a 90-86 win and finish the series. Kerr’s jumper with five seconds left broke an 86-86 tie and was followed by a Scottie Pippen steal and Toni Kukoc lay-up to clinch the game. Michael Jordan finishes with 39 points and 11 rebounds and is named Finals MVP for a record fifth time.
1959
Chuck Nevitt is born in Cortez, Colorado. His father was 6’7″, his mother was 6’3″, and Chuck was already 6’10” by the time he started high school.
1962
Hannah Storm is born (as Hannah Storen) in Oak Park, Illinois. Her father, Mike, was a longtime pro basketball executive, including as commissioner of the ABA when it merged with the NBA.
1964
Jennifer Gillom is born in Abbeville, Mississippi. She led Lafayette County High School to the 1982 Mississippi state title and was named the state’s Player of the Year.
Sarunas Marciulionis is born in Kaunas, Lithuania (then the Soviet Union). He was originally a youth tennis star but switched to basketball at age 13 after a near death experience with explosives caused damage to his eyes and face.
1974
Juan Carlos Navarro is born in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Spain. With the Spanish national team, he won three Olympic medals, one FIBA World Cup title, and two EuroBasket titles.
1983
NBA player and television analyst Steve Novak is born in Libertyville, Illinois.
1989
Hassan Whiteside is born in Gastonia, North Carolina. His father Hasson Arbubakrr played two seasons in the NFL and four in the Canadian Football League as a defensive end.
The Pistons finish off an NBA Finals sweep of the Lakers with a 105-97 game four victory. It serves as the first title in Pistons franchise history and the last game of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s storied career. Joe Dumars leads the Pistons with 23 points and is named Finals MVP.
1993
In game three of the NBA Finals, Charles Barkley leads the way for the Suns with 24 points and 19 rebounds in a 129-121 win over the Bulls. It’s just the second game in NBA Finals history to go to triple overtime. Michael Jordan scores 44 points on 43 field goal attempts.
2018
Nick Nurse is hired as head coach of the Raptors, replacing Dwane Casey. Nurse led the team to a championship in his first season as coach, then earned NBA Coach of the Year in his second, but was ultimately fired after five seasons.
2019
For the first time in franchise history, the Raptors are champions of the NBA, defeating the Warriors 114-110 in game six of the NBA Finals to finish off an upset in six games in a series marked by career-changing injuries to Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. Kawhi Leonard joins LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the third player ever to earn Finals MVP for two different franchises.
More on the NBA Finals
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- Who’s going to Disney World?: Seven controversial NBA Finals MVP choices
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- Don’t you forget about me: 80 basketball moments from the ’80s that changed the sport forever
- Can’t blame me: 15 greatest individual NBA Finals performances in a losing effort
- New look, same result: Five players who won back-to-back championships with a different team each year
- No one believed in us: 14 biggest upsets in NBA Finals history
- Pressure valves: 23 NBA rookies who made a major impact in the postseason
More on Steve Kerr
- Leaders of the pack: 16 players who hold a major NBA statistical career record
- New look, same result: Five players who won back-to-back championships with a different team each year
- Those who can’t do, teach: Nine non-star players who became legendary coaches
- Bombs away: 22 all-time greatest NBA All-Star Three-Point Contest competitors
- Bulls on parade: Ranking the 30 players who won a championship as Michael Jordan’s Bulls teammate
- Role reversal: 17+ memorable NBA playoff game-winning shots by non-star players
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