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1952

Pat Summitt (nee Head) is born in Clarksville, Tennessee. Her high school didn’t have a girls basketball team so her family moved to a neighboring county to allow her to play.

1961

Sam Perkins is born in Brooklyn, New York. He was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

1968

Eric Murdock is born in Somerville, New Jersey. After retiring as a player, he founded the Erick Murdock Foundation to fund basketball court renovations and youth camps across his home state.

1971

NBA champion Bruce Bowen is born in Merced, California.

1972

NBA player and coach Rick Brunson is born in Syracuse, New York.

1987

In one of the greatest games in EuroBasket history, tournament MVP Nikos Galis drops 40 points and Greece stuns the Soviet Union 103-101 in overtime in the tournament Final in Athens. Drazen Petrovic and Yugoslavia defeat Spain in the bronze medal game.

The Lakers defeat the Celtics 106-93 in game six of the NBA Finals and clinch the title. It’s the last of three Finals match-ups between Larry Bird’s Celtics and Magic Johnson’s Lakers, with the latter winning two. Johnson becomes the first player ever named Finals MVP three times, a feat since matched or bettered by only Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, and LeBron James.

1990

Bernadette Locke-Mattox is named as an assistant coach under Rick Pitino for the Kentucky men’s team, becoming the first woman to ever hold such a role in major college basketball. Locke-Mattox would hold the role for four seasons before taking over as the Kentucky women’s team’s head coach.

The clinching game five of the NBA Finals comes down to the wire, with Vinnie Johnson hitting the game winning shot with 0.7 seconds left in a 92-90 Pistons win over the Trail Blazers. Isiah Thomas scores 29 points and is named Finals MVP.

1992

An all-time great Bulls team defeats the Trail Blazers 97-93 in game six of the NBA Finals to win their second straight title. Michael Jordan becomes the first player to earn league MVP and Finals MVP in the same season two years in a row, something only LeBron James has accomplished since.

1995

The Rockets defeat the Magic 113-101 in game four of the NBA Finals, finishing off the series in a sweep and becoming the first #6 seed to win an NBA title. Hakeem Olajuwon leads the way with 35 points and 15 rebounds and is named Finals MVP for the second straight season.

2000

R.J. Barrett is born in Toronto, Canada. His father Rowan played college basketball at St. John’s and then pro ball for over a decade in Europe and South America.

Kobe Bryant has the first defining performance of his career, finishing with 28 points and making numerous clutch plays down the stretch after Shaquille O’Neal fouled out, as the Lakers defeat the Pacers 120-118 in game four of the NBA Finals. Bryant had previously missed game three with a sprained ankle.

2007

The Spurs finish off an NBA Finals sweep of the Cavaliers with an 83-82 victory in game four, clinching the fourth championship of the Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich era. Tony Parker finishes with 24 points and is named Finals MVP.

2009

The Lakers defeat the Magic 99-86 in game five of the NBA Finals to clinch the title. Kobe Bryant leads all scorers with 30 points and is named Finals MVP for the first time, while Phil Jackson becomes the first NBA head coach to win 10 championships.

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