2005
The Spurs become NBA champions for the third time, with an 81-74 victory over the Pistons in game seven of the NBA Finals. Tim Duncan finishes with 25 points and 11 rebounds and becomes just the fourth player (after Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Shaquille O’Neal) to earn three or more Finals MVP trophies. It’s also notable as the first NBA Finals since 1994 to go a full seven games.
1930
Two-time NBA All-Star Walter Dukes is born in Rochester, New York.
1961
LaSalle Thompson is born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He didn’t play organized basketball until his freshman year at Withrow High School, after growing an entire foot in eighth grade.
1972
Elvin Hayes is traded from the Rockets to the Bullets in exchange for Jack Marin, one of the most lopsided exchanges in NBA history.
Title IX is signed into law by president Richard Nixon. The landmark civil rights legislation was intended to eliminate discrimination at colleges based on a person’s sex. It had a major impact on collegiate athletics, though it would take until 1981 for the NCAA to sanction women’s basketball.
1988
The Lakers trade second round draft picks to the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets, in exchange for an agreement that neither team will select Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in their respective expansion drafts.
1993
Elizabeth Williams is born in Colchester, England. Her parents were Nigerian immigrants and she attempted to play for the Nigeria national team at the 2024 Olympics but was disallowed by FIBA.
2010
Tom Thibodeau is hired as head coach of the Bulls, replacing the fired Vinny Del Negro. It was the first head coaching job for Thibodeau, a defensive guru who had been a longtime assistant for the Knicks, Rockets, and Celtics.
2011
Kyrie Irving of Duke is the #1 overall pick of the Cavaliers in the NBA Draft. The Pacers select Kawhi Leonard (San Diego State) at #15 and then trade him to the Spurs, along with Davis Bertans, in exchange for George Hill. With the last pick of the first round (#30 overall), the Bulls select Jimmy Butler (Marquette).
2016
Ben Simmons of LSU is the #1 overall pick of the 76ers in the NBA Draft but winds up missing the entire ’16-’17 season after suffering a broken foot in training camp. Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia) is drafted #36 overall by the Bucks and subsequently becomes the only second round pick of the lottery era (since 1985) to be named Rookie of the Year.
2023
Paolo Banchero (Duke) is the first overall pick of the Magic in the NBA Draft, followed by Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga) going #2 overall to the Thunder. Banchero would go on to be named Rookie of the Year while Holmgren missed the entire ’22-’23 season with a foot injury.
More on the NBA Finals
- Mamba’s den mates: Ranking the 31 players who won a title as Kobe Bryant’s Lakers teammate
- Won’t see my picture on the cover: 10 NBA Finals that weren’t featured on a Sports Illustrated cover
- Who’s going to Disney World?: Seven controversial NBA Finals MVP choices
- Foregone conclusion: 10 playoff series that were considered “virtual” NBA Finals
- Slamming the door shut: 19 winner-take-all NBA playoff game blowouts
- 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 Tim Duncan
- Polymaths: 24 NBA players who also excelled in other sports
- Over the hill and on the court: 31 NBA players who stayed active into their 40s
- Better luck next time, kid: 19 greatest rookie performances that didn’t earn Rookie of the Year
- Class consciousness: Nine greatest NBA Draft classes of the lottery era (since 1985)
- Noms de plume: 75 greatest NBA and ABA player nicknames
- Gold standards: Ranking the 18 U.S. men’s Olympic basketball teams
- Hollow trophies: 14 early playoff exits by reigning league MVPs
- Fraudulent voting: 20 controversial NBA league MVP decisions
- March sadness: 28 greatest NCAA teams that fell short of reaching the Final Four
Basketball, Listed 