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1901

Chuck Taylor is born in Brown County, Indiana. He was named Indiana all-state twice while starring for Columbus High School.

1928

Eight-time NBA All-Star Larry Foust is born in Painesville, Ohio.

1933

Sam Jones is born in Laurinburg, North Carolina. Due to segregation, he attended Laurinburg Institute, a prestigious Black private school.

1941

Art Heyman is born in New York, New York. After retiring from basketball, he opened a bar called Tracy J’s Watering Hole in Manhattan.

1968

Alaa Abdelnaby is born in Alexandria, Egypt. In 1990, he became the first Egyptian born player in NBA history.

1975

Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 crashes just outside of JFK International Airport in New York. Among the passengers is Wendell Ladner, a two-time ABA All-Star who passes away at age 26.

1982

Jerry West is hired as general manager of the Lakers, replacing Bill Sharman. A former player, coach, and scout for the franchise, West ended up spending 18 years in the Lakers front office, earning six additional championship rings in the role.

1984

JJ Redick is born in Cookeville, Tennessee. He has two older twin sisters, Catie and Alyssa, who played basketball together at Campbell University.

1985

Taj Gibson is born in Brooklyn, New York. In 2024, he launched a real estate firm in his hometown, with the goal of creating more affordable housing.

1995

In an expansion draft, the Raptors select Chicago’s B.J. Armstrong with the first pick, followed by the Grizzlies selecting Greg Anthony of the Knicks. Other notable selections include Lakers legend Byron Scott going to the Grizzlies and John Salley going to the Raptors.

1996

Luke Kennard is born in Middletown, Ohio. He won back-to-back Ohio Player of the Year awards while starring for Franklin High School.

1998

The Clippers use the #1 pick in the NBA Draft on Pacific’s Michael Olowokandi, a move they would quickly regret as later picks include Mike Bibby at #2 to the Grizzlies, Antawn Jamison at #4 to the Warriors, Vince Carter at #5 to the Raptors, Dirk Nowitzki at #9 to the Mavericks, and Paul Pierce at #10 to the Celtics.

The long struggling Mavericks franchise completely turn around their fortunes in one day, trading Robert Traylor to the Bucks for Pat Garrity and Dirk Nowitzki’s draft rights, and then trading Garrity, Martin Muursepp, Bubba Wells, and a first round pick to the Suns in exchange for Steve Nash.

2005

The Magic select Dwight Howard with the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft, followed by the expansion Charlotte Bobcats taking Connecticut’s Emeka Okafor at #2. Third overall pick Ben Gordon of the Bulls subsequently became the first rookie to earn the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.

2008

Celebrity gossip website TMZ releases a video of Shaquille O’Neal freestyle rapping at a nightclub, with lyrics heavily referencing his former teammate Kobe Bryant, including the infamous line “Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes.” Bryant and the Lakers had been defeated in the NBA Finals just a couple weeks prior, and O’Neal intones how this proves that Bryant needs him to win championships.

2010

Kentucky becomes the first school ever to have five players selected in the first round of an NBA Draft, as John Wall goes #1 overall to the Wizards, DeMarcus Cousins is selected #5 overall by the Kings, Patrick Patterson goes at #14 to the Rockets, Eric Bledsoe is the #18 pick of the Thunder, and Daniel Orton is selected #29 overall by the Magic.

2024

JJ Redick is hired as head coach of the Lakers, replacing the fired Darvin Ham. He had no prior coaching experience at the time, having spent his post-playing days as an ESPN analyst and a podcasting (including hosting a podcast with Lakers superstar LeBron James).

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