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1936

Hal Greer is born in Huntington, West Virginia. When he was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1981, he became the first Black athlete born in West Virginia to be enshrined in a major sports Hall of Fame.

1962

NBA champion Jerome Kersey is born in Clarksville, Virginia.

1967

Roger Brown signs a contract with the Indiana Pacers of the nascent ABA. The superstar at Dayton had been unfairly blackballed by the NBA over his alleged role in the 1961 point shaving scandal and wound up spending his entire pro career in the ABA.

1984

J.J. Barea is born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. After Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017, Barea used Mark Cuban’s private jet to make multiple supply runs, delivering food, water, and other essentials.

Raymond Felton is born in Marion, South Carolina. He led Latta High School to two state titles and was named South Carolina Mr. Basketball in 2002.

Deron Williams is born in Parkersburg, West Virginia. His mom Denise was a dual athlete at West Liberty State, playing both volleyball and basketball.

1990

Iman Shumpert is born in Oak Park, Illinois. He was eighth grade teammates with Evan Turner at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School.

1991

UNLV’s Larry Johnson is the #1 overall pick of the Hornets in the NBA Draft. Dikembe Mutombo (Georgetown) is selected with the fourth pick by the Nuggets.

1992

Rudy Gobert is born in Saint-Quentin, France. His father Rudy Bourgarel was born in Guadeloupe and played college basketball in the U.S. at Marist University.

1995

In their 11th FIBA Asia Cup tournament, China wins its 10th title, defeating South Korea 87-78 in the final in Seoul. Japan earns the bronze medal with a 69-63 victory over Chinese Taipei. Hur Jae of South Korea is named tournament MVP.

1996

Kobe Bryant, who opted to skip college, is drafted 13th overall by the Hornets, who trade his draft rights to the Lakers in exchange for Vlade Divac. One of the greatest draft class of the lottery era also includes Allen Iverson to the 76ers at #1, Ray Allen to the Bucks at #5, Steve Nash to the Suns at #15, and Jermaine O’Neal to the Trail Blazers at #17.

2002

Yao Ming is drafted #1 overall by the Rockets, becoming the first player without high school or college basketball experience in the U.S. to be the top pick.

2008

The Bulls select Derrick Rose (Memphis) with the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. UCLA teammates Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love are selected fourth and fifth by the Thunder and Grizzlies, respectively.

2014

Nikola Jokic is drafted in the second round, #41 overall, by the Nuggets, setting up the greatest NBA career of all time for a second round draft pick. The #1 overall pick is Andrew Wiggins (Kansas) going to the Cavaliers, while the 76ers land Joel Embiid with the third pick.

2020

The NBA league office and Players Association announce an agreement on terms for a July 30 resumption of the ’19-’20 season, which had been suspended indefinitely on March 11 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2024

The NBA Draft gets underway at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. For the first time in its modern history (since 1989, when the draft was reduced to two rounds), the draft is spread across multiple dates, with the first round taking place on the first day and the second round happening on the second day. Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher is the first overall pick of the Hawks.

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