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1952

Clyde Lovellette’s 27 points leads the United States to an 85-76 victory over Argentina in the Olympic semifinals in Helsinki. In the other semifinal match, the Soviet Union advances with a 61-57 win over Uruguay.

1965

NBA player and coach Scott Brooks is born in French Camp, California. His #1 jersey was eventually retired at East Union High School.

1967

Tony Massenburg is born in Sussex, Virginia. He starred at Sussex Central High School before moving on to nearby University of Maryland, where he was teammates with Len Bias.

1975

Ruben Patterson is born in Cleveland, Ohio. He was a drop-out from John Hay High School but moved from Cleveland to Kansas to enroll at Independence Community College and revive his basketball career.

1984

Michael Jordan scores 20 points to lead the United States men’s team to an 89-68 victory over Canada in the Olympics group stage in Los Angeles. In other action, China gets its first ever win in Olympics play with an 85-83 victory over France.

1992

For the first and only time in his long and storied career, Oscar Schmidt gets an opportunity to play competitive basketball against NBA players, as his Brazilian team takes on the U.S. “Dream Team” in the preliminary round of the Barcelona Olympics tournament. Schmidt finishes with 24 points but the United States wins in a blowout, 127-83.

1996

The NBA voids Juwan Howard’s seven-year, $100 million free agency contract with the Heat on the grounds that it violates the salary cap.

Lisa Leslie drops 35 points to lead the United States to a 108-93 victory over Japan in the Olympics quarterfinals in Atlanta. The other quarterfinals feature Ukraine defeating Italy 59-50, Brazil remaining undefeated with a 101-69 win over Cuba, and Australia pulling off a 74-70 upset of Russia in overtime.

1997

NBA champion Thomas Bryant is born in Rochester, New York.

2007

Kevin Garnett is traded from the Timberwolves to the Celtics, in exchange for Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, and two first round picks.

2012

The United States men’s team defeats Tunisia 110-63 in group stage play at the Olympics in London. Six American players score in double digits, led by Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love with 16 points each. Meanwhile, longtime Spurs teammates Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili face off, with Ginobili dropping 26 points but Parker finishing with 17 points and five assists in leading France to a 71-64 victory over Argentina.

2021

The United States men’s team finishes Olympics group stage play in Tokyo with a 119-84 victory over Czech Republic. Jayson Tatum is the leading scorer with 27 points off the bench, while Kevin Durant scores 23 points and surpasses Carmelo Anthony as the all-time U.S. Olympics leading scorer, reaching 339 career points.

2022

The legendary Bill Russell passes away at age 88. The NBA responds soon after by retiring his #6 jersey league-wide.

2024

During a 19-17 loss to Poland in 3×3 Olympics group stage play, American Jimmer Fredette suffers an adductor tear that forces him to miss the remainder of the tournament. The short-handed U.S. team struggles without their top scorer, ultimately finishing 2-5 and missing the knockout stage.

The U.S. men’s team defeats South Sudan 103-86 in group stage play at the Paris Olympics. Six different American players finish with double-digit scoring, led by Bam Adebayo with 18 points.

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