2002
The Los Angeles Sparks clinch back-to-back WNBA titles by defeating the New York Liberty 69-66 in game two of the WNBA Finals, finishing a sweep. Lisa Leslie leads all scorers with 17 points and is named Finals MVP for the second consecutive year. A WNBA team would not successfully repeat as champions again until the Las Vegas Aces in 2023.
1915
Naismith Hall of Fame inducted coach Pete Newell is born in Vancouver, Canada.
1952
Wallace “Mickey” Johnson is born in Chicago, Illinois. Lightly recruited after high school, he attended nearby NAIA school Aurora University and set essentially every school scoring record.
1968
Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Azzi is born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
1969
Victor Alexander is born in Detroit, Michigan.
1981
WNBA All-Star Plenette Pierson is born in Houston, Texas.
1982
Chris Duhon is born in Mamou, Louisiana. He was named Louisiana “Mr. Basketball” in 2000 while starring for Salmen High School.
1996
Jalen Brunson is born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. His father, Rick, spent nine seasons in the NBA and his mother, Sandra, starred for the Temple University volleyball team.
1997
A roster of CBA players leads the United States to a 95-86 victory over Puerto Rico in the FIBA AmeriCup final in Montevideo, Uruguay. Travis Williams was the leading scorer for the Americans, who also featured Adrian Griffin, Jason Sasser, and Rusty LaRue. Brazil defeats Argentina 76-75 for the bronze medal.
2003
Tim Duncan finishes with 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the United States to a 106-73 victory over Argentina in the FIBA AmeriCup final in San Juan. The U.S. roster also featured NBA All-Stars Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, and Ray Allen. Steve Nash is named tournament MVP though Canada loses 79-66 to Puerto Rico in the bronze medal game.
2005
The Timberwolves are fined $200,000 by the NBA league office for funding a voluntary mini-camp in Las Vegas earlier in the month.
2019
The 18th FIBA World Cup gets underway in China. The first day of competition includes Spain defeating Tunisia 101-62, the host Chinese team defeating Ivory Coast 70-55, and Nikola Jokic making his World Cup debut with 14 points and six assists in a 105-59 Serbia victory over Angola.
2020
Courtney Vandersloot sets the WNBA single game record with 18 assists in a 100-77 Chicago Sky victory over the Indiana Fever. The record would stand for nearly four years before getting broken by Caitlin Clark.
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