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1934

Elgin Baylor is born in Washington, D.C.

1939

Bill McGill is born in San Angelo, Texas.

1955

Ron Brewer is born in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

1995

Aaron Gordon is born in San Jose, California.

1997

Jackie Young is born in Princeton, Indiana.

1998

Professional referee Sandra Ortiz Del-Valle sues the NBA for gender discrimination in hiring practices. Ortiz Del-Valle had 17 years of officiating experience and had become the first woman to referee a U.S. men’s pro basketball game in 1991 (in the USBL), but was consistently blocked for assignments by the NBA. She eventually won the case, getting awarded $500,000 in damages.

2000

Group stage play gets underway for the women’s tournament at the Sydney Olympics and for the first time ever, WNBA players are participating (the league started in between the 1996 and 2000 Olympics). Sheryl Swoopes (29 points, nine rebounds) and Lisa Leslie (24 points, 11 rebounds) lead the United States to a 89-75 victory over South Korea. France makes its Olympics debut with a 75-39 win against Senegal, while the host Australians get 18 points and eight rebounds from Lauren Jackson in a 78-46 victory over Canada.

2003

Ruth Riley leads the way with 27 points for the Detroit Shock, who win their first WNBA title with an 83-78 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks in the winner-take-all game three of the WNBA Finals. The series is also notable for the coaching match-up of Michael Cooper for the Sparks and Bill Laimbeer for the Shock, who faced off as players for the Lakers and Pistons respectively in the 1988 and 1989 NBA Finals.

2005

Behind 24 points from tournament MVP Yao Ming, China continues its dominance of the FIBA Asia Cup with a 77-61 victory over Lebanon in the final in Doha, Qatar. It’s China’s 14th Asia Cup title over a span of 16 tournament appearances. The host Qataris defeat South Korea 89-77 in the bronze medal game.

2007

Russia wins its first and only post-Soviet EuroBasket title, defeating the host Spainiards 60-59 in the Final in Madrid. American born naturalized Russian J.R. Holden hits the game winning shot with 2.1 seconds left, followed by a missed potential buzzer beater by Pau Gasol. Tournament MVP Andrei Kirilenko leads all scorers with 17 points. Lithuania defeats Greece 68-59 in the third place game.

The Phoenix Mercury are WNBA champions for the first time, defeating the Detroit Shock 108-92 in a winner-take-all game five of the WNBA Finals. Cappie Pondexter finishes with 26 points and 10 assists and is named Finals MVP.

2018

Dwyane Wade announces his impending retirement from the NBA at the conclusion of the ’18-’19 season. The one-time Finals MVP subsequently signed a one-year contract with the Heat, to end his career with the franchise.

2020

LeBron James is named 1st-Team All-NBA for a record breaking 16th time in his career.

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