1979

Superstar rookies Larry Bird and Magic Johnson both make their NBA debut on the opening night of the ’79-’80 season. Bird finishes with 14 points and 10 rebounds in a 114-106 Celtics win over the Rockets, while Johnson scores 26 points in a 103-102 Lakers victory over the Clippers.

1944

Two-time NBA All-Star Jack Marin is born in Sharon, Pennsylvania.

1968

Lenny Wilkens is traded from the Hawks to the SuperSonics in exchange for Walt Hazzard.

1970

Two-sport star Charlie Ward is born in Thomasville, Georgia.

1978

Marko Jaric is born in Belgrade, Serbia (then Yugoslavia). His father, Srecko, was a star player for the Yugoslav club Radnicki Belgrade in the late ’70s and early ’80s.

1979

Chris Ford of the Celtics scores what is believed to be the first three-point field goal in NBA history, during a 114-106 win over the Rockets.

1980

Ann Wauters is born in Sint-Gillis-Waas, Belgium. She became the first Belgian-born player in WNBA history when the Cleveland Rockers drafted her first overall in 2000.

1999

Wilt Chamberlain passes away at his home in Bel Air, California from congestive heart failure at the age of 63.

2004

The Seattle Storm clinch their first WNBA title with a 74-60 victory over the Connecticut Sun in the winner-take-all game three of the WNBA Finals. Betty Lennox leads the Storm with 23 points and is named Finals MVP.