---

1947

Two-time NBA All-Star John Johnson is born in Carthage, Mississippi.

1954

Terry Furlow is born in Flint, Michigan. He led Flint Northern High School to back-to-back state titles in 1971 and 1972.

1964

The United States men’s team finishes group stage play undefeated, with a 116-50 victory over South Korea in Tokyo. Jim Barnes leads the U.S. with 26 points and Mel Counts adds 18 points. The Soviet Union also closes out the round with a perfect 7-0 record, defeating Italy 76-67.

1968

Spencer Haywood drops 25 points (on 11-of-14 shooting) to lead the United States men’s team to a 95-60 victory over Panama in Olympics group stage play in Mexico City.

After several seasons in San Francisco, the Warriors settle into their new home in Oakland, at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, losing in their opening game to the San Diego Rockets.

1969

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar lives up to the hype in his NBA debut, finishing with 29 points and 12 rebounds in a 119-110 Bucks win over the Pistons.

1973

Rachel Nichols is born in Potomac, Maryland. While attending Northwestern University, she worked as an intern at the Chicago-Sun Times covering the Bulls’ late ’90s three-peat.

1974

Oscar Robertson has his jersey #1 retired by the Bucks. Acquired via trade from the Cincinnati Royals in 1970, Robertson was an All-Star twice for Milwaukee and key part of their 1971 title team.

1977

Just two minutes into his NBA debut, #1 overall pick Kent Benson of the Bucks elbows the Lakers’ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who retaliates by punching Benson so hard it causes a concussion for Benson and a broken hand for Abdul-Jabbar.

1989

The Minnesota Timberwolves play their first pre-season game in front of a massive crowd at the Metrodome, losing the game to the former Minneapolis-based franchise, the Lakers.

1990

Brittney Griner is born in Houston, Texas. She was named National Player of the Year by USA Today in 2009 while starring for Nimitz High School.

1996

Terance Mann is born in Brooklyn, New York. His mother, Daynia La-Force, played basketball at Georgetown and later became the first Black head coach in Rhode Island women’s basketball history.

2005

Amar’e Stoudemire undergoes surgery to repair cartilage damage in his knee. He returns to the Suns lineup in late March but for only three games before getting shut down for the remainder of the ’05-’06 season due to knee soreness.

2023

One of the most dominant seasons in WNBA history ends with the Las Vegas Aces defeating the New York Liberty 70-69 in game four of the WNBA Finals. A’ja Wilson finishes with 24 points and 16 rebounds and is named Finals MVP.

---