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1930

Don “Monk” Meineke is born in Dayton, Ohio. He was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 for his contributions at Wilbur Wright High School and the University of Dayton.

1946

Glen Combs is born in Hazard, Kentucky. While playing college ball at Virginia Tech, he was nicknamed the “Kentucky Rifle” for his long range shooting accuracy.

1950

Phil Chenier is born in Berkeley, California. Although heavily recruited by John Wooden and UCLA, Chenier opted to stay in his hometown to play for University of California.

1956

Terry Tyler is born in Detroit, Michigan. He spent his high school career (at Northwestern), entire college career (at University of Detroit), and first seven NBA seasons in his hometown before finally leaving in 1985 when he signed as a free agent with the Sacramento Kings.

1958

Petur Gudmondsson is born in Reykjavik, Iceland. In 1981, he became the first Icelandic player in NBA history, making his debut with the Trail Blazers.

1970

Two-time Hawks All-Star Joe Caldwell signs a free agency contract with the Carolina Cougars of the ABA. The Hawks subsequently sued Caldwell for breach of contract and lost, allowing him to finish his career with five seasons in the ABA.

1976

Maurice Taylor is born in Detroit, Michigan. He won the Gatorade Player of the Year award for Michigan in 1994 while starring for Henry Ford High School.

1980

Kareem Rush is born in Kansas City, Missouri. He won a state title at Pembroke Hill School alongside his older brother JaRon, as well as Corey Maggette and Korleone Young. But it was later vacated when AAU coach Myron Piggie was revealed to have paid all four players.

The NBA announces its 35th Anniversary Team in a voting that also names Bill Russell as the all-time greatest player, Red Auerbach as the all-time greatest coach, and the ’66-’67 76ers as the all-time greatest team.

1981

Isiah Thomas impresses in his NBA debut, finishing with 31 points and 11 assists in a 118-113 Pistons over the Bucks.

1986

Tamera Young is born in Wilmington, North Carolina. She attended the same high school as Michael Jordan, Emsley A. Laney, and set the girls’ team’s all-time scoring record.

1991

Tomas Satoransky is born in Prague, Czechia (then Czechoslovakia). He is the all-time NBA leader in scoring, rebounds, assists, and steals amongst Czech born players.

1993

A game between NBA teams takes place in Europe for the first time ever, with the Hawks and Magic facing off in a pre-season match-up at Wembley Arena in London.

1996

Devin Booker is born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His father Melvin was a star player at the University of Missouri and was playing professionally in Italy when Devin was born.

2000

Charles Barkley makes his debut on the cast of TNT’s “Inside the NBA,” joining Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Peter Vecsey on air for the first time.

2002

Approximately 287 million Chinese households tune for the NBA debut of Yao Ming, who scores zero points and grabs two rebounds in just 11 minutes of playing time in a 91-82 Rockets loss to the Pacers.

Pete Maravich has his jersey #7 retired by the New Orleans Hornets (now the Pelicans). Though he never had any connection with the franchise, Maravich was an NBA star in the city for five seasons when he suited up for the Jazz before they moved to Utah. He’s one of two players, along with Michael Jordan and the Heat, to have a retired jersey with a team for which he never played.

2011

Fielding a team made up of D-League players, the United States comes away with a bronze medal at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico by defeating the Dominican Republic 94-92. Puerto Rico defeats the host Mexicans 74-72 to earn the gold medal.

2022

George Mikan has his jersey #99 retired by the Lakers. It was a long time coming for the legendary center, who becomes the first Minneapolis Laker to have a retired jersey.

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