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1933

Tom Gola is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A lifelong Philadelphian, he was a star at the high school, college, and pro levels (with the Philadelphia Warriors) in his hometown.

1953

The Baltimore Bullets’ Don Barksdale represents the Eastern Conference in the NBA All-Star Game in Fort Wayne, Indiana, becoming the first Black player in the event’s history. George Mikan is named the game’s MVP as he leads the West to a 79-75 victory. Bill Sharman also makes his All-Star debut.

1955

Slater Martin records the first known triple-double in Lakers franchise history, with 20 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 102-96 loss to the Warriors.

1962

Wilt Chamberlain becomes the first player to score 70 or more points in a non-overtime NBA game, finishing with 73 (along with 36 rebounds) in a 135-117 Warriors victory over the Chicago Packers. Earlier in the ’61-’62 season, Chamberlain had scored 78 points in a triple overtime Warriors loss to the Lakers.

1965

Jerry Lucas of the Cincinnati Royals is named MVP as the Eastern Conference defeats the West 124-123 at the NBA All-Star Game in St. Louis, Missouri. The game is also notable as the All-Star debuts for Willis Reed and Nate Thurmond, and the 11th and final appearance for Bob Pettit.

1977

James Posey is born in Cleveland, Ohio. At Chamberlain High School in nearby Twinsburg, he was teammates on the basketball team with Kelly Herndon, who later won a Super Bowl title with the Seattle Seahawks.

1983

Ronny Turiaf is born in Le Robert, Martinique, a French territory. In 2006, he became the first Martiniquais player in NBA history, when he debuted with the Lakers. But Turiaf represented the French national team for nearly a decade and was inducted into the French Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020.

2001

Dominique Wilkins has his jersey #21 retired by the Hawks. The franchise’s all-time leading scorer, Wilkins became the third Hawks player to have his jersey retired but the first one who played exclusively for the team in Atlanta.

2006

Glory Road is released in theaters. Based on the book of the same name, the film follows the story of the ’65-’66 Texas Western Miners, who became the first ever NCAA champions with an all-Black starting five. It stars Josh Lucas as Texas Western coach Don Haskins and Jon Voight as Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp.

2015

Mo Williams sets the Timberwolves single game franchise record with a career high 52 points in a 110-101 victory over the Pacers. It snaps a 15-game losing streak for Minnesota. The record had previously been held by Kevin Love since 2012 and would be broken again by Karl-Anthony Towns in 2018.

2016

The NCAA alters its long-standing rules on college eligibility vis a vis the NBA Draft, loosening the restrictions on players’ ability to decide on draft status. This notably includes that players can declare for the draft, and do so multiple times, without losing eligibility unless they’re actually drafted.

2021

James Harden is traded from the Rockets to the Nets as part of a massive, four-team deal with the Cavaliers and Pacers that also includes Caris Levert, Dante Exum, Jarrett Allen, Victor Oladipo, and eight first round picks.

2025

Michael Cooper’s #21 jersey is retired by the Lakers during a halftime ceremony. The Naismith Hall of Fame inductee was named 1st-Team All-Defensive five times, Defensive Player of the Year in ’86-’87, and won five championships with the franchise.

On this date: full archive

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