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1941

NBA All-Star Jim King is born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

1970

Pete Maravich sets the NCAA Division I single game scoring record with 69 points in an LSU loss to Alabama. The record would stand for over two decades before getting broken by Kevin Bradshaw.

1973

Juwan Howard is born in Chicago, Illinois. He was named a McDonald’s All-American while starring for Chicago Vocational High School and was considered one of the most sought after prep recruits in the city’s history.

1974

Steve Nash is born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He holds British citizenship due to his parents being from England and Wales, and Canadian citizenship due to his family re-locating to Victoria in his infancy.

1982

Mickael Pietrus is born in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe. Due to the Caribbean island being an overseas region of France, Pietrus has suited up for the French national team at EuroBasket and the FIBA World Cup.

1985

Kris Humphries is born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was an accomplished swimmer in his youth, even besting a young Michael Phelps in several national events.

1987

One night before the arguably greatest NBA All-Star Game in history, the All-Star Saturday Night in Seattle is a star-studded event, with Larry Bird defending his 1986 title in the Three-Point Contest and Michael Jordan winning his first Slam Dunk Contest crown.

1988

Michael Jordan is named MVP of the All-Star Game for the first time, and does so on his home floor, leading the Eastern Conference to a 138-133 victory over the West in Chicago. Jordan finishes with 40 points, becoming the first player to top 40 in an All-Star Game since Wilt Chamberlain in 1962. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also makes history in the game, surpassing Oscar Robertson as the career All-Star leading scorer (a record that Jordan would subsequently surpass years later). Karl Malone scores 22 points as a West starter in his first of an eventual 14 consecutive appearances.

1989

Isaiah Thomas is born in Tacoma, Washington. His name is supposedly the result of his father, a Lakers fan, losing a friendly bet on the 1989 NBA Finals and being forced to name his son after the star Pistons point guard.

1993

During a Magic loss to the Suns in Phoenix, rookie Shaquille O’Neal throws down a dunk so violent that it breaks the hydraulic support stanchion, causing the backboard to collapse. It causes a 37-minute delay in the nationally televised game while a replacement backboard and stanchion were installed.

1994

Brittney Sykes is born in Newark, New Jersey. She was named a McDonald’s All-American in her senior year at University High School.

2015

NCAA coaching legend Dean Smith passes away at the age of 83.

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