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1950

Red Auerbach is named head coach of the Celtics, replacing Doggie Julian, who resigned to take over as head coach at Dartmouth.

1952

George Gervin is born in Detroit, Michigan. His pro career started in his hometown, playing for the Pontiac Chaparrals of the CBA before signing with the Virginia Squires.

1961

Connie Hawkins is detained by police and interrogated for hours without a lawyer over his supposed role in a point shaving scandal facilitated by Jack Molinas. Though Hawkins was never charged with any crime and denied any wrongdoing, he was banned for life from the NBA due to the incident.

1975

Zendon Hamilton is born in Floral Park, New York. His #31 jersey was retired by Sewanhaka Central High School in 2023.

1976

The Suns clinch a playoff series for the first time in franchise history, closing out the SuperSonics in the Western Conference Semifinals with a 123-112 victory in game six. Keith Erickson leads Phoenix with 20 points off the bench, while Paul Westphal and Gar Heard score 18 each. The Suns would subsequently upset the Warriors in the Conference Finals before losing to the Celtics in their NBA Finals debut.

1977

NCAA scoring champion Courtney Alexander is born in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

1980

Lionel Hollins leads the way with 24 points as the 76ers defeat the Celtics in game five of the Eastern Conference Finals, closing out an upset in the series to advance to the NBA Finals.

1983

Johnny Moore becomes the first player in NBA history to compile 20 assists in a playoff game, also finishing with 26 points to lead the Spurs to a 126-109 victory over the Nuggets in game two of the Western Conference Semifinals. It breaks the NBA single game playoff record of 19, which was first set by Bob Cousy in 1957, and holds for only one year before getting broken by Magic Johnson. John Stockton and Tim Hardaway are the only other players aside from Moore and Johnson to compile 20+ points and 20+ assists in a playoff game.

1994

The NBA Board of Governors officially grant an NBA expansion franchise to the city of Vancouver, later named the Grizzlies, set to begin play in ’95-’96.

1997

Jaime Echenique is born in Barranquilla, Colombia. In 2021, he became the first Colombian-born player in NBA history.

1998

Tim Duncan is named NBA Rookie of the Year in a near unanimous decision. Keith Van Horn finishes a distant second in voting.

2002

Charlotte’s Baron Davis has a would-be game winning buzzer beater waved off by referees in game three of a first round series against the Magic. Despite replays showing that the ball left Davis’ hands with 0.2 seconds left on the clock, the officials believed that he did not have enough time to catch and shoot. It sends the game to overtime, where the Hornets manage to rally and prevail 110-100 to take a 2-1 series lead. Due to this and other incidents during the 2002 playoffs, the NBA instituted new regulations around end-of-period scenarios in the ’02-’03 season.

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