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1956

Bill Russell is selected second overall by the St. Louis Hawks in the NBA Draft and then immediately traded to the Celtics for Cliff Hagan and Ed Macauley. The Celtics acquire two other future Hall of Famers on the same day, using their territorial pick on Tom Heinsohn (Holy Cross) and their second round pick (#13 overall) on K.C. Jones, Russell’s teammate at San Francisco.

1961

Isiah Thomas is born in Chicago, Illinois. His connection to basketball began at age three, when he would provide halftime entertainment with a dribbling exposition during his older brother’s youth league games.

1971

The Bucks win game four of the NBA Finals 118-106 to complete a sweep over the Baltimore Bullets and clinch the first title in franchise history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is named Finals MVP and Oscar Robertson earns his first and only career championship.

1975

Larry O’Brien is named as the third commissioner of the NBA, replacing J. Walter Kennedy.

1980

Luis Scola is born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His father played semi-pro basketball in Argentina.

Behind 38 points from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and a triple-double (20 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) from rookie Magic Johnson, the Lakers defeat the SuperSonics 111-105 in game five of the Western Conference Finals, finishing the series and clinching their first NBA Finals appearance in seven years.

1984

WNBA legend Seimone Augustus is born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

1985

Brandon Bass is born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Due to a difficult childhood, he didn’t play organized basketball until high school.

1992

When Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley declares a state of emergency due to the Rodney King riots, the NBA is forced to postpone and ultimately re-locate two playoff games. The Clippers later host the Jazz in Anaheim and the Lakers host the Trail Blazers in Las Vegas.

2003

After 18 years and over 1,400 games, John Stockton and Karl Malone play together for the final time, in a 111-91 Jazz loss to the Kings in the clinching game five of a first round series. Stockton, who finished the game with eight points and seven assists, would retire at age 41 in the subsequent offseason, while Malone, who finished the game with 14 points, signed with the Lakers and played one more season.

2004

For the first time in franchise history the Timberwolves win a playoff series, defeating the Nuggets 102-91 in game five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals behind 28 points from Kevin Garnett.

2006

CSKA Moscow wins its first EuroLeague title in 35 years, defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv 73-69 in the Final in Prague. Theo Papaloukas leads Moscow with 18 points and seven assists and is named Final Four MVP. Anthony Parker scores 10 points in his final game with Tel Aviv before returning to the NBA.

Kobe Bryant hits a clutch shot at the end of regulation to force overtime, then a buzzer beater in the extra period to lead the Lakers to a shocking 99-98 win over the Suns. The performance reinforced Bryant’s reputation as a clutch scorer and gave the #7 seed Lakers an improbable 3-1 series lead. But they couldn’t complete the upset, as the #2 seed Suns won the next three games to advance.

2008

Despite being just two years removed from being named NBA Coach of the Year and leading the team to its first ever NBA Finals appearance, Avery Johnson is fired as head coach of the Mavericks. He is replaced soon after by Rick Carlisle.

2009

In one of the most exciting playoff games in NBA history, unlikely hero John Salmons plays nearly 60 minutes and scores 35 points to lead the Bulls to a 128-127 triple overtime win over the Celtics in game six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Boston’s Ray Allen finishes with 51 points while Chicago rookie sensation Derrick Rose has a near triple-double, with 28 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.

2010

The top seeded Lakers finish off a surprisingly difficult Western Conference Quarterfinals series by defeating the Thunder 95-94 in game six. 21-year-old Kevin Durant finishes the series averaging 25.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

2014

Mike D’Antoni resigns as head coach of the Lakers after two unsuccessful seasons. He is eventually replaced by Byron Scott.

2015

Billy Donovan is hired as head coach of the Thunder, replacing the recently fired Scott Brooks. Donovan had spent 19 years previously at University of Florida, winning national championships in 2006 and 2007.

The Bulls defeat the Bucks 120-66 in game seven of the Conference Quarterfinals, setting the NBA record for largest margin of victory in a series-clinching playoff game. The Bucks shoot just 32.9% from the field in the loss, with no players managing to score in double digits.

2021

Jayson Tatum ties Larry Bird’s Celtics single game franchise record with 60 points in a 143-140 overtime victory over the Spurs.

2023

Stephen Curry becomes the first player to score 50 or more points in an NBA playoffs game seven, as the Warriors defeat the Kings 120-100 to finish their Western Conference Quarterfinals series. Incredibly, the feat would be repeated just two weeks later by Jayson Tatum.

2024

Trailing 3-1 in the series and 96-90 in game five with only 28 seconds remaining, the 76ers make an incredible comeback to force overtime and ultimately prevail 112-106. Tyrese Maxey hits two three-pointers in the final 28 seconds to put the Sixers back in the game, and finishes with 46 points to lead all scorers. Just a week earlier, the Knicks had made a similar comeback, erasing a five-point deficit in less than 30 seconds in game two.

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