December 19

From Hoopedia

• 1915 - Phil Woolpert, who coached San Francisco to two straight NCAA basketball titles, is born in Los Angeles, California.

• 1957 - Hall of Fame Boston Celtics forward Kevin McHale is born in Hibbing, Minnesota.

• 1964 - Arvydas Sabonis (right), considered by many to be the greatest European player of the Twentieth Century, is born in Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR.

• 1968 - The New York Knicks trade Walt Bellamy and Howard Komives to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Dave DeBusschere. With DeBusschere, the Knicks go on to their most successful seasons in history, capturing their only two NBA titles. In that same period the Pistons made the playoffs only twice.

• 2005 - The Dallas Mavericks fine guard Darrell Armstrong $1,000. The previous night he grabbed a microphone before a Mavs home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and yelled, "How 'bout those Redskins!" Only a few hours earlier, the NFL Dallas Cowboys had been routed by their archrivals, 35-7. Armstrong was raised a Redskins fan in North Carolina.

• 2006 - Allen "The Answer" Iverson, along with Ivan McFarlin, is traded by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Denver Nuggets for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two 2007 first-round draft picks.