December 31
From Hoopedia
- 1911 - Margaret Wade (right), Hall of Fame coach whose Delta State University teams won three consecutive national championships, is born in McCool, Kansas.
- 1921 - Irv Rothenberg, a 6'8" giant who played in the first American Basketball League before World War II and in the Basketball Association of America (the forerunner to the NBA) after, is born in New York.
- 1954 - The Fort Wayne Pistons and the Minneapolis Lakers combine to attempt 127 free throws, the most ever in a regulation NBA game. Minneapolis wins, 103-91.
- 1962 - The second American Basketball League, started by Abe Saperstein, folds two months into its second season.
- 1962 - Tyrone Corbin, a 16-season veteran of the NBA, is born in Columbus, South Carolina.
- 1967 - The Los Angeles Lakers play their first game in the Great Western Forum, defeating the San Diego Rockets, 147-118.
- 1971 - Brent Barry, San Antonio Spurs player and son of NBA legend Rick Barry, is born in Hempstead, New York.
- 1982 - Luke Schenscher, a Portland Trailblazer was born.
