November 3
From Hoopedia
- 1941 - George Yardley, high-scoring Hall of Famer with the Fort Wayne and Detroit Pistons, is born in Hollywood, California.
- 1950 - Argentina wins the first FIBA World Championships for Men. The U.S., represented by the AAU champion Denver Chevrolets, took second place.
- 1962 - Wilt Chamberlain, of the San Francisco Warriors, scores 72 points against the Los Angeles Lakers.
- 1982 - Randy Smith played in his 845th consecutive game, surpassing Johnny "Red" Kerr as the NBA's All-time Iron Man.
- 1989 - Sarunas Marciulionis and Alexander Volkov become the first players from the then-Soviet Union to participate in regular season NBA games. Marciulionis scores 19 points as Golden State lose to Phoenix, 136-106. Volkov is held scoreless as Atlanta loses to Indiana, 126-103.
- 1995 - The NBA's two Canadian expansion teams, the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzles, both make successful NBA debuts with victories in their first regular-season games. In front of more than 33,000 fans at Sky Dome, the Raptors defeat New Jersey 94-79. The Grizzlies win their opener on the road, defeating Portland 92-80 at the Blazers' new $262 million dollar home, the Rose Garden, Each franchise paid $125,000,000 to join the NBA.
- 1995 - The $160 million dollar Fleet Center, new home of the Boston Celtics, opens in Boston.
