June 21

1900 - Hall of Fame coach Everett Case, who is credited with such innovations as numbers on jerseys and cutting down the net to celebrate, is born in Anderson, Indiana.

1959 - Tom Chambers, who won the 1987 NBA All-Star Game MVP Award, is born in Ogden, Utah.

1988 - James Worthy posts the first triple-double of his career with 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers defeat Detroit, 108-105, in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to become the first NBA team to defend its title successfully since the Boston Celtics in 1968 and 1969. The Lakers also become the first team in NBA history to win three consecutive seven-game series (4-3 over Utah, Dallas and Detroit).

1995 - The NBA fines the Chicago Bulls $100,000 for allowing Michael Jordan to change his jersey number from No. 45 to No. 23 during the playoffs. The Bulls were fined an initial $25,000 when Jordan wore No. 23 in Game 2 of the Orlando-Chicago series and warned the additional punishment would be assessed after the playoffs ended if he continued to wear No. 23. The fine amounts to $25,000 per game for Games 3-6 of the series.

1997 - The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) opens to a worldwide audience. Fifteen of the top international women's pro basketball players are on team rosters, including all of the top international stars from the 1996 Olympic Games, including Michele Timms of Australia, Janeth Arcain of Brazil, Haixia Zheng of China and Elena Baranova of Russia. The inaugural WNBA season tips off with the New York Liberty taking on the Los Angeles Sparks (right) at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Calif. A crowd of 14,284 watched as Sparks guard Penny Toler scores the first basket in WNBA history.