This Week in NBA History: Week of May 19

On May 22, 1988, Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins squared off for one of the greatest one-on-one battles in NBA playoff history.

Below is a day-by-day look at landmark moments, games, performances and more from this week in NBA lore.

May 19

May 19, 1928

Dolph Schayes is born in New York City.

May 19, 1976

Hall of Famer and 15-time All-Star Kevin Garnett is born in Greenville, S.C.

Take a look back at the illustrious career of Kevin Garnett.

May 19, 1987

Los Angeles Lakers guard Magic Johnson was named the Edge NBA Most Valuable Player after averaging 23.9 ppg and a league-high 12.2 apg, becoming the first guard in 23 years to gain that honor.

May 19, 2009

The NBA’s LA Clippers win the first overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft lottery. This was the Clippers’ first lottery win since the 1998 NBA Draft where they selected Michael Olowokandi out of the University of Pacific.

May 19, 2021

The Memphis Grizzlies defeat the San Antonio Spurs 100-96 and the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Golden State Warriors 103-100 in the inaugural games of the State Farm NBA Play-In Tournament in the Western Conference. The Lakers clinch the No. 7 seed with their win, while the Grizzlies move on to play the Warriors in another Play-In game with the No. 8 seed on the line.

May 20

May 20, 1974

The Atlanta Hawks trade Pete Maravich to the New Orleans Jazz for two players and five future Draft picks.

May 20, 1979

Washington reserve Larry Wright hit two free throws with no time on the clock to give his club a 99-97 victory in the opening game of the NBA Finals against Seattle. Wright’s clutch shots gave him 26 points in just 23 minutes and led the Bullets to their only victory of the five-game championship series.

May 20, 1995

Houston’s Mario Elie sank a 3-pointer from the corner with 7.1 seconds left in the game, lifting the visiting Rockets to a 115-114 win over Phoenix in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal series at America West Arena. With the win, the Rockets became the first NBA team in 13 years (since the ’82 Sixers against Boston) to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-7 playoff series. The shot is perhaps best remembered for what occurred right after it, with Elie blowing a kiss in the direction of the home bench. Houston’s victory also broke a string of 20 consecutive wins by the home team in the deciding Game 7 of a playoff series. Just 24 hours later, Indiana repeated that feat by the road team after downing host New York 97-95 in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal Round series.

Mario Elie hits a 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds left, lifting Houston to a 115-114 win over Phoenix in Game 7 of their West semifinal series.

May 20, 1996

Chicago’s Michael Jordan earns a record 96.5 percent of first-place votes (109 of 113) from the media to win the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 1995-96 NBA Most Valuable Player, his fourth overall NBA MVP Award. Jordan’s MVP stats include 30.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.20 steals per game

May 20, 2000

Malik Sealy of the Minnesota Timberwolves dies in an auto accident at the age of 30. Sealy starred at Tolentine High School in the Bronx, leading the school to the mythical high school national championship in 1988. Later that year, he took his game to St. John’s, where he carved out a stellar career, putting together numbers bettered only by Chris Mullin. Sealy was drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the 14th pick in the first round of the 1992 NBA Draft, and he played with Indiana, the LA Clippers, Detroit and Minnesota in an eight-year NBA career.

May 20, 2012

The San Antonio Spurs defeat the LA Clippers 102-99 in the Western Conference semifinals for a 4-0 series win.

May 20, 2019

A Game 4 win against the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference finals sends the Golden State Warriors to The Finals for a fifth straight postseason. They join the 1960s Boston Celtics (10 total) as the only teams in NBA history to make The Finals in five consecutive seasons or more. The Celtics hold the all-time record for consecutive Finals berths, appearing in 10 championship series from 1957-67.

May 20, 2021

The Washington Wizards defeat the Indiana Pacers 142-115 in the State Farm NBA Play-In Tournament to clinch the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

May 21

May 21, 1986

Ralph Sampson, who teamed with Hakeem Olajuwon in a Twin Towers alignment for the Houston Rockets, caught an inbounds pass with one second left and bounced in a turnaround jumper to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 114-112 at Los Angeles in Game 5 of the 1986 Western Conference Finals. The loss kept the defending champion Lakers, who had won 62 games during the regular season, out of the NBA Finals for the only time in a span of eight years from 1982-89.

Ralph Sampson hit one of the wildest shots in NBA history to send the Houston Rockets to The 1986 Finals.

May 21, 1991

With a 105-97 win over the Detroit Pistons at Chicago Stadium in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Final series, the Chicago Bulls set an NBA playoff record for consecutive wins at home with 15. The Bulls’ postseason home winning streak was broken on June 2, 1991 by the Los Angeles Lakers, with a 93-91 loss in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

May 21, 1992

Golden State’s Don Nelson was named IBM NBA Coach of the Year, becoming the first NBA coach to win the award three times. Nelson guided the Warriors to a 55-27 record, the second-best mark in franchise history. Nelson also won the Coach of the Year award in Milwaukee in 1983 and 1985.

May 21, 1994

In Denver’s 91-81 loss to Utah in Game 7 of their Western Conference Semifinal Round series, Dikembe Mutombo swatted away two shots to give him an NBA record 38 for a seven-game playoff series, obliterating Hakeem Olajuwon’s previous mark of 30, set in 1993 against Seattle.

May 21, 1996

Chicago’s 93-88 home win over Orlando in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals draws an 8.6 rating and a 13.8 share on TNT. With nearly 8.2 million persons tuning in, it is the most-watched NBA game in cable television history.

May 21, 1998

The Sacramento Kings traded veterans Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe to the Washington Wizards for Chris Webber.

May 21, 2021

The Memphis Grizzlies defeat the Golden State Warriors 117-112 in the State Farm NBA Play-In Tournament to clinch the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

May 22

May 22, 1963

The NBA approved the franchise shift of the Syracuse Nationals to Philadelphia. The franchise was purchased by Philadelphia’s Irv Kosloff and Ike Richman earlier that spring.

May 22, 1988

Dominique Wilkins and Larry Bird traded bucket for bucket in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference Semifinals until Boston escaped with a 118-116 victory. Wilkins finished with 47 points and Bird had 34 — with 20 of his points tallied in the fourth quarter. “The basket was like a well,” remembered Wilkins. “I couldn’t miss. He couldn’t miss. That’s the greatest game I’ve ever played in or seen played. It was two guys who just did not want to lose.” The teams shot a combined .588 percent from the field, the second highest mark in playoff history.

On May 22, 1988, Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins squared off for one of the greatest one-on-one battles in NBA playoff history.

May 22, 1994

Toronto, scheduled to enter the NBA as an expansion franchise in 1995-96, unveiled Raptors as the team’s nickname.

May 22, 2020

Legendary coach Jerry Sloan dies at 78 from complications related to Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. Upon his passing, Sloan’s 1,221 career wins ranked as the fourth-highest total in NBA history.

The NBA family mourns the loss of one of its greatest coaches, Hall of Famer Jerry Sloan.

May 23

May 23, 1975

Golden State notched an NBA Finals game record 17 steals during their 109-101 victory over Washington in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

May 23, 1976

Boston center Dave Cowens dominated the opener of the NBA Finals against Phoenix with a 25-point, 21-rebound performance as the Celtics defeated the Suns, 98-87. Boston eventually took its 13th NBA title in six games.

May 23, 1978

Portland center Bill Walton was named the NBA’s MVP for the 1977-78 season. Walton led his club to a 50-10 record before succumbing to multiple foot injuries, playing in 58 games and averaging 18.9 ppg and 13.2 rpg.

May 23, 1982

The Philadelphia 76ers, after leading Boston three games to one only to have the Celtics draw even, invaded Boston Garden and came away with a 120-106 win in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. “Beat L.A!” was the chant that resounded through Boston Garden late in the game. Although the Sixers were beating their beloved team, Boston fans wanted anyone to beat the Los Angeles Lakers. It didn’t happen, though, as the Lakers beat the Sixers in six games for the NBA title.

May 23, 2002

The NBDL, now known as the NBA G League, established new league offices in Greenville, S.C.

May 24

May 24, 1979

Hall of Fame guard Tracy McGrady is born in Bartow, Fla. McGrady was a two-time scoring champion, a seven-time All-Star and a seven-time All-NBA player.

May 24, 1999

Orlando Magic head coach and Hall of Famer Chuck Daly resigns from his position. The 68-year-old Daly made his debut as an NBA head coach in the 1981-82 season, coaching the Cleveland Cavaliers for 41 games as an interim replacement. Daly later won two NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons and led the “Dream Team” to gold in the 1992 Olympic Summer Games.

May 24, 2000

Isiah Thomas, one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History and the leader of the Detroit Pistons’ championship teams in 1989 and 1990, and Bob McAdoo, one of the greatest scoring forwards ever in the NBA, were among six individuals elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

May 25

May 25, 1975

Golden State beat Washington 96-95 to complete a sweep of the NBA Finals, one of only six title sweeps. The others were by Boston (1959), Milwaukee (1971), Philadelphia (1983), Detroit (1989) and the Los Angeles Lakers (2002).

May 25, 1992

Danny Biasone, who was credited with introducing the 24-second shot clock to the NBA for the 1954-55 season, died in Syracuse at the age of 83. Biasone arrived at 24 seconds by dividing 2,880 seconds, the total playing time, by 120, the approximate number of shots he figured two teams took in a game.

The NBA's 24-second shot clock -- created by Danny Biasone and adopted on April 22, 1954 -- changed both basketball at large and the league.

May 25, 1993

Charles Barkley, acquired by the Phoenix Suns in June of 1992, won the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 1993 NBA Most Valuable Player. Barkley, who helped lead the Phoenix Suns to a franchise and NBA-best 62-20 record during the 1992-93 season, averaged 25.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 76 games.

May 25, 1998

Reggie Miller uses some crafty off-the-ball movement to get open and then drills a 3-pointer over Michael Jordan with :00.4 seconds left to give the Indiana Pacers a 96-93 win against the Chicago Bulls in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.

May 25, 2002

Paul Pierce outscores the New Jersey Nets 19-16 in the fourth quarter to help the Boston Celtics erase a 21-point deficit in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The 94-90 victory remains the biggest comeback in NBA Playoff history.

May 25, 2017

A deep 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:40 left in the third quarter gives LeBron James the postseason’s all-time scoring title. James accomplished the feat in Game 5 of the 2017 Eastern Conference finals, as the Cavs won 135-102 to reach a third straight NBA Finals. James’ shot moved him to 5,989 career playoff points, passing Michael Jordan (5,987), who held the record for 19 years. James reached the record in his 212th game, while Jordan played in 179 playoff games.

LeBron James passes Michael Jordan to become all-time playoff scoring leader.

May 25, 2019

Behind 27 points and 17 rebounds from Kawhi Leonard, the Toronto Raptors drop the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals to clinch their first trip to The Finals. The Raptors went on a game-changing 26-3 run in the late third quarter that fueled their comeback win that clinched the series.