Back in Time: March 19

SI Staff | Mar 19, 2009

Back in Time: March 19

Lew Alcindor

Neil Leifer/SI

NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy flips a coin, Phoenix calls `heads' and it turns up `tails'. Thus, Milwaukee wins the right to pick first in the NBA Draft, selecting Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) while Phoenix picked Neal Walk.

Elgin Baylor and Jerry West

Sheedy & Long

Led by Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 162-99. The 63-point margin of victory established a record for most lopsided victory in NBA history.

Brett Hull

AP

St. Louis' Brett Hull becomes the third NHL player to score 80 goals in a season.

Dale Ellis

AP

San Antonio's Dale Ellis connects on a pair of three-point field goals during the Spurs' 107-100 win over visiting Sacramento, becoming the first player in NBA history to reach 1,000 career three-pointers made.

Michael Jordan

AP

Michael Jordan returns to the Chicago Bulls after nearly two years of retirement, scoring 19 points in the loss to the Indiana Pacers. The game, televised on NBC, becomes the most watched regular season game in NBA history, with an estimated 35 million viewers.

John Stockton

Manny Millan/SI

Utah's John Stockton has one steal in the Jazz' 113-100 win over the Celtics, becoming the first player in NBA history to record 2,500 career steals.

Born on this Day

Peter Read Miller/SI

Richie Ashburn (1927) <br>Andy Reid (1958, pictured) <br>Tyrone Hill (1968) <br>Rick Mirer (1970) <br>Janne Laukenen (1970) <br>Antonio Daniels (1975) <br>Andre Miller (1976) <br>Hedo Terkoglu (1979) <br>Hee-Seop Choi (1979) <br>Clayton Kershaw (1988)