NBA

This Day in NBA Sports History: May 17, 1979-1995

By MJ Aranda-Norman May 16, 2025 · 2 min read

Nov 8, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd during the first quarter against the Phoenix Suns at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The best of this day in NBA sports history. May 17. What happened on this special day? Rookie of the year for two, buzzer-beater from MJ, Pat Riley named Coach of the Year, Stockton ties Magic, and the Seattle Supersonics are headed to the finals. Let’s dive into this day in NBA sports history!

May 17, 1995

Named co-winners of the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, Jason Kidd of Dallas and Grant Hill of Detroit shared the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy. It was the first time since 1971 that this occurred. Boston’s Dave Cowens and Portland’s Geoff Petrie were named co-winners that year.

May 17, 1993

Michael Jordan knocked down a contested fadeaway at the buzzer in Game 4 over Gerald Wilkins to defeat the Cavs 103-101 in the Eastern Conference Finals. With the win, the Bulls clinched their third straight NBA Finals berth and went for the first Three-peat against Charles Barkley’s Phoenix Suns.

May 17, 1993

In the closest balloting ever, New York’s Pat Riley was named the IBM NBA Coach of the Year, beating out Houston’s Rudy Tomjanovich by a single vote. He became only the fifth NBA coach to win the award twice.

Riley, who led the Knicks to a 60-win season for only the second time in the franchise’s 47-year history, also won the Coach of the Year award with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1990.

May 17, 1988

John Stockton of the Utah Jazz tied an NBA Playoff assist record with 24 in a losing effort (111-109) against Los Angeles in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Stockton tied Magic Johnson’s assist record.

May 17, 1979

Before a crowd of 37,552 at the Kingdome, Jack Sikma of Seattle scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Supersonics to a 114-110 victory over Phoenix in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. The Sonics went on to win their only NBA Championship, defeating the Washington Bullets in five games in the NBA Finals.