This Day in Basketball History

2000 - Isiah Thomas gets his first coaching job

Larry Bird had just stepped down from his post as head coach of the Indiana Pacers following three seasons with a 147-67 record. While Bird would return later (in 2003) as the president of basketball operations, the Pacers were left without a coach for their 56-win team, and without a name to pair with Reggie Miller and Jalen Rose to put on the marquee.

Enter Isiah Thomas, who had bounced from the Toronto Raptors as an executive to the Continental Basketball Association as the league's owner (no, seriously) and was interested in a return to the NBA.

On this day in 2000, the Pacers hired Thomas to replace Bird. The team would lose 15 wins off its 1999-2000 record and Thomas would last just three seasons, posting a 131-115 record and never making it past the first round of the playoffs. He would be replaced by Rick Carlisle in the 2003 offseason, though Thomas quickly landed with the New York Knicks, where he'd spend all of the money as an executive and have another stint as a bench boss, failing famously over two seasons.

The dude can draft, though.

2011 - Yao Ming retires

On this day three years ago, Chinese basketball superstar Yao Ming retired from NBA competition, citing injury and health concerns. It was disappointing considering the 7-foot-6 center was just 30 years old, but foot and ankle injuries can really hamper a big man.

"My past six months were an agonizing wait," Yao said at the time. "I had been thinking (about my future) over and over. Today I am announcing a personal decision: ending my career as a basketball player and officially retire."

In all, Yao played just eight seasons in the NBA, making nine All-Star Games (he was voted in by the fans in 2009-10 despite missing the season due to injury) and helping grow the game of basketball in China immensely.

In 486 career games, Yao averaged 19 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor. His 9,247 career points actually rank only second among players born in China, as Tom Meschery, who played in the 1960s, tallied 9,904 and was technically born in Harbin Manchuria, though he identifies as Russian-American.

Birthdays

1975 - Ray Allen
1975 - The most beautiful jump shot in basketball
1991 - Alec Burks