This date 1966: NBA All-Star game at Cincinnati Gardens
East 137 West 94
MVP: Adrian "Odie" Smith, Cincinnati Royals (Kentucky Wildcats)
The East guard finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes.
Smith was the third straight Royals player to win MVP honors: Jerry Lucas (1965) and Oscar Robertson (1964).
The 85-year old Smith lives in Cincinnati. He still has the Ford Galaxie he won for winning MVP honors that night. Smith played on Adolph Rupp's 1958 national championship team at UK and won a gold medal as part of the 1960 U.S. Olympic basketball team. Smith averaged 11.3 points per game in his 11 year NBA career. He played nine seasons for the Royals, from 1961-62 to 1968-69.
This night in 1966, the heavily-favored East team defeated the West team, 137-94. The game was sold out and standing-room only tickets were also sold before the game tipped off. On the date of the game, the Cincinnati Royals had the most wins (28) during the 1965-66 NBA regular season and the second-best record (behind the Boston Celtics) during the 1965-66 NBA regular season.
How about these starting lineups?
East: Wilt Chamberlain, John Havlicek, Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, Sam Jones
(The East squad had eight eventual NBA Hall of Famers)
West: Guy Rodgers, Nate Thurmond, Bailey Howell, Rick Barry, Jerry West
The boxscore is HERE