Plenty of notable events in sports history that contain some of the absolute greatest athletes of all time have occurred on October 29th. To begin, the wide receiver most commonly referred to as the GOAT achieved the most prestigious receiving accolade possible. Further, none other than the King himself made his official professional debut in the NBA exactly 17 years ago. Two of the most influential men in the history of sports found glory on this day, and there is plenty more to look at.

Jaime Segui also contributed to this article.

New Receiving King

#ThisDayInSports Jerry Rice sets NFL recieving record, 14,040 yards, in 1995 pic.twitter.com/za1fIwDK
— C (@BringBackThorty) October 29, 2012

YEAR: 1995

SIGNIFICANCE: Jerry Rice passed James Lofton to become the NFL’s all-time leader in receiving yards

On this date 25 years ago, Jerry Rice officially took over as the all-time leading receiver in NFL history. Passing James Lofton’s career total of 14,004 receiving yards with a 108-yard output in a loss to the Saints, the reigning Super Bowl champions began a month-long stint without their MVP passer due to a shoulder injury. Arguably the greatest season of his illustrious career, however, Rice didn’t miss a beat and set the single-season record with 1,848 yards on 122 receptions and 15 TDs. Already the career TD leader, Rice was far from finished and would play nine more seasons, resetting most of the record books on his sprint to Canton.

King James' Debut

YEAR: 2003

SIGNIFICANCE: LeBron James made his highly-anticipated NBA debut in Sacramento among the loaded 2003 rookie class

On this date in 2003, several members of the loaded 2003 Draft class made their respective NBA debuts. Dwyane Wade (#5 pick) made his for the Miami Heat a day earlier with an 18-point outing, then Chris Bosh (#4) totaled 11 points and four rebounds en route to a narrow victory for the Toronto Raptors. Carmelo Anthony (#3) followed them up with 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists in the Denver Nuggets’ victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Other members of the class included David West, Kyle Korver, Zaza Pachulia, Kirk Hinrich, Boris Diaw, and Nick Collison, among others.

The most highly-anticipated of the uber-talented group, however, was number one overall pick LeBron James. The 18-year-old “Chosen One”, as Sports Illustrated referred to him, dominated immediately with 25 points, nine assists, four rebounds, and four steals despite a loss to the Sacramento Kings. After officially putting the league on notice, he would then follow up with a near triple-double the next day with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists in another loss to the Phoenix Suns. LeBron would go on to finish the 2003-04 season with averages of 20.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 5.9 APG and became the youngest Rookie of the Year in NBA history at 19 years old.

This week in history: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony made their #NBA debuts in 2003

MORE: https://t.co/sLcxGlHuEr pic.twitter.com/MIh6jp0Zlb
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) October 29, 2018

World Series MVPs

YEARS: 2014 and 2019

SIGNIFICANCE: Madison Bumgarner won WS MVP and Stephen Strasburg improved to 5-0 en route to winning WS MVP

On this day in 2014, the San Francisco Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals 3-2 in Game 7. That title was the Giants’ 3rd World Series in 5 years (2010, 2012, and 2014). Madison Bumgarner came out of the bullpen on two days rest for five masterful innings to propel San Francisco to the final championship of their early 2010s dynasty. This performance cemented Bumgarner’s legacy as one of, if not the greatest, postseason pitcher of all-time. He appeared in three games during the 2014 World Series and allowed just one run in 21 innings of work, good for a 0.43 ERA. In fact, he was just as good all postseason, going 6-1 with a 1.03 ERA in 52.2 innings. The 2014 World Series improved Mad-Bum’s career postseason ERA to 2.14.

Five years after Bumgarner’s terrific postseason run, Washington Nationals SP Stephen Strasburg became the first pitcher ever with a 5-0 postseason record after his 8.1 IP, 2 ER, 7 K performance in Game 6 of the 2019 World Series, forcing a Game 7 between the Nats and the Houston Astros. This outing led Strasburg to win the WS MVP the following night, after becoming just one of three pitchers ever with five wins in a single postseason. In addition to Strasburg’s incredible performance, DC pulled off their record-breaking fourth comeback win when facing elimination in a single playoffs thanks to Juan Soto‘s historic third World Series HR (youngest ever) & Anthony Rendon‘s second most RBIs (5) when facing elimination.

Klay Bests Steph

Full highlights of Klay Thompson knocking down a NBA record 14 3PTS in just 27 MIN!

(2018) Klay Thompson
14-24 in 27 MIN

(2016) Steph Curry
13-17 in 36 MIN
12-16 in 38 MIN

(2003) Kobe Bryant
12-18 in 37 MIN

(2005) Donyell Marshall
12-19 in 29 MINpic.twitter.com/OPzIWPXFVM
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 30, 2018

YEAR: 2018

SIGNIFICANCE: Klay Thompson broke Steph Curry‘s NBA record with 14 3PM

Affectionately referred to as the “Splash Brothers”, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson have solidified themselves as the greatest shooting duo in NBA history. Yet, heading into a matchup with the Bulls two years ago, Thompson had slumped to just 5-of-36 from three-point land in the Warriors’ first seven games of the season. In just 27 minutes on the court in Chicago, however, Klay quickly turned on the heat and buried 14-of-24 threes to break Steph’s single-game record from two years earlier. Pulled from the game in the third quarter with 52 points on 18-of-29 shots in the midst of a blowout, his ten 3PM in the first half also broke Chandler Parsons’ former NBA record as well.

NBA Top-50

YEAR: 1996

SIGNIFICANCE: The NBA officially released its list of the 50 Greatest Players in history

In honor of the NBA’s 50th anniversary, the league decided to compile a comprehensive list of its 50 Greatest Players, voted on by a bevy of panelists without regard to position. Chartered on June 6th, 1996, Commissioner David Stern officially unveiled the list to the public at a luncheon in New York City on this date over four months later. Including the nine that were still active, every player (except the late Pete Maravich) would then be gathered for a ceremony during All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, where they would be introduced one-by-one. In total, the players present on that court accounted for an inconceivable 107 Championships, 49 MVPs, 17 Rookies of the Year, 36 scoring titles, nearly one million points, and 447 All-Star selections. It’s safe to say that top-50 list would look a lot different if it got released today, a quarter century later.