With over 5,000 players in NBA history, at least one player was born on every day of the calendar year – including four leap day ballers. Our day-by-day breakdown of the players born on each day of the year continues.
Below are the most notable NBA players born on July 7.
Ralph Sampson (1960)
“Stick” was an apt nickname for this slender center, but Sampson was a force throughout his nine-year career. The 7’4” big man was one of the best players in the country at the University of Virginia, winning college player of the year three times (1981-1983). That earned him the top pick in the 1983 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. The high pedigree was proven immediately, with Sampson taking down Rookie of the Year in an All-Star campaign in his debut season. That was the first of four straight All-Star appearances for Sampson, averaging 19.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.9 blocks per game from 1983-84 to 1986-87.
The following year, Sampson spent the first half of the season with the Rockets before being traded to the Golden State Warriors. He spent just a year and a half in Golden State and then closed his career with short stints in Sacramento and Washington before officially retiring in 1992. Sampson also won All-Star MVP in 1985 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012. Many people consider Sampson to be one of the greatest collegiate basketball players of all time from his tenure at Virginia.
Want to see every NBA player born on July 7? Here is the rest of the list in chronological order:
- Johnny Simmons (1924)
- Tommie Bowens (1940)
- Jim Barnett (1944)
- John Warren (1947)
- Rick Roberson (1947)
- Ralph Sampson (1960)
- Tom Garrick (1966)
- Chris Andersen (1978)
- Eric Dawson (1984)
- Chris Hunter (1984)
- Brandon Rush (1985)
- Cristiano Felício (1992)
- Devon Hall (1995)
- Myles Powell (1997)
- RaiQuan Gray (1999)
- Ron Holland II (2005)
