Tom Gola arrives at the 1998 Hall of Fame ceremony.
With over 5,000 players in NBA history, at least one player was born on every day of the calendar year – including three 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 Jan 13.
Tom Gola (1933)
While there aren’t many Jan. 13 NBA birthdays, we have a Hall of Famer to highlight from this crop. Tom Gola was a stud at La Salle University, earning him the third overall pick in the 1955 NBA Draft. He finished seventh in MVP voting in a remarkable rookie season but missed the following season due to military service. Gola didn’t lose it while he was gone, returning to the Philadelphia Warriors in 1959. He made four All-Star appearances over the next six seasons and made one more near the end of his career. The big man played seven seasons for the Warriors and closed his career with the New York Knicks for four seasons. Throughout his 11-year career, Gola averaged 11.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. He also helped the Warriors win a championship in 1956 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1976.
Want to see every NBA player born on January 13? Here is the rest of the list in chronological order:
- Vern Hatton (January 13, 1936)
- Art Harris (January 13, 1947)
- Earl Jones (January 13, 1961)
- Alex Kessler (January 13, 1967)
- Jason Sasser (January 13, 1974)
- James Posey (January 13, 1977)
- Ronny Turiaf (January 13, 1983)
- Vasilije Micic (January 13, 1994)
- Henry Ellenson (January 13, 1997)
