Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is among players born on July 12.
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 12.
Paul Silas (1943)
Silas was a true NBA lifer, spending the majority of his life as a player and a coach. It started when Silas was selected 12th overall in the 1964 NBA Draft by the St. Louis Hawks. He spent his first five years with that organization, but really broke out when he joined the Phoenix Suns in 1969. Silas finished 14th in MVP voting in 1972 while making his first of two All-Star appearances and a second straight All-Defensive Second Team.
Silas then joined and won two titles with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and 1976 before winning a third in 1979 with the Seattle SuperSonics. He spent one year with the Denver Nuggets in 1976-77 before playing his final three seasons in Seattle. Silas made five All-Defensive teams throughout his 16-year career, and after he retired as a player in 1980, he went on to coach the San Diego Clippers, Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1998)
Gilgeous-Alexander was selected 11th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets. After a draft day trade to the Los Angeles Clippers, Gilgeous-Alexander finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting. That’s why he was a key piece in the Paul George trade to Oklahoma City the following year, and he has established himself as one of the best players in the NBA since then. SGA made his first of three straight First Team All-NBA and All-Star appearances in 2023, finishing top-five in MVP voting in 2023 and 2024.
Gilgeous-Alexander had a historic 2024-25 campaign, culminating with him winning his first Kia MVP award. It wasn’t his only accomplishment, though, as SGA led the league with 32.7 points per game while carrying the OKC Thunder to their first title in franchise history. All of that has Gilgeous-Alexander in the conversation for best player in the NBA right now, averaging 31.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks over the last three seasons.
Want to see every NBA player born on July 12? Here is the rest of the list in chronological order:
- Mel Riebe (1916)
- Red Wallace (1918)
- Ray Scott (1938)
- Paul Silas (1943)
- Jasper Wilson (1947)
- Ken Smith (1953)
- Geert Hammink (1969)
- Jimmy Oliver (1969)
- Travis Best (1972)
- Patrick Beverley (1988)
- Drew Gordon (1990)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1998)
- Izaiah Brockington (1999)
- Liam Robbins (1999)
- Dalen Terry (2002)
