Rockets center Alperen Sengun’s birthday is among those on July 25.
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 25.
Nate Thurmond (1941)
There were not many players who dominated like “Nate the Great”. This big man was selected third overall in the 1963 NBA Draft by the San Francisco Warriors, where he spent the first 11 years of his career. Thurmond became one of the greatest Warriors of all time, making his first All-Star appearance in his sophomore season. That was his first of his seven All-Star appearances, finishing in the Top 10 in MVP voting five times.
He topped out, finishing second in MVP voting in 1967, averaging 18.7 points and 21.3 rebounds per game. Thurmond was also a five-time All-Defense member, all during his 11 years with the Warriors. In that Golden State tenure, Thurmond averaged 17.4 points and 16.9 rebounds in one of the greatest decades in NBA history. All of that earned Thurmond a Hall of Fame induction in 1985.
Alperen Sengun (2002)
It is difficult to follow up a player like Thurmond on the July 25 birthday list, but Sengun has become one of the best centers in the NBA right now. The Turkish big man was the 16th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, but was traded to the Houston Rockets on draft day. That was one of the best decisions Houston has ever made, with Sengun steadily progressing in all four years since then. The 2023-24 season was the breakout season for Sengun, averaging a career-high 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He followed that up with his first All-Star appearance in 2025 with 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The sky is the limit for this young center.
Want to see every NBA player born on July 25? Here is the rest of the list in chronological order:
- Angelo Musi (July 25, 1918)
- Jake Carter (July 25, 1924)
- Ike Borsavage (July 25, 1924)
- Ed Fleming (July 25, 1933)
- Bud Olsen (July 25, 1940)
- Harry Barnes (July 25, 1945)
- Gary Freeman (July 25, 1948)
- Skip Wise (July 25, 1955)
- Jon Barry (July 25, 1969)
- Tracy Murray (July 25, 1971)
- Todd Fuller (July 25, 1974)
- Kenny Thomas (July 25, 1977)
- Nenad Krstic (July 25, 1983)
- Nolan Smith (July 25, 1988)
- Brad Wanamaker (July 25, 1989)
- Brandon Davies (July 25, 1991)
- Cat Barber (July 25, 1994)
