Thomas Bryant is among the players born on July 31.
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 31.
Ruben Patterson (1975)
Patterson was known for his fierce defensive prowess over his 10 years in the league. He was drafted by the Lakers in 1998 but started to get on the radar in Seattle during his second season when he played in 74 games and averaged 11.6 points per game. Patterson went on to finish sixth in Sixth Man of the Year voting the following season.
Patterson spent five years with the Portland Trail Blazers after that and closed his career with one-year stints with the Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers. Patterson had a career year with the Bucks in 2007, averaging 14.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He officially retired one year after that in 2009, finishing his 10-year career averaging 10.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals.
Want to see every NBA player born on July 31? Here is the rest of the list in chronological order:
- Mel Hirsch (July 31, 1921)
- Henry Akin (July 31, 1944)
- Mike Jackson (July 31, 1949)
- Mike Flynn (July 31, 1953)
- John Shasky (July 31, 1964)
- Scott Brooks (July 31, 1965)
- Tony Massenburg (July 31, 1967)
- Derrick Phelps (July 31, 1972)
- John Edwards (July 31, 1981)
- Kostas Papanikolaou (July 31, 1990)
- Thomas Bryant (July 31, 1997)
- Hamidou Diallo (July 31, 1998)
