Dikembe Mutombo is among the players born on June 25.
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 June 25.
Willis Reed (1942)
“The Captain” was one of the best big men in the NBA throughout his 10-year career. Reed was selected 10th overall in the 1964 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks and spent his whole career playing in the Big Apple. He came out of the gates hot, taking down Rookie of the Year in 1965. Reed also made his first seven straight All-Star appearances in that remarkable rookie campaign, averaging 19.5 points and 14.7 rebounds per game. Everything came together in 1970 for Reed, winning MVP in a career year. He averaged 21.7 points and 13.9 rebounds in that MVP campaign, taking down All-Star MVP as well.
Most importantly, Reed helped that 1970 Knicks team win a title and then did it again in 1973. He also took down Finals MVP in both of those championship runs and is famous for playing with a torn thigh muscle in the deciding Game 7 of the 1970 Finals. Reed had to retire in 1975 due to injuries, but he averaged 18.7 points and 12.9 rebounds throughout his Hall of Fame career.
Dikembe Mutombo (1966)
Mutombo is one of the more beloved and decorated big men in NBA history. The Congo native was the fourth overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets and would go on to establish himself as a premier defensive center. Mutombo finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in his debut season while making his first of eight All-Star appearances. Mutombo led the league in blocks in his third season and repeated that feat in each of the next two seasons.
He also took down Defensive Player of the Year in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001, leading the league in rebounds in 2000 and 2001. In total, Mutombo made six All-Defensive teams and three All-NBA teams. He also spent time with the Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets before officially retiring in 2009. That lengthy resume earned the big man a Hall of Fame induction in 2015, ranking second all-time with 3,289 career blocks.
Want to see every NBA player born on June 25? Here is the rest of the list in chronological order:
- Frank Kudelka (June 25, 1925)
- Leon Blevins (June 25, 1926)
- Glenn Hagan (June 25, 1955)
- Reggie Johnson (June 25, 1957)
- Dell Curry (June 25, 1964)
- Ian Lockhart (June 25, 1967)
- Duane Cooper (June 25, 1969)
- Michael Dickerson (June 25, 1975)
- Desmond Bane (June 25, 1998)
- Collin Gillespie (June 25, 1999)
- Ajay Mitchell (June 25, 2002)
