Xavier McDaniel is among the players born on June 4.
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 June 4.
Bobby Wanzer (1921)
It’s rare to see a player start their NBA career at age-27, but Wanzer was a Marine before becoming a Hall of Famer. After that military service, Wanzer was selected 10th overall in the 1948 BAA Draft by the Rochester Royals. That proved to be a fruitful selection, with Wanzer spending his whole nine-year career in Rochester. They actually switched to the NBA in his sophomore season in 1949-50, with the Royals winning a title in 1951. “Hooks” became a stud the following season, making five straight All-Star appearances starting in 1952, and he was also Second Team All-NBA in three of those. Despite the abbreviated career, Wanzer earned a Hall of Fame induction in 1987, averaging 12.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
Xavier McDaniel (1963)
“X” was one of the best players to come out of Wichita State before they became a powerhouse in the collegiate ranks, but many believe McDaniel helped to set that path. A stellar collegiate career made McDaniel the fourth overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. This forward finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in his debut season and then made an All-Star appearance two years later.
McDaniel also finished fifth in Sixth Man of the Year voting in 1988-89, and amassed averages of 20.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals in his six seasons with the SuperSonics. He closed his career by playing for the Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and New Jersey Nets before officially retiring in 1998.
Want to see every NBA player born on June 4? Here is the rest of the list in chronological order:
- Bobby Wanzer (1921)
- Gale Bishop (1922)
- David Vaughn (1952)
- Kim Hughes (1952)
- Xavier McDaniel (1963)
- Tim Perry (1965)
- Johnny Taylor (1974)
- Greg Monroe (1990)
- Josh Reaves (1997)
- Zhaire Smith (1999)
