Shaquille O’Neal is among the players born on March 6.
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 March 6.
Shaquille O’Neal (1972)
Shaq’s on-court accomplishments and larger-than-life personality make him one of the most famous NBA players in history. It all began when he was selected No. 1 overall in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic. He won Rookie of the Year in his debut season and earned the first of 15 All-Star selections. O’Neal finished in the top 10 of MVP voting in each of his first 13 seasons, finally winning the award in 2000 with the Los Angeles Lakers.
When he joined the Lakers in 1996, it was a turning point, leading to three straight championships beginning in 2000. Shaq was named Finals MVP in each of those runs and added a fourth title with the Miami Heat in 2006. He led the league in both scoring and rebounding in 1999-00 and topped the NBA in free-throw attempts six times over his career. These accolades earned “The Diesel” a Hall of Fame induction in 2016. Across 19 seasons, O’Neal averaged 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 blocks per game.
Michael Finley (1973)
Finley was the 21st pick in the 1995 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. He finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting after a strong debut season but was traded to the Dallas Mavericks during the 1996-97 campaign.
He spent the next nine seasons in Dallas, receiving MVP votes in three of them and earning back-to-back All-Star nods in 2000 and 2001. During that stretch, he averaged 19.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Finley later joined the Spurs from 2005 to 2010, winning his lone NBA title in San Antonio before finishing his career with the Boston Celtics in 2010. He now serves as the Mavericks’ assistant general manager.
