Clint Capela is among the current NBA players born on May 18
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 May 18.
Ron Mercer (1976)
“Merk” was a stud throughout his collegiate career at Kentucky, earning him the sixth overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. He played his first two seasons in Boston, averaging 15.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
Mercer really took his game to another level when he joined the Chicago Bulls in 2000, averaging a career-high 19.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals in his one full season with that organization. He spent two years with the Indiana Pacers after that, and then had two one-year stints with the San Antonio Spurs and New Jersey Nets before officially retiring in 2005. This wingman averaged 13.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals throughout his eight-year career.
Clint Capela (1994)
There haven’t been many players from Switzerland in the NBA, but Capela is one of the best of that bunch. The big man was selected 25th overall in the 2014 NBA Draft after playing professionally in France. The Houston Rockets definitely made a smart pick, with Capela breaking out in 2018. Capela led the league in field goal percentage in that breakout campaign, averaging 13.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. That was his first of seven straight seasons with double-double averages, receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes twice during that span.
His best season was when he joined the Atlanta Hawks in 2020, averaging 15.2 points, 14.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. Those 14.3 boards led the league that season, and Capela still plays for Atlanta today.
Want to see every NBA player born on May 18? Here is the rest of the list in chronological order:
- Chet Aubuchon (May 18, 1916)
- Ralph Kaplowitz (May 18, 1919)
- Noble Jorgensen (May 18, 1925)
- Jerry Nagel (May 18, 1928)
- Jack Stephens (May 18, 1933)
- Joe Roberts (May 18, 1936)
- Lawrence Boston (May 18, 1956)
- Sam Vincent (May 18, 1963)
- John Morton (May 18, 1967)
- Donyell Marshall (May 18, 1973)
- Reggie Evans (May 18, 1980)
