Drafted in 2011, Kemba Walker headlines our May 8 birthday celebrations.
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 8:
Kemba Walker (1990)
Walker was an incredible player at UConn and parlayed that into a solid 12-year NBA career. He carried the UConn Huskies to an unlikely title in the 2011 collegiate season, which earned him the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. He finished 11th in Rookie of the Year voting in that debut season with the Charlotte Hornets, spending the next eight years with that organization. He became a Charlotte legend in his time there, making three straight All-Star appearances in his final three years with the Hornets.
That terrific run in Charlotte has Kemba ranked second all-time in franchise history in assists while leading them with over 12,000 career points. He was traded to the Boston Celtics in 2021, making his fourth and final All-Star appearance that season. Kemba closed his career with one-year stints in New York and Dallas before officially retiring in 2024. Walker averaged 19.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.2 steals throughout his career while winning the Sportsmanship Award two times as well. Don’t be surprised to see Kemba’s number hanging up in the Hornets rafters one day.
Want to see every NBA player born on May 8? Here is the rest of the list in chronological order:
- Dennis Hamilton (May 8, 1944)
- Mike D’Antoni (May 8, 1951)
- Vladimir Stepania (May 8, 1976)
- Pepe Sanchez (May 8, 1977)
- Speedy Claxton (May 8, 1978)
- Keyon Dooling (May 8, 1980)
- Sasha Kaun (May 8, 1985)
- Garrett Temple (May 8, 1986)
- Khyri Thomas (May 8, 1996)
- Cole Swider (May 8, 1999)
- Dzanan Musa (May 8, 1999)
- Jacob Toppin (May 8, 2000)
- Toumani Camara (May 8, 2000)
- Quentin Grimes (May 8, 2000)
