February 18: Celebrating NBA Players Birthdays

With over 5,000 players in NBA history, there is at least one player born on every day of the calendar year – including three leap day ballers. Our in-depth analysis of the players born on each day of the year will continue to showcase the diverse talent that has graced the basketball courts over the years.

Below are the most notable NBA players born on Feb. 18.

Maurice Lucas (1952)

“Mo” Lucas carved out a solid 14-year career between the ABA and NBA. The big man played his first two seasons in the ABA, making one All-Star appearance during that span. He joined the Portland Trail Blazers in 1976, making three straight All-Star appearances in his first three years in Portland. Lucas also finished Top 10 in MVP voting in two of those years, averaging 19.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.0 blocks during that stretch. He made his final All-Star appearance in 1982 when he played for the Phoenix Suns. Before closing his career when he re-joined the Blazers in 1987, Lucas played for the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets and Seattle SuperSonics. He was also a key piece to the 1978 Portland team that won a title.

Andrei Kirilenko (1981)

Fantasy basketball has become more popular over recent years, and Kirilenko was a fantasy darling during his playing days. He was one of the best stat-stuffers during his era, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2001. He made his first and only All-Star appearance in 2004 but received Defensive Player of the Year votes or Sixth Man of the Year votes in eight straight seasons after that. “AK47” played his first 10 seasons for the Utah Jazz, averaging 12.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.0 blocks in that span. He closed his career by playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets before retiring in 2015. Kirilenko’s most notable accomplishment was when he recorded a 5X5 line twice in the 2003 season, which has only been accomplished by 17 players in NBA history.

Want to see every NBA player born on February 18? Here is the rest of the list in chronological order

Marv Schatzman (February 18, 1927)

Bill Turner (February 18, 1944)

Pat Frink (February 18, 1945)

Marv Winkler (February 18, 1948)

Jim Hayes (February 18, 1948)

Randy Denton (February 18, 1949)

Gus Bailey (February 18, 1951)

Fly Williams (February 18, 1953)

Sylvester Norris (February 18, 1957)

Tom Sluby (February 18, 1962)

Jason Maxiell (February 18, 1983)

Kyle Weaver (February 18, 1986)

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (February 18, 1993)

Paul Zipser (February 18, 1994)

Tyler Dorsey (February 18, 1996)

Jaime Jaquez Jr. (February 18, 2001)