NBA Birthdays: Players born on Sept. 29

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 Sept 29. 
Kevin Durant (Sept. 29, 1988): One of the greatest scorers in the history of the game, Durant enters his 17th NBA season in 2024-25 as the league’s eighth all-time leading scorer in total points (28,924) and fourth in scoring average (27.3 ppg, min. 500 games played). The unique combination of his 6-foot-11 frame, feathery jump shot and guard-like skills allows Durant to score from all three levels with ease.
The second overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, Durant won Rookie of the Year in his lone season in Seattle before the team relocated to Oklahoma City. In eight seasons with the Thunder, Durant led OKC to the 2012 NBA Finals, was named league MVP in 2014 and won four scoring titles (2010-2012, 2014).
After nine seasons with the Sonics/Thunder, Durant signed with Golden State as a free agent in 2016, helping the Warriors win back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018 and earning back-to-back Finals MVPs. Durant suffered an Achilles tear in his final game as a Warriors in 2019. After a missed season to recover, Durant returned with the Brooklyn Nets, where he played 2.5 seasons before being traded to Phoenix in July 2023. 
Durant is set to enter his third season in Phoenix in 2024-25, needing 1,076 points to become the ninth player to reach 30,000 career points. Durant is a 14-time All-Star (and two-time All-Star MVP), an 11-time All-NBA Team selection and a two-time 50-40-90 shooter. Only nine players in NBA history have shot 50% FG, 40% 3P and 90% FT for a season; Durant is one of three to do it multiple times, joining Steve Nash (4) and Larry Bird (2). In 2021, Durant was honored as a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
In addition to his NBA accolades, Durant has excelled in international play with USA Basketball. KD is a four-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2012, 2016, 2020, 2024) and has scored more points in Olympic competition than any player in USA Basketball history. He was named MVP of the Tokyo Games in 2020 as well as the 2010 FIBA World Cup, leading the USA to gold in Turkey. 
Hersey Hawkins (Sept. 29, 1966): After leading the nation in scoring (36.3 ppg at Bradley University) in his senior collegiate season, Hawkins was drafted sixth overall in the 1988 NBA Draft by the LA Clippers and traded to Philadelphia on draft night. In five seasons in Philly, the 6-foot-3 shooting guard earned All-Rookie Team honors (1989) and was named an NBA All-Star (1991) when he averaged a career-best 22.1 points per game.
In 1993 Hawkins was traded to Charlotte, where he played two seasons with the Hornets, followed by a four-year run with the Seattle SuperSonics that included an NBA Finals appearance in 1996 that resulted in a 4-2 loss to his hometown Chicago Bulls. Hawkins played his final two seasons in Chicago and Charlotte before retiring in 2001. In 983 career games, Hawkins amassed 14,470 points (14.7 ppg), 3,554 rebounds (3.6 rpg), 2,860 assists (2.9 apg), 1,622 steals (1.7 spg) and 1,226 3-pointers made (39.4% shooting).
Chuck Cooper (Sept. 29, 1926): On April 25, 1950, Charles “Chuck” Cooper made history when he became the first African-American player to be drafted by an NBA team when the Boston Celtics made him the 13th overall pick in the 1950 NBA Draft. In 1950, Cooper and two other gamechangers – Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton and Earl Lloyd – became the first African-American players in the NBA, breaking the color barrier and blazing a new trail for the league.
In a six-season NBA career, Cooper played for the Celtics, the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks, and the Fort Wayne Pistons, averaging 6.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Cooper was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
Want to see every NBA player born on Sept. 29? Here is the rest of the list in chronological order:
(Sept. 29, 1923)
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