NBA birthdays: Players born on June 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 June 29. 

Kawhi Leonard (1991)

Leonard has established himself as one of the best players of this era. After being a standout at San Diego University, the Indiana Pacers selected Leonard with the 15th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. A draft day trade sent him to the San Antonio Spurs, and he became a legend there. “The Claw” finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in his debut campaign, but took over this team a few years later. Leonard helped the Spurs win a title in 2014 and then won Defensive Player of the Year in 2015 while finishing 10th in MVP voting. 

He followed that up with another Defensive Player of the Year award, finishing Top 3 in MVP voting in 2016 and 2017. His most notable season was with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, helping that franchise win its first championship in an epic playoff run. Leonard joined the Los Angeles Clippers the following season, averaging a career-high 27.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He remains a Clipper entering the 2025-2026 season and has averaged 20.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals throughout his 13-year career. Kawhi has also compiled six All-Star nods, six All-NBA nods and seven All-Defense appearances in what’s looking like a Hall of Fame career..

Joe Johnson (1981)

Joe Cool had a career that spanned eras and he was productive throughout. While Johnson was the 10th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Celtics, he didn’t really break out until three years later. That was with the Phoenix Suns, with Johnson starting a 10-year stretch of averaging at least 16 points per game. 

Johnson then joined the Atlanta Hawks in 2006 and made seven All-Star appearances over the next eight seasons. He also finished 12th in MVP voting in 2010 and 15th in MVP voting two years later. That 2012 campaign was his last one with the Hawks before making his final All-Star appearance with the Brooklyn Nets in 2014. He spent time with Miami, Houston, Utah and Boston after that, but appears unlikely to return to the NBA. Throughout his 18-year career, Iso Joe averaged 16 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. 

Want to see every NBA player born on June 29? Here is the rest of the list in chronological order:

• Bob Lavoy (June 29, 1926)
• Jake Bornheimer (June 29, 1927)
• Jack Turner (June 29, 1930)
• Bob Burrow (June 29, 1934)
• Willie Jones (June 29, 1936)
• Doug Sims (June 29, 1943)
• Gene Littles (June 29, 1943)
• Bob Rule (June 29, 1944)
• Terry Dozier (June 29, 1966)
• Shamorie Ponds (June 29, 1998)
• Taze Moore (June 29, 1998)
• Michael Porter Jr. (June 29, 1998)
• Justin Champagnie (June 29, 2001)
• Julian Champagnie (June 29, 2001)
• Jaylin Williams (June 29, 2002)