NBA Birthday Alert: Celebrating Players born on Oct. 12

Jack Marin was born in 1944.

Marin isn’t a household name, but he carved out a remarkable 15-year career. The lefty small forward played for four teams throughout his NBA career, suiting up for the Baltimore Bullets, Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls and Buffalo Braves. After playing at Duke, he was also the fifth overall pick in the 1966 draft. His best season was his final year in Baltimore in 1971, averaging 22.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He made the All-Star team that year but then shifted to Buffalo and made his second and only other All-Star team in 1972.  

Charlie Ward (1970)

Ward was a late first-round pick by the Knicks in the 1994 draft and played 10 years in New York. The 1997-98 season was the best output for Ward, playing all 82 games as the Knicks primary point guard. He averaged 7.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game that year. His final year with the Knicks was in 2003, with Ward playing for the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets in his final two years in the league. He also participated in the 1998 3-Point Shooting Contest.

Marko Jaric (1978)

Jaric was the first pick in the second round of the 2000 draft but spent his first two years playing in Italy. He debuted in the 2002-03 season, marking one of the first players to come out of Serbia. His best season was in the 2004-05 season, with Jaric averaging 9.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He had a unique skill set as a 6-foot-7 playmaker, but could not duplicate that success in stints with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies to close his NBA career in 2009. He had stints in Spain and Italy for the next two seasons but retired after that. 

Other Players Born on October 12

Leon Brown (1919) –

Brown played just five games and attempted just three shots in his short NBA career.  

Gary Garland (1957) –

Garland played 78 games in his only season in the NBA, playing for the Denver Nuggets.  

Voise Winters (1962) –

Winters only played 17 minutes across four games in his NBA career playing for the Philadelphia 76ers.  

Kevin Brooks (1969) –

Brooks only started three games in his three-year career, playing for the Denver Nuggets between 1991 and 1994.  

Nate Driggers (1973) –

Driggers only played 15 games for the Boston Celtics in the 1996-97 season.  

Maurice Carter (1976) –

This lefty played for the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Hornets in his only season during the 1996-97 season.  

Justin Robinson (1997) –

Robinson is a lefty point guard who’s played for five teams over his three-year career. He hasn’t played since 2022.  

MarJon Beauchamp (2000) –

Beauchamp is the only active player on this list, being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks last season.