James Ray (basketball)

James Ray

Personal information
Born	(1957-07-27) July 27, 1957 New Orleans, Louisiana
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school	L. B. Landry (New Orleans, Louisiana)
College	Jacksonville (1976–1980)
NBA draft	1980: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Selected by the Denver Nuggets
Position	Power forward
Number	43
Career history
1980–1983	Denver Nuggets
1983–1984	Berloni Torino
1985–1986	Peñas Huesca
1986–1987	Fenerbahçe
Career highlights and awards
Sun Belt Player of the Year (1980)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

James Ray (born July 27, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player. After playing college basketball at Jacksonville University, he was drafted fifth overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 1980 NBA Draft. He subsequently played three seasons for the team, appearing in 103 games and finishing with career averages of 3.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. Moving to Europe, he went on to play professionally in Italy, Spain and Turkey.

Post-career

In 2001, Ray was diagnosed with sarcoidosis. Due to his failing health and financial challenges, the NBA's retired players association provided him support. In 2008, Ray received a transplant, soon after receiving a diagnosis of having three months to live without one. The likelihood of receiving a transplant had been rated poorly, due to his need, at 6'9, of receiving lungs from a person taller than 6'5.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com  and Basketball-Reference.com 
• James Ray career statistics