Benjamin Vallentina Warley (September 4, 1936 – April 5, 2002) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. A 6'5" forward/ guard from

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

, Warley played five seasons (1962–1967) in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

as a member of the

Syracuse Nationals The Philadelphia 76ers are an American basketball team currently playing in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA history in wins and playoff appearances. 1946� ...

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

, and Baltimore Bullets. He averaged 8.4

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of points by ...

and 5.6

rebounds per game 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

. Warley later played with several teams in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

, representing the Anaheim Amigos in the 1968 ABA All-Star Game. Warley settled in Philadelphia after his playing career was over. He died of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

in 2002.Obituary
at NBA.com

Notes

1936 births 2002 deaths Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players Anaheim Amigos players American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) players Basketball players from Washington, D.C. Cleveland Pipers players Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania Deaths from liver cancer Denver Rockets players Long Beach Chiefs players Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Los Angeles Stars players Philadelphia 76ers players Seattle SuperSonics expansion draft picks Shooting guards Small forwards Syracuse Nationals draft picks Syracuse Nationals players Tennessee State Tigers basketball players {{1930s-US-basketball-bio-stub