Raymond Darlington Felix (December 10, 1930 – July 28, 1991) 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. He was born in New York City. He played high school basketball at Metropolitan High School in New York and college basketball at

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LI ...

. Felix was the No. 1 overall pick of the

1953 NBA draft The 1953 NBA draft was the seventh annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24, 1953, before the 1953–54 season. In this draft, nine remaining NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college ...

Basketball career

A 6' 11" center from Metropolitan High School and

, Felix was selected by the Baltimore Bullets with the first pick in the 1953 NBA Draft. Felix won the

NBA Rookie of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Go ...

in 1954 after averaging 17.6 points and 13.3 rebounds. Felix was also the second African-American, following

Don Barksdale Donald Argee Barksdale (March 31, 1923 – March 8, 1993) was an American professional basketball player. He was a pioneer as an African-American basketball player, becoming the first to be named NCAA All-American, the first to play on a Un ...

, to be named an All-Star. His 13.3 rebounds is on the List of National Basketball Association rookie single-season rebounding leaders. After his rookie season, Felix was traded on September 17, 1954. The soon to be folded Baltimore Bullets traded Felix and Chuck Grigsby to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...

for Alfred McGuire and

Connie Simmons Cornelius Leo "Connie" Simmons (March 15, 1925 – April 15, 1989) was an American professional basketball player. He was born in Newark, New Jersey. A 6'8" forward/ center from Flushing High School in New York City, Simmons played ten seasons ...

. In six seasons with the Knicks, Felix averaged 12.0 points and 9.1 rebounds. On January 24, 1960 Felix was traded by the Knicks, with a 1960 4th round draft pick (

Ben Warley Benjamin Vallentina Warley (September 4, 1936 – April 5, 2002) was an American professional basketball player. A 6'5" forward/ guard from Tennessee State University, Warley played five seasons (1962–1967) in the National Basketball Assoc ...

was later selected), to the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, t ...

for

Dick Garmaker Richard Eugene Garmaker (October 29, 1932 – June 13, 2020) was an American basketball player who played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1955 to 1961. College career Garmaker was a 6'3" guard/forward from the ...

and a 1960 2nd round draft pick ( Dave Budd was later selected). In his Lakers tenure, the team moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles and his role turned to a reserve one. He averaged 6.4 points and 6.7 rebounds in three seasons. The Lakers lost to the Celtics in the 1962

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is aw ...

, in seven games. Felix averaged 4.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in the series, which marked the end of his NBA career. Overall, Felix spent nine seasons in the league, and played for the Bullets, New York Knicks and the Minneapolis/ Los Angeles Lakers. Felix averaged 10.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, with career totals of 6,974 points and 5,652 rebounds. He retired in 1962.

Russell rivalry

Felix had an incident with future hall of famer

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most V ...

in Russell's rookie season, when after Russell felt Felix had been trying to intimidate him, he knocked Felix unconscious with a punch to the head. Toward the end of his career, after having several of his shots blocked by Russell, Felix took the ball then flung it off the side of the backboard, saying to Russell, smiling, "You didn't get that one!" Felix and the Lakers lost to Russell and the Celtics in the 1962

, in seven games.

After Basketball

Following his retirement, Felix worked for the

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolo ...

where he sponsored a basketball tournament in

Elmhurst, Queens Elmhurst (formerly Newtown) is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Junction Boulevard on the east; and the New York Connecting R ...

and later worked as a supervisor at

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

men's shelter. Felix died of a heart attack on July 28, 1991. He had a son, Ray Jr., with his wife Gloria.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Ray Felix Career Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Felix, Ray 1930 births 1991 deaths African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) draft picks Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Basketball players from New York City Centers (basketball) LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's basketball players Los Angeles Lakers players Minneapolis Lakers players National Basketball Association All-Stars New York Knicks players 20th-century African-American sportspeople