Raymond Mark Spalding (born March 11, 1997) is 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 for the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won fo ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

High school career

Spalding is the son of Raymond Brooks and Gerri Spalding. Spalding, is a descendant of the Spalding basketball family. He grew up playing lacrosse, soccer, kickball, table tennis, lacrosse, fencing and basketball. He attended Trinity High School in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

, where he was coached by Mike Szabo. Spalding began to receive college looks after scoring 34 points in an AAU tournament the summer before his senior year of high school. He committed to the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

because he wanted to become a household name in his hometown.

College career

Coming into Louisville, former head coach

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (born September 18, 1952) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for Iona College. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA ...

raved about Spalding, claiming he has the most potential of any player he has coached. Spalding came off the bench his first two years at Louisville. He averaged 5.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore. After the season, Spalding noticed the work teammate Donovan Mitchell put in to become an NBA player and resolved to do the same. He pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds to go with 21 points in a win versus

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a ...

in December 2017. Spalding had a career-high 23 points to go with 12 rebounds in an 82–78 double-overtime win over

Notre Dame Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...

on January 16, 2018. He moved into the starting lineup as a junior, averaging 12.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. Spalding led the team to a 22–14 season and the quarterfinals of the NIT. He was an Honorable Mention All- Atlantic Coast Conference selection. After the season, Spalding entered the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including inter ...

and hired an agent, thus forgoing his final season at Louisville.

Professional career

Dallas Mavericks (2018–2019)

On June 21, 2018, Spalding was drafted by the

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 ...

with the 56th pick in the

. He was subsequently traded to the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The ...

alongside the last pick of the draft, Kostas Antetokounmpo for the rights to the 54th pick, Shake Milton. He signed his rookie contract on July 20, 2018. He made his NBA debut on October 17, 2018, playing one minute, in a 121–100 loss against the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division (NBA), P ...

. It was the only game he played with Dallas. The rest of his tenure was spent being assigned to the affiliate

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 1 ...

in the

. On January 31, 2019, Spalding was dismissed by the Mavericks.

Phoenix Suns (2019)

On February 20, 2019, Spalding signed to a 10-day contract with the

. While he never played during the proper contract, he was given a two-year partially guaranteed contract on March 3. Spalding eventually recorded his first rebound on March 9, playing in only 3 minutes in a 127–120 loss to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. A week later, Spalding would have his best game of the season in the NBA at that point against the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their home ...

, recording 8 points on 4-of-5 shooting, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 assists in 14 minutes of action in a 138–136 overtime win. On April 5, Spalding had his first start in the league, putting up a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds in a 133–126 overtime win over the Pelicans.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2019–2020)

On July 31, 2019, Spalding signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. On October 8, 2019, he was waived by the Hawks. On October 10, 2019, Spalding signed with the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Divisio ...

. He was waived by the Rockets on October 19, 2019. Following his release, he was added to the roster of the Rockets' G League affiliate, the

. Spalding was suspended one game without pay after leaving the bench during an altercation in a 132–109 loss to the

Memphis Hustle The Memphis Hustle are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in the Greater Memphis suburb of Southaven, Mississippi, and are affiliated with the Memphis Grizzlies. The team plays their home games at the Landers Cente ...

on December 17.

Charlotte Hornets (2020)

On January 15, 2020, the Charlotte Hornets announced that they had signed with Spalding to a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

. He scored 15 points in his G League debut for the Greensboro Swarm in a win over the

Iowa Wolves The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Des Moines, Iowa, and are affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines, Iowa), Wells Fa ...

. Spalding was waived by the Hornets on November 29, 2020.

Houston Rockets (2021)

On February 12, 2021, the

announced that they had signed with Spalding to a

. He was waived on February 16 after two games with the team.

Return to Rio Grande Valley (2022–present)

On November 3, 2022, Spalding was named to the opening night roster for the

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, 1 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , – , , – , , – , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 0.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 13 , , 3 , , 11.3 , , .532 , , .000 , , .333 , , 3.7 , , .4 , , .7 , , .6 , , 4.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

, 2 , , 0 , , 9.5 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 16 , , 3 , , 10.4 , , .529 , , .000 , , .286 , , 3.3 , , .3 , , .6 , , .6 , , 3.6

NBA G League

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, 29 , , 26 , , 30.1 , , .514 , , .231 , , .568 , , 9.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.7 , , 2.2 , , 15.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 29 , , 26 , , 30.1 , , .514 , , .231 , , .568 , , 9.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.7 , , 2.2 , , 15.9

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , 6 , , 17.5 , , .560 , , .333 , , .500 , , 4.3 , , .5 , , .9 , , .7 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 8 , , 19.2 , , .590 , , .000 , , .545 , , 5.5 , , .8 , , .6 , , .9 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 34 , , 27.6 , , .543 , , .263 , , .640 , , 8.7 , , 1.3 , , 1.5 , , 1.7 , , 12.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 100 , , 48 , , 21.7 , , .557 , , .240 , , .579 , , 6.3 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , 8.1

References

External links

Louisville Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spalding, Ray 1997 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Louisville, Kentucky Dallas Mavericks players Greensboro Swarm players Houston Rockets players Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Phoenix Suns players Power forwards (basketball) Rio Grande Valley Vipers players Texas Legends players Trinity High School (Louisville) alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople