Raymond Bernard Felton Jr. (born June 26, 1984) is an American former 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. Felton played college basketball for the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sys ...

under head coach Roy Williams. At North Carolina, Felton led the Tar Heels to a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

before declaring for the NBA draft. Felton was drafted fifth overall in the

2005 NBA draft The 2005 NBA draft took place on June 28, 2005, in the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players fro ...

. Over his career, Felton was a member of the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous ...

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 ...

(twice),

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

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 ...

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 ...

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

and

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

. He played the point guard position.

High school career

Felton began his basketball career at Latta High School in

Latta, South Carolina Latta is a town in Dillon County, South Carolina, United States. Latta is the second largest town in Dillon County. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,379. History Latta was established in 1887. The town arose from a need for a rai ...

. He led his high school to two state championships and a career record of 104–9. In the process, Felton set state scoring records with 2,992 points and 117 three-pointers. Felton won the South Carolina Mr. Basketball award as both a junior and senior, and was named

Naismith Prep Player of the Year The Naismith Prep Player of the Year award, named for Canadian basketball inventor James Naismith, is given annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to high school basketball's top male and female player. The inaugural awards were given to Dennis Scott ...

in 2002. He was the MVP of the 2002 Roundball Classic at the

United Center United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is named ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and was selected for the 2002

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the concl ...

(at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...

in New York City). Felton played in the McDonald's All-American game on the same team with two future

teammates,

Carmelo Anthony Carmelo Kyam Anthony (born May 29, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been named an NBA All-Star ten times and an All-NBA Team m ...

and

Amar'e Stoudemire Amar'e Carsares Stoudemire ( ; he, אמארה יהושפט סטודמאייר; born November 16, 1982) is an American-Israeli professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as a player development assistant for the Bro ...

. Considered a five-star recruit by

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Spor ...

, Felton was listed as the No. 1 point guard and the No. 3 player in his high school class in 2002.

College career

In his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. A ...

year, he was voted Carolina Player of the Year and ACC Freshman of the Week three times. He had 236 assists, and averaged 12.0 points a game. During his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educati ...

year, he was a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award and the

Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. History an ...

Award, had 213 assists, and led the Tar Heels in steals (63) and free throw percentage (81%) while averaging 11.5 points per game. Also notable in his second year, Felton set a school-record single-game 18 assists against George Mason on December 7, 2003. In his third and final season at North Carolina, Felton led the Tar Heels along with fellow juniors

Rashad McCants Rashad Dion McCants (born September 25, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who has played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as well as overseas. He played for Trilogy in the BIG3 three-on-three league. High schoo ...

and Sean May and freshman

Marvin Williams Marvin Gaye Williams Jr. (born June 19, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He played one season of college basketball for North Carolina before being drafted second overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2005 NBA draft. Hi ...

to the 2005 National Championship over the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Unive ...

Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic facili ...

on April 4, 2005, in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. This was the fifth men's basketball championship in UNC's history (1924,

1957 1957 (Roman numerals, MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday, common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, t ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, 2005). Felton hit a key three-pointer over

Deron Williams Deron Michael Williams ( ; born June 26, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini before being drafted third overall in the 2005 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. A thre ...

to break a 65–65 tie late in the game, and then came up with a crucial steal in the final seconds when Illinois had a chance to either tie the game or take the lead. His two free throws after the steal provided the final scoring in the game. Felton averaged 12.9 points and 6.9 assists per game during his junior season and showed a much-improved shooting touch. In recognition of his efforts, he was voted to the All-ACC First Team that season. Felton also won the

Bob Cousy Award The Bob Cousy Award presented by The College of the Holy Cross (or Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award) is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate point guard ...

that honors the best collegiate point guard. Following his junior campaign,

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network ...

put Felton on the cover of

NCAA March Madness 06 ''NCAA March Madness 06'' is the 2005 installment in the NCAA Basketball series, ''NCAA March Madness'' series. Former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina and former NBA player Raymond Felton is featured on the cover. Soun ...

Professional career

Charlotte Bobcats (2005–2010)

Felton was selected 5th overall in the

by the

. Felton was drafted after point guards

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and “The Point God”, is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Paul is widely regarded as one ...

and

teammates

and Sean May were also selected in the draft. Felton showed promise right out of college, having his breakout game scoring 31 points 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 ...

in a Bobcats loss. Felton's best all-around game of his rookie year occurred January 28, 2006, when he recorded 18 points and 13 assists against the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

. Felton started 54 of 82 games for the Bobcats and averaged 11.9 points per game, 5.6 assists per game, and 3.3 rebounds per game. In his rookie year, Felton recorded 13 double-doubles. Felton was selected to the

NBA All-Rookie Second Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for player ...

. Felton came into his second year as the Bobcats' starting point guard. Felton improved in mostly every statistic category, raising his assist per game tally from 5.6 to 7.0. Instrumental in the increase was the improved play of teammates

Gerald Wallace Gerald Jermaine Wallace (born July 23, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Crash", he was named an NBA All-Star and voted to the NBA All-Defensive First Team while with the Charlotte Bobcats in 2010. He played ...

, Sean May, and

Emeka Okafor Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi "Emeka" Okafor (born September 28, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Okafor attended Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas and the University of Connecticut, where in 2004 he won a national cham ...

and the addition of then-rookies

Adam Morrison Adam John Morrison (born July 19, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Morrison played for three years at Gonzaga University and was considered to be one of the top college basketball players in 2005–06. He was a finalist ...

and

Walter Herrmann Walter Herrmann Heinrich (born June 26, 1979) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. He is listed at 6'9" and 225 lbs. He was a key member of the senior men's Argentine national basketball team that won the gold medal dur ...

. Despite Felton's solid season, the Bobcats missed the playoffs. Coming into his third year, the Bobcats looked for more talent for Felton to distribute to, bringing in popular scoring shooting guard

Jason Richardson Jason Anthoney Richardson (born January 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Richardson was taken by the Golden State Warriors as the fifth overall pic ...

. The 2007–08 season was still, however, a season of rebuilding for the Bobcats; several players took a step back instead of a step forward. May, Morrison and Herrmann took steps back and the Bobcats were plagued with injuries. The Bobcats once again missed the playoffs. Felton improved on his sophomore campaign, putting up 14.4 points per game, 7.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game. Felton also became more efficient, raising his shooting percentage from 38% to 41%. Felton still, however, struggled shooting from three-point range, one of his biggest deficiencies coming out of college. The Bobcats even put more pressure on Felton by drafting

DJ Augustin Darryl Gerard "D. J." Augustin Jr. (born November 10, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Texas Longhor ...

in the 2008 draft. The Bobcats hired coach Larry Brown to be their head coach. However Felton regressed in scoring, assists and FG%. The Bobcats dealt Richardson and began to rebuild once again. The Bobcats missed the playoffs and hadn't made the playoffs since being created in 2004. During the 2009 off-season, Felton was a restricted free agent. However, he did not sign a contract offer with another team and returned to Charlotte for one more season after signing the qualifying offer on September 23, 2009. During the 2009 season, the Bobcats had their most successful year. However, Felton did not; he saw his assist and scoring numbers drop to their lowest point since his rookie season. Felton however raised his FG% to a career-high 46% and improved his stroke from the three-point line, shooting 38.5%. In March,

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

became the majority owner of the Bobcats. The Bobcats added

Stephen Jackson Stephen Jesse Jackson (born April 5, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors ...

and

Tyson Chandler Tyson Cleotis Chandler (born October 2, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Chandler was drafted directly out of high school as the second overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, then wa ...

via trades, and

Tyrus Thomas Tyrus Wayne Thomas (born August 17, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Louisiana State University (LSU) before being drafted fourth overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2006 NBA dr ...

and

Larry Hughes Larry Darnell Hughes Sr. (born January 23, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. Hughes played for eight different teams during his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Hughes attended Saint Louis ...

late in the season. The Bobcats made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In the playoffs, Felton averaged 11.8 points per game, 2.5 rebounds per game and 5 assists per game. The Bobcats were swept out of the playoffs, and Felton became a free agent at the end of the season.

New York Knicks (2010–2011)

On July 9, 2010, Felton agreed to a contract with the

. Two days later, the deal was finalized for two years and $15.8 million. Felton was selected as co-captain for the 2011 season alongside fellow free agent signee

. Early in the year, Felton had trouble working the pick-and-roll with Stoudemire. But after a few games, Felton gained confidence and in no time was a fan-favorite in New York City. Felton hit a number of clutch shots, including a step-back fade-away three-pointer that pinballed into the net against the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Atlantic Division (NBA) ...

. The change of scenery seemed to be helping Felton; his play also saw the Knicks in playoff contention for the first time since 2004. Felton's time in New York, however, would not last long.

Denver Nuggets (2011)

On February 22, 2011, Felton was traded to the

in a three-way deal which also involved the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

that brought

to New York. The deal sent Felton along with teammates

Wilson Chandler Wilson Jamall Chandler (born May 10, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA for 13 seasons, mainly with the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets. He has also played for Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese ...

Danilo Gallinari Danilo Gallinari (; born 8 August 1988) is an Italian professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After spending his first four years as a professional in his native Italy, Gallinari was dra ...

, and

Timofey Mozgov Timofey Pavlovich Mozgov ( rus, Тимофей Павлович Мозгов, p=tʲɪmɐˈfʲej mɐˈzɡof, born July 16, 1986) is a Russian former professional basketball player. Mozgov won an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 20 ...

to the

. With the Knicks, Felton was on pace to have his best season ever. Felton also registered a fair number of All-Star votes by fans. Felton averaged 17.1 points, 9.0 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game in 38.4 minutes a game. In Denver, Felton was utilized mostly off the bench behind fellow

guard Ty Lawson. Felton and the Nuggets made it to the playoffs where the Nuggets went up against

Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant ( ; born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for t ...

Russell Westbrook Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, he is a nine-time NBA All-Star and ...

and the

. Felton averaged 11.6 points, 6.5 assists and 1.8 rebounds in the postseason. As a whole, 2010–11 was Felton's best season; he averaged 15.5 points per game and 8.6 assists per game. Felton, however, expressed dissatisfaction of playing off the bench and behind Lawson. On June 23, 2011, during the

2011 NBA draft The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponsor ...

, Felton was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for veteran point guard

Andre Miller Andre Lloyd Miller (born March 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and the current head coach for the Grand Rapids Gold. Miller has played professional basketball for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Phila ...

and the #26 overall selection in the draft, Jordan Hamilton from the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. In the deal, the Trail Blazers also dealt Rudy Fernández and the rights to Finnish guard

Petteri Koponen Petteri Johannes Koponen (born 13 April 1988) is a Finnish former professional basketball player. Standing at , he plays both point guard and shooting guard positions. He was drafted as the 30th pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2007 NBA dr ...

Portland Trail Blazers (2011–2012)

In his regular season debut with the Blazers, Felton finished the game with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 steal in a 107–103 win over 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 ...

. Felton and the Blazers struggled throughout the season. Felton did not get along with head coach

Nate McMillan Nathaniel McMillan (born August 3, 1964) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He coached the Seattle SuperSonics from 2000 to 2005, the Portl ...

, who was eventually fired and replaced by Kaleb Canales, who became the youngest head coach in NBA history. Felton was benched by McMillan at one point in favor of

Jamal Crawford Aaron Jamal Crawford (born March 20, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2000 to 2020. He is regarded as one of the best ball handlers in NBA history,. He was nam ...

. The Blazers finished the season at 28–38 (.424), finishing in eleventh place in the Western Conference. For Felton it was one of the worst seasons of his career, as he averaged a career low 11.4 points on 40.7% field goal shooting and 30.5% three-point shooting.

Return to New York (2012–2014)

On July 16, 2012, Felton and Kurt Thomas were traded to the

for

Jared Jeffries Jared Scott Carter Jeffries (born November 25, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. Jeffries was drafted with the 11th overall pick of the 2002 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards. He also played for the New York Knicks, ...

Dan Gadzuric Daniel Gadzuric (born February 2, 1978) is a Dutch-Serbian former professional basketball player. Gadzuric, a center, attended preparatory school at The Governor's Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts, before playing college basketball for the Br ...

, the rights to

Kostas Papanikolaou Konstantinos "Kostas" Papanikolaou ( gr, Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Παπανικολάου; born 31 July 1990) is a Greek professional basketball player and the team captain for Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroL ...

and

Giorgos Printezis Georgios Printezis (alternate spelling: Giorgos) ( el, Γεώργιος Πρίντεζης, born February 22, 1985) is a Greek former professional basketball player who spent the majority of his career with Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League a ...

, and a second round draft pick. Felton signed a three-year, $10 million extension with the Knicks. Felton came under fire because of the shape he was in with Portland. Felton acknowledged his weight, saying, "I won’t make any excuses, I wasn't in shape." At a Las Vegas Summer League game between the Knicks and the

, Felton told

Walt Frazier Walter "Clyde" Frazier Jr. (born March 29, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As their floor general and top perimeter defender, he led the New York Knicks to the franchise's o ...

and

Mike Breen Michael Breen (born May 22, 1961) is an American play-by-play sports commentator for ''NBA on ABC'' and is the lead announcer for New York Knicks games on the MSG Network. Breen also calls NBA games for ESPN and was formerly a play-by-play annou ...

he had lost more than 20 lbs. Felton also said he felt he was better than

Jeremy Lin Jeremy Shu-How Lin (born August 23, 1988) is a Taiwanese-American professional basketball player who last played for the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He unexpectedly led a winning turnaround with the Ne ...

, who was signed by 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 ...

that offseason. On November 2, 2012, when the season tipped off for the Knicks, Felton recorded 14 points and 9 assists in a 104–84 win over the defending champion

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

. On November 15, 2012, Felton led the Knicks to a 104–100 road victory over the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

as he helped his team overcome a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter with his 25 points and 7 assists. On December 6, 2012, Felton scored a season-high 27 points in a 112–92 road win over the Heat to hand them their first

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it ...

loss of the season. The Knicks won the game without Carmelo Anthony. In mid December, Felton reportedly suffered a hand injury, but decided to play through it for some games. After consulting a hand specialist, and being informed he did not have to have surgery, it was noted he would miss 4–6 weeks. On January 23, 2013, he was medically cleared for contact, and he made his return on January 26, 2013, against the

. On February 25, 2014, Felton was reportedly arrested on felony gun charges. As part of a

plea deal A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or ''nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendant ...

, Felton pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a firearm. He was assessed a $5,000 fine and 500 hours of community service. In addition, the NBA suspended Felton for the first four games of the 2014–15 season.

Dallas Mavericks (2014–2016)

On June 25, 2014, Felton, along with

, was traded to the

in exchange for

Shane Larkin DeShane Davis Larkin (born October 2, 1992) is an American-Turkish professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketball Super League and the EuroLeague. He also represents the senior Turkish national team in international ...

Wayne Ellington Wayne Robert Ellington Jr. (born November 29, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the University of North Carolina from 2006 t ...

, José Calderón,

Samuel Dalembert Samuel Davis Dalembert (born May 10, 1981) is a Haitian-Canadian former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Seton Hall University. During his active NB ...

, and the 34th and 51st picks in the

2014 NBA draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

. On August 7, 2014, Felton was charged with a four-game suspension by the NBA in response to him pleading guilty for gun possession. After missing the first 31 games of the 2014–15 season with an ankle injury he sustained during preseason, Felton made his debut for the Mavericks on December 28 against the Oklahoma City Thunder as he played just over a minute of action and recorded no stats in the 112–107 win. On June 22, 2015, Felton exercised his player option with the Mavericks for the 2015–16 season. On December 12, 2015, he recorded 10 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds, the first triple-double by a Maverick since

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest point guards ...

did so in March 2011.

Los Angeles Clippers (2016–2017)

On July 25, 2016, Felton signed with the

Oklahoma City Thunder (2017–2019)

On July 10, 2017, Felton signed with the

. On July 12, 2018, he re-signed with the Thunder. Felton became an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on Monday, July 1, 2019 at 12:01 a.m. ET.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

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, 80 , , 80 , , 33.0 , , .459 , , .385 , , .763 , , 3.6 , , 5.6 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , 12.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

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, 54 , , 54 , , 38.4 , , .423 , , .328 , , .867 , , 3.6 , , 9.0 , , 1.8 , , .2 , , 17.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

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Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

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, 68 , , 68 , , 34.0 , , .427 , , .360 , , .789 , , 2.9 , , 5.5 , , 1.4 , , .2 , , 13.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 65 , , 65 , , 31.0 , , .395 , , .318 , , .721 , , 3.0 , , 5.6 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , 9.7 , - , align="left" , , 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 ...

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, 80 , , 31 , , 27.4 , , .406 , , .282 , , .847 , , 3.2 , , 3.6 , , .9 , , .2 , , 9.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

L.A. Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division in the league's Western C ...

, 80 , , 11 , , 21.2 , , .430 , , .319 , , .781 , , 2.7 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , .3 , , 6.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...

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Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, align="left" ,

, 4 , , 4 , , 32.5 , , .405 , , .308 , , .750 , , 2.5 , , 5.0 , , .5 , , .0 , , 11.8 , - , align="left" , 2011 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 30.4 , , .360 , , .250 , , .750 , , 1.8 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 11.6 , - , align="left" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

, align="left" ,

, 12 , , 12 , , 37.8 , , .444 , , .321 , , .667 , , 3.4 , , 4.7 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , 14.1 , - , align="left" ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, align="left" ,

, 3 , , 1 , , 12.0 , , .267 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 3.7 , - , align="left" , 2016 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 4 , , 34.4 , , .464 , , .286 , , .636 , , 4.6 , , 4.6 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 15.0 , - , align="left" ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, align="left" , L.A Clippers , 7 , , 0 , , 18.1 , , .469 , , .444 , , 1.000 , , 1.4 , , 1.4 , , .9 , , .0 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

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

, 6 , , 0 , , 13.1 , , .387 , , .500 , , .000 , , 2.2 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , .3 , , 5.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

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

, 5 , , 0 , , 11.4 , , .308 , , .250 , , .500 , , .6 , , .6 , , .8 , , .2 , , 2.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 47 , , 21 , , 25.7 , , .420 , , .321 , , .711 , , 2.5 , , 3.1 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 9.4

Awards

*All-NBA Rookie Second Team 2005–06 *No. 2 jersey is honored in the rafters of the Dean Dome at UNC *NCAA All-Tournament Team: 2005 *Associated Press Men's Basketball Third Team: 2004–05 *Voted Carolina's Most Valuable Player: 2002–03, 2004–05 (Shared with Sean May) *Winner of

: 2005 *First Team All-ACC: 2004–05 *Third Team All-ACC: 2002–03, 2003–04 *First Team All-ACC Tournament: 2003 *ACC All-Defensive Team Honorable Mention: 2004–05 *ACC All-Freshmen Team: 2002–03 *

: 2002

Personal life

Felton's nephew, Jalek Felton, briefly played for UNC during the 2017–18 season, before being suspended by the school in January 2018.What Jalek Felton’s attorney says about his decision to leave UNC
/ref> In July 2018, Jalek signed for Slovenian club Petrol Olimpija.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Felton, Raymond 1984 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from South Carolina Charlotte Bobcats draft picks Charlotte Bobcats players Dallas Mavericks players Denver Nuggets players Los Angeles Clippers players McDonald's High School All-Americans New York Knicks players Oklahoma City Thunder players North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Marion, South Carolina Point guards Portland Trail Blazers players 21st-century African-American sportspeople People from Latta, South Carolina 20th-century African-American people