Former Nuggets player James Ray, who spent three years in Denver after the franchise drafted him fifth overall in 1980, died Tuesday due to complications from a surgery in Gainesville, Florida. He was 66.
Ray lived in Jacksonville with his wife of 43 years, Phyllis (P.J.), who cared for him as he faced a number of medical obstacles after his basketball career. In 2007, he was given three months to live without a lung transplant. The National Basketball Retired Players Association established a fund that received donations from Nuggets great David Thompson among others, and Ray eventually underwent a successful transplant in February 2008.
He was told he had five years to live after the transplant but lived 16 more. Along with his wife, Ray is survived by his son, Jarvis.
“Every day after that was a gift to us,” P.J. Ray said. “And I just take comfort in that. He’s been through a lot.”
A 6-foot-8 power forward from New Orleans, Ray was drafted by the Nuggets out of Jacksonville University. He averaged 3.2 points in eight minutes per game across three seasons in the NBA. In his second and third years, the Doug Moe-coached Nuggets made the playoffs by leading the league in scoring despite finishing last place in points allowed both seasons. They won a first-round playoff series against the Suns in 1983.
The Nuggets released Ray in the 1982-83 season. He went on to play in Italy, Spain and Turkey before retiring in 1987.
“We spent the three years there in Denver and loved every moment of it,” P.J. Ray said.
Ray had a second career after basketball counseling at-risk youth in the Jacksonville area. He worked for the Police Athletic League (PAL) and Boys and Girls Club of Jacksonville, all while managing his 2001 sarcoidosis diagnosis that required him to use an oxygen tank at all times.
“All the challenges that he faced, he never complained about it,” P.J. Ray said. “Never said, ‘Why me?’ or ‘Why’s this happening?’ It just became part of our lives. And he was himself up until the end.”
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