Raymond Townsend

Raymond Anthony Townsend (born December 20, 1955) is a Filipino-American[1] retired professional basketball player. He played three seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Golden State Warriors and the Indiana Pacers. Townsend played college basketball with the UCLA Bruins, earning all-conference honors in the Pacific-8 (known later as the Pac-12). He was selected by the Warriors in the first round of the 1978 NBA draft, with the 22nd overall pick, and became the first Filipino-American to play in the NBA. During his playing career, he was listed at 6'3" (1.91 m) tall and 175 lbs. (79 kg). He played at the point guard position.

Raymond Townsend
Personal information
Born (1955-12-20) December 20, 1955
San Jose, California
NationalityFilipino / American[1]
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeUCLA (1974–1978)
NBA draft1978 / Round: 1 / Pick: 22nd overall
Selected by the Golden State Warriors
Playing career1978–1985
PositionPoint guard
Number11
Career history
1978–1980Golden State Warriors
1980–1981Alberta Dusters
1981–1982Indiana Pacers
1982–1983E.C. Sirio
1983–1984C.A. Monte Libano
1984–1985Virtus Roma
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

High school career

Townsend attended Camden High School and Archbishop Mitty High School, in San Jose, California, where he played high school basketball. As a high school senior, he averaged close to 28 points a game for the Camden High Cougars. This was prior to the 3 point shot line being regulated years later. After graduating from high school, he played college basketball at UCLA.

College career

Townsend played college basketball at UCLA, with the UCLA Bruins. He was a member of the 1975 UCLA National Basketball Championship team, which was the 10th and final NCAA championship team of the school's legendary head coach, John Wooden. He earned first-team All-Pac-8 honors as a senior, in 1978.

Professional career

Townsend was selected with the last pick in the first round (22nd overall), of the 1978 NBA draft, by the Golden State Warriors. He concluded his NBA career in 1982, as a member of the Indiana Pacers. He was the first Filipino-American to play in the NBA.[1] He also played in Italy's LBA with Banco Roma, during the 1984–85 season.[2] With Roma, he won the 1984 edition of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

Personal life

Townsend was born in San Jose, California. He is half-Filipino; Townsend's mother, the former Virginia Marella, is a Filipina from Balayan, Batangas while his father, Ray Sr., is American.[3][4] A 1976 Sports Illustrated issue featured Townsend's father, Ray Sr., in its "Faces in the Crowd" section. He was recognized as "the oldest junior college basketball player in history." At age 39, he was the second man off the bench.[5]

His brother, Kurtis Townsend, was an assistant coach for the Kansas Jayhawks team that won the 2008 NCAA Championship. After his basketball playing career, Townsend worked as youth sports development coordinator in San Jose, California. He was honored as UCLA's Filipino Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumnus of the Year, on May 2, 2009.[1]

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References
  1. Townsend honored as alum of year by the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association
  2. Ray Townsend (in Italian).
  3. Henson, Joaquin (January 19, 2004). "Filipinos love this game". NBA.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2012. The Philippines, a hoops hotbed in the Far East, has yet to send a player to the NBA although a US-born half-Filipino, half-American guard Raymond Townsend saw action for the Golden State Warriors in 1978–79 and 1979–80 and the Indiana Pacers in 1981–82.
  4. Ding, Kevin (September 3, 2010). "Lin is the NBA's Asian-African inspiration". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on November 18, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2010. Raymond Townsend and Rex Walters followed more recently, their stories begun when born to Asian mothers but hard to read from their bi-racial faces.
  5. KUSports.com: Fathers’ examples still guide Kansas coaches
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