Ralph Derek Simpson (born August 10, 1949) is an American former
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 played professionally in the
American Basketball Association (ABA) and
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
(NBA) from 1970 to 1980.
Career
Simpson, a 6'6" guard/forward, was a star at
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
's
Pershing High School John J. Pershing High School is a four-year public high school in Detroit, Michigan. It is in Conant Gardens in proximity to the residential areas[Spencer Haywood
Spencer Haywood (born April 22, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player and Olympic gold medalist. Haywood is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, being inducted in 2015.
High school career
In 1964, Hayw ...]
to win the Michigan state championship in 1967.
He was offered a tryout for the
1968 United States Olympic team, but turned it down.
After two strong years at
Michigan State University, he signed a professional contract with the ABA's
Denver Rockets
Denver () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States#State capital, capital, and List of municipalities in Colorado#, most populous city of th ...
(later the
Denver Nuggets), and he would represent the franchise in five ABA
All-Star games.
Simpson had his finest season in 1971–1972, in which he averaged 27.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists. After the
ABA–NBA merger
The ABA-NBA merger was a major pro sports business maneuver in 1976 when the American Basketball Association (ABA) combined with the National Basketball Association (NBA), after multiple attempts over several years. The NBA and ABA had entered ...
in 1976, Simpson joined the
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...
, but his level of production dropped significantly, from 18 points per game in 1975–1976 to 11 points per game in 1976–1977, and after one-and-a-half seasons, he returned to the Denver Nuggets, now one of the ABA teams who had joined the NBA. However, he averaged only 5.5 points during his second tenure with the Nuggets,
and after two more seasons as a member of the
Philadelphia 76ers and
New Jersey Nets
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
, he retired in 1980.
Simpson scored 11,785 combined ABA/NBA points in his ten-year career. His 9,953 points were the most for the Nuggets during the team's time in the ABA.
Personal life
Simpson currently lives in
Denver, Colorado
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 Unit ...
.
His daughter is
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
-winning
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
singer
India Arie
India Arie Simpson (born October 3, 1975), also known as India Arie (sometimes styled as india.arie), is an American singer and songwriter. She has sold over five million records in the US and ten million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards ...
.
References
External links
Career statsat basketball-reference.com
at Remember the ABA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Ralph
1949 births
Living people
African-American basketball players
All-American college men's basketball players
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from Michigan
Basketball players from Detroit
Chicago Bulls draft picks
Denver Nuggets players
Denver Rockets players
Detroit Pistons players
Metro State Roadrunners men's basketball coaches
Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players
New Jersey Nets players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Philadelphia 76ers players
Shooting guards
Small forwards
Pershing High School alumni
Southeastern High School (Michigan) alumni
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople