Ralph Derek Simpson (born August 10, 1949) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1970 to 1980.

Career

Simpson, a 6'6" guard/forward, was a star at Detroit's Pershing High School, where he teamed with Spencer Haywood 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 Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

, he signed a professional contract with the ABA's Denver Rockets (later the

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 ...

), 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 in 1976, Simpson joined the Detroit Pistons, 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 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 Eas ...

and New Jersey Nets, 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. His daughter is Grammy Award-winning soul singer India Arie.

References

External links

Career stats
at 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