Raphiael Rashad Putney (born April 21, 1990) is an American 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. He played college basketball for the

UMass Minutemen The UMass Minutemen are the athletic teams that represent the University of Massachusetts Amherst; strictly speaking, the ''Minutemen'' nickname applies to men's teams and athletes only — women's teams and athletes are known as ...

High school career

Putney attended Woodbridge High School in Lake Ridge, Virginia for coach Chad Anderson, averaging 9.0 points per game as junior.

College career

Putney played college basketball for

playing 131 games and starting 86 overall, with averages of 7.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.2 blocks. His best year was as a junior, with averages of 10.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

Professional career

Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2014–2015)

After going undrafted 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. ...

, Putney was acquired by the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won fo ...

of the NBA Development League on November 2, 2014 after a successful tryout. On November 14, he made his professional debut in a 112–101 loss to the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, recording two points, three rebounds, one assist and three blocks in 17 minutes. He was deactivated twice by the Vipers during the 2014–15 season, and subsequently played in just 24 games, averaging 6.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.

Al-Ittihad Jeddah (2015)

In April 2015, Putney moved to Saudi Arabia where he joined Al-Ittihad Jeddah for the remainder of the season.

Perth Redbacks (2015)

On June 13, 2015, he signed with the

Perth Redbacks Perth Redbacks is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Perth Basketball Association (PBA), the major administrative basketball organisation ...

for the rest of the 2015 State Basketball League season. He struggled with his shot early on for the Redbacks, making just 20-of-62 from the field over his first four games. Despite his shooting woes, he was still effective on the defensive end, recording an eight-block game in just his third outing, and recording a double-double in seven of his nine games for the Redbacks. Over those nine games, he averaged 19.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.6 blocks per game. He and teammate Ray Turner were a dominating big man pair but could not lead the Redbacks to the playoffs, finishing the season outside the top eight with a 10–16 win–loss record. Later that year, he joined Malaysian club

NS Matrix The NS Matrix Deers are a Malaysian men's professional basketball club. History The Negeri Sembilan (NS) Matrix basketball team was established in 2015 and is owned by the Matrix Holding Concept Bhd. It was a frequent participant of the Agong Cu ...

and helped them win the 2015 Seri Mutiara Champions Cup. He also earned MVP honors for the championship game.

Second stint with Rio Grande Valley (2015–2016)

On November 2, 2015, Putney returned to the Rio Grande Vipers for the 2015–16 season and had a marked improvement in his second campaign for the team. On January 12, 2016, he was named NBA D-League Performer of the Week for games played Monday, January 4 through Sunday, January 10. Putney led the Vipers to a 2–1 week while averaging 28.3 points (third in the league) on 47 percent shooting (29-of-62) to go with a league-leading 15.7 rebounds and 3.7 blocks (third). On January 29, he was named in the West All-Star team for the 2016 NBA D-League All-Star Game. On March 31, he was suspended for five games without pay for violating the terms of the league's Anti-Drug Program. The suspension ended his season with the Vipers, and in 48 games for the team, he averaged 17.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.3 blocks per game.

Guaiqueríes de Margarita (2016)

On April 16, 2016, Putney signed with

Guaiqueríes de Margarita Guaiqueríes de Margarita is a professional basketball team based in La Asunción, Venezuela. The team currently plays in Venezuela's Liga Profesional de Baloncesto. The team has won the Venezuelan championships nine times. Current rosters LPB ...

of Venezuela for the rest of the 2015–16 LPB season. That night, he made his debut for the club in a 91–61 quarter-final Game 2 loss to

Bucaneros de La Guaira The Piratas de La Guaira are a professional basketball team based in Maiquetía, Vargas, Venezuela. Founded in 2008, from 2010 to 2022, they were known as the Bucaneros de La Guaira. The team was re-founded as the Piratas in 2022. The team currentl ...

, recording nine points, five rebounds and one block in 23 minutes. Guaiqueríes went on to lose the series 4–3. In six games for the club, Putney averaged 15.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Juvecaserta Basket (2016–2017)

On August 5, 2016, Putney signed with

Juvecaserta Basket Sporting Club JuveCaserta (sometimes spelled Juve Caserta), also known as Decò Caserta after its title sponsor, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Caserta, Campania. The team currently plays in the Serie A2, the second tier of Ita ...

of the Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

Erie BayHawks (2017–2018)

On July 14, 2017, Putney played two summer league games for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns. At 2pm PT, he went 0-5 shooting and grabbed a rebound in 4 minutes of game time for the Timberwolves against Washington Wizards and three hours later, after he was acquired by the Suns, where he scored 7 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks in 18 minutes of game time against the Sacramento Kings. On November 10, he signed with the Erie BayHawks of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

Atléticos de San Germán (2018)

On April 17, 2018,

Atléticos de San Germán Atléticos de San Germán is a basketball club of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) based in San Germán, Puerto Rico. Founded in the 1930s after the amalgamation of the old San Germán team and the Farmacia Martín team, the team is one of ...

of the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. The Baloncesto Superior Naci ...

had announced their signing with Putney.

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2018–2019)

Putney signed with the

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 October 11, 2018. He was waived on October 13. Putney was subsequently added to the roster of the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have call ...

Scafati Basket (2019)

On July 20, 2019, Putney signed with

Scafati Basket Scafati Basket, known for sponsorship reasons as Givova Scafati, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Scafati, Campania. The club competes in the top level Italian professional basketball league, the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Hi ...

of the Italian Serie A2 Basket League.

Atomerőmű SE (2019–2020)

On November 28, 2019, he has signed with Atomerőmű SE of the

Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A The Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A ( en, National Championship I/A, commonly abbreviated NB I/A) is the highest level league of club men's basketball in Hungary. Format The league comprises 14 teams. A NB I/A season is split into a league stage and a pl ...

Fort Wayne Mad Ants (2021)

On February 9, 2021, the

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and are affiliated with the Indiana Pacers. The team plays their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The Mad ...

of the

announced that they had acquired Putney from the available pool of players. He made his debut for the team on February 11, 2021, but was later waived by the Mad Ants on February 17.

San Lázaro (2021)

At the 2021

Torneo Superior de Baloncesto The Torneo Superior de Baloncesto (TBS) is a Dominican basketball tournament of the Distrito Nacional.

, Putney's San Lázaro finished as vice Champion. In the last game, Putney had 18 points with nine rebounds.

Iowa Wolves (2021)

On February 25, 2021, the

Iowa Wolves The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Des Moines, Iowa, and are affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena and compete in the Western ...

announced that they had acquired Putney from the available pool of players and he made his debut on February 26.

Reales de La Vega (2021)

On June 26, 2021, Putney signed with

Reales de La Vega Reales de La Vega is a professional basketball team based in La Vega Province, Dominican Republic. The team currently plays in the Dominican top division, Liga Nacional de Baloncesto. Championships Liga Nacional de Baloncesto The Liga Nacional de ...

of the

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto The Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (LNB) is the top men's professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic. Established in 2005, six teams compete annually between September and October. History The league was founded on September 6, 2004 a ...

Maccabi Haifa (2021–2022)

Putney signed with

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

of the Israeli National League in October 2021.

Cape Town Tigers (2022–2023)

In August 2022, Putney played for the Cape Town Tigers and helped them win their second consecutive national championship. He scored a game-high 27 points in the third and final game.

Taichung Suns (2023)

On February 24, 2023, Putney signed with

Taichung Suns The Taichung Suns ( zh, 臺中太陽) are a Taiwanese professional basketball team based in Taichung City, Taiwan. They compete in the T1 League since the 2021–22 season, and play their home game at the National Taiwan University of Sport Gymna ...

of the

T1 League The T1 League is a Taiwanese men's professional basketball league founded in 2021. It is the third professional basketball league in Taiwan after the Chinese Basketball Alliance (CBA) and the P. League+ (PLG). In the 2022–23 season, the T ...

. On March 8,

cancelled the registration of Putney's playership. On March 9,

terminated the contract relationship with Putney.

Personal life

Putney is the son of Richard and Monica Cosby, 4 brothers Ravel Putney, Thomas Cosby, Kentrell Sewell, Tyree Cain and 1 sister named Grace Campbell. According to his Instagram page, he is in a relationship with an Israeli woman named Daphne.

References

External links