Ray Lee Tolbert (born September 10, 1958) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who was selected by the

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, ...

in the first round (18th pick overall) of the

1981 NBA draft The 1981 NBA draft was the 35th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1981, before the 1981–82 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the USA Network. In this draft, 23 NBA te ...

. A

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

, Tolbert played in five NBA seasons for six different teams. He played for the Nets,

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

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 Li ...

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

and

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

. During the senior year of his collegiate career in 1981, starters Tolbert,

Landon Turner Landon Turner (born May 15, 1993) is an American football Guard (gridiron football), guard who is currently a free agent. He played college football at North Carolina Tar Heels football, North Carolina. His uncle Jim Braxton played professional ...

Isiah Thomas Isiah Lord Thomas III (born April 30, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is an analyst for ''NBA TV''. The 12-time NBA All-Star was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as well as the 75 Grea ...

Randy Wittman Randy Scott Wittman (born October 28, 1959) is an American former basketball player at the guard position and former coach of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Washington Wizards. Playing career High school Wittman starr ...

, and Ted Kitchel led Indiana to its fourth NCAA championship and Coach

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...

's second. In his NBA career, he played in 261 games and scored a total of 928 points. He later became the coach of the ABA's Anderson Champions. He currently resides in

Fishers, Indiana Fishers is a city in Fall Creek and Delaware townships, Hamilton County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 76,794, and by 2019 the estimated population was 95,310. A suburb of Indianapolis, Fishers has grown rapidl ...

where he is the Varsity Assistant at

Fishers High School Fishers High School (FHS) is one of two high schools in Hamilton Southeastern Schools in Fishers, Indiana, United States. History The original Fishers High School was located at Lantern Road and 116th Street, where the current Fishers Elementary ...

Notes

External links

College & NBA stats
@ basketballreference.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tolbert, Ray 1958 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players American Basketball Association (2000–present) coaches American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players at the 1979 Pan American Games Basketball players from Indiana Bay State Bombardiers players Detroit Pistons players Fort Wayne Fury players Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players La Crosse Catbirds players Liga ACB players Los Angeles Lakers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games New Jersey Nets draft picks New Jersey Nets players New York Knicks players Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Fishers, Indiana Power forwards (basketball) Seattle SuperSonics players Sportspeople from Anderson, Indiana Tampa Bay Thrillers players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople