Spalding ready to take on leadership role with Vipers

Agua Caliente Clippers' JJ Avila (33) plays defense on Rio Grande Valley Vipers' Ray Spaulding (26) during an NBA G-League basketball game,Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019, in Edinburg, Texas. Photo by Delcia Lopez/The Monitor | [email protected]

Ray Spalding has done a lot on the basketball court since his young days, even before then-Louisville head coach Rick Pitino saying he had the most potential of any player he had coached.

Now he can add the tag “leader” to his resume as the NBA G League starts preparing for a shortened season in “the bubble” at the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando.

Spalding, a 2018 second-round NBA draft pick by the Philadelphia 76ers, is back with the RGV Vipers and said he’s ready to take on any role Vipers head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah has for him in the Vipers’ high-octane system.

“Whatever Mahmoud feels is necessary for our style of play. If he needs me to do it, I’ll do it,” Spalding said from the second day of G League training camp. “I’m back and enjoy working with Mahmoud.”

Spalding played 20 games for the Vipers during the 2019-20 season, averaging 15.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists ad 1.8 blocks per game. The 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward provided offense, rebounding and plenty of defense during a sub-par season for the Vipers, who finished the COVID-19 shortened year with a 15-27 record, placing them 12th out of 13 teams in the West Division, one year after winning their third G League championship.

Spalding has spent time with the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns and, most recently, the Charlotte Hornets. He said the biggest obstacle to remain in the NBA is to be at full health. Nagging injuries have slowed him down in each of the previous two summers, he said. This year, however, he said he’s fully healthy.

“I feel as if I just have to show that I can be healthy and do the things I can do — score, rebound, finish around the rim,” he said. “I’ve been hurt the past two summers and nagging injuries have put a pause on my career. Being here, this will be great for me to showcase what I can do and show I can still do that.”

Spalding is no stranger to hard work. He’s battled since he was a young boy. He said those days were a blessing where he could play basketball every day.

“I came up from poverty and was just blessed to play basketball and work every day to get better and then play for Rick Pitino and great coaches that made my dream pretty easy. But I’ve always been into getting better. It has been a great process.”

Spalding has experience playing in a bubble, doing so last year. When the season was over, however, he went back to working out at home.

“He’s taking advantage of an opportunity,” Abdelfatth, in his second year as Vipers head coach, said. “There are a lot of guys who don’t get the opportunity to play basketball. There are 11 G League teams not playing and there are a lot of people looking for an opportunity.

“I’m just glad to have him back. He’s a good person and a leader.”

Spalding, a self-described “pretty quiet, soft-spoken guy,” is finding his voice though when it comes to helping out his teammates.

“I played last year and know more things about the system and being in a bubble,” he said. “I’m not used to being a leader type of guy. I stay to myself a lot, but it’s good to be able to voice my opinion on things and help the guys out and being around them to help when they ask.”

Spalding also said that there were some positive aspects to being home for a long period of time due to the pandemic.

“Being able to sit in the house and get that alone time to gather your thoughts and how to focus on being a better person helped me a lot from the mental standpoint,” he said. “And being able to physically get strong, focusing on that nagging stuff helped.

“Of course, you hate that time off, but it helped me a lot.”

The Vipers open their 2021 G League season at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, against the Raptors 90 before playing at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, against the Agua Caliente Clippers. They will play 15 games in the regular season before ending with the Santa Cruz Warriors on Friday, March 5.