Texas Border Business
Edinburg, Texas – The Charlotte Hornets have announced today that the team has signed forward Ray Spalding to a two-way contract. Spalding becomes the first GatoradeCall-Up for Rio Grande Valley Vipers this season, giving them a total of 35 overall.
The 6-10 forward appeared in 20 games for RGV and averaged 15.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 26.5 minutes of action. Spalding tallied a career-high of 30 points on December 5, 2019, against Canton Charge.
Spalding was originally drafted with the 56th overall selection in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. The Louisville product was traded on draft night to the Dallas Mavericks and signed with Dallas on July 21, 2018. After spending time in Mavericks and Suns organizations in his rookie year and signing 10-day contracts with the Suns and Atlanta Hawks, Spalding was ultimately claimed by the Houston Rockets on Oct. 10, 2019, was later waived on Oct. 19, 2019.
Making a total of 14 NBA appearances combined between Dallas and Phoenix, Spalding as a rookie averaged 3.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per game. He also appeared in 29 contests for the Texas Legends of the NBA G League where he appeared in 29 games averaging 15.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 30.1 minutes per game.
The Vipers will match up with in-state rival Texas Legends on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m. CT. For more information, contact the RGV Vipers at 956-56-ARENA or visit www.rgvipers.com.
