Ray Felix was first Black NBA Rookie of the Year
Fred Jeter | 4/15/2021, 6 p.m.
As star newcomers go, Ray Felix was a trailblazer in 1954 when he became the first African-American to be named NBA Rookie of the Year.
The 6-foot-11 center averaged 18 points and 14 rebounds during the 1953-54 campaign for the Baltimore Bullets. He also was likely the league leader in blocked shots, although that was not an official statistic at the time.
In that same 1954 season, Felix became just the second African-American player to be named an NBA All-Star. The first was Don Barksdale in 1953.
A native of New York, Felix starred at Long Island University before becoming the Bullets’ top draft pick in 1953. Felix was the overall first pick after Ernie Beck, Walter Dukes and Larry Hennessy were taken as territorial picks.
Felix, who had an intense rivalry with the Boston Celtics’ Bill Russell, went on to play 10 NBA seasons with the Bullets, the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 11 points and nine rebounds during his career.
