Former Nuggets player James Ray, who spent three years in Denver after the franchise drafted him fifth overall in 1980, died Tuesday due to complications from a surgery in Gainesville, Florida. He was 66.
Ray lived in Jacksonville with his wife of 43 years, Phyllis (P.J.), who cared for him as he faced a number of medical obstacles after his basketball career. In 2007, he was given three months to live without a lung transplant. The National Basketball Retired Players Association established a fund that received donations from Nuggets great David Thompson among others, and Ray eventually underwent a successful transplant in February 2008.