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Clifford Ray is in his first season as an Assistant Coach for the Boston Celtics. Ray was named to the position on May 22, 2006. He had previously worked for the Orlando Magic in the same role. A former center in the NBA, Ray began his coaching career with the Dallas Mavericks in 1987. He served six seasons with Dallas in a part-time role, specifically working with centers and forwards. Ray moved to Fort Wayne and Grand Rapids of the CBA, becoming the head coach for Fort Wayne in the 1993-94 season. In 1995-96, he served as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets. He was a special consultant for the Orlando Magic during the 1999-2000 season and then served as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors for two seasons (2000-02). In the 2002-03 campaign, Ray was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers coaching staff. Originally selected in the third round of the 1971 NBA Draft by Chicago, Ray appeared in 784 regular season games during his 10-year professional career with the Bulls and Warriors, averaging 7.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 25.4 minutes per game. His name can be found throughout the Golden State record books, ranking among the Warriors' all-time leaders in offensive rebounds (2nd, 1,372), defensive rebounds (2nd, 2,938), field goal percentage (5th, .537), blocked shots (6th, 465) and total rebounds (9th, 4,310). Ray was a member of four 50-plus win teams and was named to the 1971-72 NBA All-Rookie Team. Ray and Robert Parish conduct a Big Man Camp at IMG Academies in Bradenton, FL during the summer, where they work with many big men improving their game. Ray played at the University of Oklahoma, where he was a First Team All-Big Eight performer and led the conference in rebounding. He is a native of Union, S.C., and he has a son named Everett. | 