Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Billy Ray Bates is a retired American professional basketball player. Bates was a 6'4" 210 lb shooting guard and played high school ball at McAdams High in Mississippi and attended Kentucky State University. Bates played four seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Portland Trail Blazers, Washington Bullets and the Los Angeles Lakers. He also played overseas, in Switzerland, Mexico, Uruguay, and most notably in the Philippines for the Crispa Redmanizers and Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association. On January 17, 1998, Billy Ray Bates robbed a New Jersey Texaco station at knifepoint, slashing the ear of attendant Philip Kittel. He was sentenced to seven years in jail. He has since been released and is living in the Camden and Trenton areas of New Jersey.