Former Louisville star gets another shot at NBA dreams with Pacers G-League team

Former Louisville basketball star Ray Spalding gets another chance at an NBA career, as the Noblesville Boom recently acquired him. The Boom is the Indiana Pacers' NBA G-League team.

Spalding spent three seasons with the Louisville Cardinals before he declared for the NBA Draft in 2018. He was selected in the second round by the Philadelphia 76ers with the No. 56 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, but was then traded to the Dallas Mavericks, where he earned some NBA minutes.

we have acquired the returning rights to Ray Spalding from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in exchange for our 2026 first round pick.

welcome to Noblesville, Ray! 👋 pic.twitter.com/lTITyeAaza
— Noblesville Boom (@noblesvilleboom) October 2, 2025

Spalding was a key player for the Cardinals during his tenure with Louisville, as he was part of the last team that won an NCAA Tournament game. His best season came in his junior year, when he averaged 12.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 54.3 percent from the field.

He started in 34 games for Louisville that year, as the Cardinals didn't make it to the NCAA Tournament but did advance to the NIT quarterfinals.

Spalding keeps NBA dreams alive

He has now spent the majority of his professional career either in the NBA G League or overseas, having played in just 16 NBA games. He earned three total starts in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns back in 2018-19. He has played for a total of three teams in the NBA, with the Houston Rockets being the last team for which he logged minutes, back in the 2020-21 season.

However, he now gets a chance to live his NBA dream once more, as he will look to make some noise in the Pacers' G-League program after spending a year overseas with Osos de Manati in Puerto Rico and Israel's Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C.

For all the latest on Louisville basketball's offseason, stay tuned.