Billy Ray Bates is among the most significant foreign players in the Philippine Basketball Association league’s history. He is in the spotlight after many NBA cast members falsely claimed he was dead.
The former player was previously married to Beverly but separated after 22 years. He lived alone in a small apartment in Anaheim, California.
Highlights
- Billy Ray Bates’ wife of 22 years, Beverly, remained by his side despite financial difficulties and personal struggles followed him.
- Beverly has two daughters, Yamnisse and Markesha, from her previous relationship and Billy has a daughter, Jennifer, who lived in Switzerland.
- As of 2025, Billy is single and lives alone in a small apartment in Anaheim, California.
Billy Ray played basketball for Kentucky State University, and the Houston Rockets drafted him in the 3rd round of the 1978 draft.
However, the Rockets cut him, and he played for the Maine Lumberjacks in the now-defunct Continental Basketball Association. He became the league’s Rookie of the Year and won the slam dunk competition in its All-Star game.
After signing a 10-day contract with the Portland Trail Blazers in February 1980, his stardom rose for his slam dunks and energetic playing style.
He played for the Washington Bullets and the Lakers before deciding never to play for the NBA again.
Later, his entry to the Philippine Basketball Association caused significant changes for that league in the mid-1980s.
Unfortunately, his image of hard-partying, sex-crazed athletes in the PBA took over his athletic career.
I’ve learned from my mistakes. I don’t want to dwell on the past. I’m moving on and dedicating the rest of my life to doing positive things. I want to reach out to kids, to get them out of the streets through sports, to tell them to get it right the first time before it’s too late. It’s all about being healthy, doing good things for your mom and dad. I want to tell them it’s not cool to do drugs and alcohol.
Billy Ray Bates
Billy Ray Bates And His Wife, Beverly, Lived Together For 22 Years
Billy Ray Bates, the legendary high-flying import of the Philippine Basketball Association, was known not just for his explosive dunks and clutch performances but also for his larger-than-life personality.
His hard-partying, free-spirited ways made him an icon of the 1980s PBA era, where he earned the nickname “Black Superman” for his electrifying plays.
But behind the fame and the wild reputation was a man who shared a deep, enduring love with his wife, Beverly, for 22 years.
Despite Billy’s reputation as a hard-living athlete, those close to him knew he had a softer side when it came to family.
He had adopted Beverly’s two daughters, Yamnisse and Markesha, from her previous relationship.
On the other hand, he has a daughter, Jennifer, who lived in Switzerland, where he had played for two years after the PBA. He tried to bring her back to the United States.
Billy’s life after basketball was not without challenges. Financial difficulties and personal struggles followed him, but through it all, Beverly remained by his side.
Their 22-year partnership was defined by resilience, enduring the highs of his basketball fame and the lows of his post-retirement troubles.
I’d like to move to a bigger place. But right now, I’m in financial debt. The good Lord will look out for me, though, and we’ll be out of here soon enough.
Billy Ray Bates
Billy had a rough life and had a job of gluing handles on leather briefcases, which paid $7 per hour. He did everything to be the best he can be for the rest of his life to support his family.
Similarly, he worked the graveyard shift from 6 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. as a floor technician at the Colgate recycling company.
As of 2025, Billy lives alone in a small apartment in Anaheim, California, which Illumination Foundation helped him to find shelter. He is happy turning back to his past life as an alcoholic and drug user.
He wrote his autobiography titled Born to Play Basketball in ink and pencil on 714 pages of yellow legal paper, front to back during the prison sentence.
NBA Cast Members Apologize for Falsely Claiming Billy Ray Bates Had Passed Away
Inside the NBA crew found themselves in an awkward situation after mistakenly declaring that former NBA star Billy Ray Bates had passed away.
It occurred during the post-game show following Game 1 of the first-round playoff series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat.
Billy Ray Bates is still alive@TheDeanQuinito @SHAQ @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/Dl3nygavqT
— uhnin (@iloilohoops) April 21, 2025
The confusion began when Hall of Famer Charles Barkley praised Billy, a former Portland Trail Blazers standout, saying, “He was built like a truck,” before asking, “Is he still alive?”
The question was met with a brief silence and nervous laughter from the panel.
Shaquille O’Neal, seemingly confident, responded, “He passed away.”
A fan quickly fact-checked the claim on X (formerly Twitter), revealing that Bates is, in fact, still alive.
After the error was pointed out, the Inside the NBA team issued an on-air correction.
On behalf of the entire Inside the NBA, Ernie Johnson, issued a live apology to the Bates’s family for the comments regarding the former NBA player, who is indeed still alive.
We would like to issue a correction and an apology for something that happened last night on Inside the NBA. In the course of our discussion, we passed on some bad information that Billy Ray Bates had passed away. While it was inadvertent, it was also inaccurate and insensitive and inexcusable. We apologize to Billy Ray Bates and his family.
NBA on TNT
The incident quickly went viral, with many fans joking about O’Neal’s confidence in delivering incorrect information.
Others expressed relief that Bates was indeed alive and well. Some even called for the Inside the NBA crew to invite Billy as a guest to clear the air in person.
While the mix-up was embarrassing for the show, it also brought renewed attention to his career, with younger NBA fans learning about his impact on the game.
Additional Information
- Billy Ray Bates, the eighth of nine children of Frank and Ellen Bate, was born on May 31, 1956, in Kosciusko, Mississippi.
- As a non-starter, his average of 26.7 points per game in the playoffs stands as the highest in NBA history.
- The Philippine Patriots of the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) hired him as its skills coach but fired him due to repeated misconduct on March 8, 2012.
