Gregory Ballard (January 29, 1955 – November 9, 2016) was an American professional basketball player and NBA assistant coach. A collegiate All-American at Oregon, Ballard averaged 12.4 points and 6.1 rebounds over an eleven season NBA career with the Washington Bullets, Golden State Warriors and briefly, the Seattle SuperSonics. Early life Born in Los Angeles to parents William Ballard and Annie Clark, Ballard had three brothers and four sisters. Ballard graduated from Garey High School in Pomona, California in 1973, where he also played baseball. A pitcher, Ballard was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 10th round (137th overall) of the 1973 Amateur Draft. College career Ballard chose basketball and attended the University of Oregon, where he played in the collegiate level at the forward position. Playing for Coach Dick Harter at Oregon, from 1973–77, Ballard played 115 career games on Oregon teams with the nickname "Kamikaze Kids," along with teammates Ernie Kent, Stu Jackson and Ron Lee. In his career at Oregon, Ballard had 1,114 career rebounds, still the most in program history, averaging 9.7 rebounds. He averaged 15.9 points, with his 1,829 total career points, ranking fourth in school history. Ballard set Oregon's single-game scoring record of 43 points, in a National Invitation Tournament game against Oral Roberts University on March 9, 1977. NBA career Washington Bullets (1977–1985) Ballard was selected by the Washington Bullets with the 4th overall pick in the 1st round of the 1977 NBA draft, behind Kent Benson (Milwaukee Bucks), Otis Birdsong (Kansas City Kings), and Marques Johnson (Milwaukee Bucks). As a rookie in 1977–1978, Ballard averaged 4.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 76 games as a key reserve for Coach Dick Motta, playing beside Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes, along with Mitch Kupchak, Phil Chenier Bob Dandridge and Kevin Grevey. The Bullets defeated the Atlanta Hawks (2–0), San Antonio Spurs (4–2) and Philadelphia 76ers (4–2) in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. In the 1978 NBA Finals, the Bullets defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4–3 to capture the NBA Championship. Averaging 10 minutes per game in the series, Ballard averaged 3.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists. In 1978–1979, Ballard averaged 7.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists as the Bullets finished 54–28. They defeated the Atlanta Hawks (4–3) and San Antonio Spurs (4–3) in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. In the 1979 NBA Finals, the Bullets again met the