José Rafael "Piculín" Ortiz Rijos (born October 25, 1963) is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player. He played in the NCAA, NBA, various European teams, and in Puerto Rico's Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN).
Ortiz holds various honors and records as a basketball player. He ranks fourth and sixth among the all-time statistical leaders for rebounds per game and total rebounds, in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league. He was also just the third player to have won eight championships in the BSN league. Ortiz was also the first Puerto Rican-born player that was drafted into the NBA. Many basketball experts consider Ortiz to be the best Puerto Rican basketball player of all-time.[2]
Despite his success in sports, Ortiz went through financial troubles, after he retired from playing professional club basketball. In 2011, he was arrested for the possession of 218 marijuana plants. He was sentenced to six months in prison.[3]
On August 30, 2019, Ortiz was inducted into the FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, in honor of his career with the senior Puerto Rican national basketball team, and his club career, that spanned a period of 26 years.[4]
In 1980, at age 17, Ortiz debuted with the Atléticos de San Germán from the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league in Puerto Rico. As his career progressed, he improved his game significantly, and he led San Germán to a league championship in 1985. That season, Ortiz averaged more than 25 points and 14 rebounds per game. He would lead the team to a second league title in 1991, while he averaged 19 points and 15.8 rebounds per game.[9] After the 1991 season, Ortiz left the Puerto Rican League to play in Europe. He would return to the league in 1994, and lead San Germán to yet another title.
In 1998, Ortiz was released by San Germán. He then went on to play with Cangrejeros de Santurce, and helped them win four titles in a row (1998–2001). In 2002, Ortiz was named the Most Valuable Player of the league, although his team did not reach the league's Finals. Ortiz and the Cangrejeros again won another league title, in 2003, making Ortiz only the third player to win eight titles in the league.[2]
Ortiz played with Santurce for two more years, and in 2006, he played with the Capitanes de Arecibo. However, he retired after just one season with the team. He finished his career in the BSN league with 8,915 points, 5,314 rebounds (#6), and 1,134 assists, in 505 regular season games played. To this day, he is considered by many experts to be the best Puerto Rican basketball player.[2]
NBA
After graduating from Oregon State University, Ortiz entered the 1987 NBA draft. He was selected in the first round, with the number 15 overall draft pick, by the Utah Jazz. However, before his first NBA season, he received an offer from CAI Zaragoza, of Spain's Liga ACB, and he accepted it. Ortiz rejoined the Jazz for the 1988–89 season, and he debuted with the team on November 9, 1988. During his first season, Ortiz played in 51 games, and he was a starter in 15 of those games. He averaged 2.8 points and 1.1 rebounds per game.
Ortiz returned to the NBA for the 1989–90 season, playing in 13 games with the Jazz, before being waived by the team on February 5, 1990. He finished his brief NBA career with an average of 2.9 points and 1.1 rebounds per game.[7] Ortiz wore the number 44 during his NBA career.
Europe
Ortiz joined the Spanish ACB League club CAI Zaragoza in 1987. During the 1987–88 ACB season, he was the second leading scorer of the team, with a scoring average of 17.4 points per game.[10] After that season, he returned to the U.S., to play with the Utah Jazz of the NBA.
After that, Ortiz played with the Spanish clubs Festina Andorra (1992–93), Unicaja Polti (1993–94), and the Greek Basket League clubs Gymnastikos S. Larissas (1994–95), Iraklio Crete (1995–96), and Aris Thessaloniki (1996–97). Ortiz helped Aris to win the championship of the 1996–97 FIBA Korać Cup season.[12] After his season with Aris, Ortiz was offered a two-year contract that was worth approximately $1 million in net income per season, by the Greek club PAOK Thessaloniki. However, the contract was declared null and void, when laboratory tests for steroids allegedly came back positive. Ortiz appealed the decision and won, but he refused to return to Europe to play.[13]
Venezuela
In 1997, Ortiz played with Guaiqueríes de Margarita, of the Venezuelan League.[14] With his club, he won the league's championship, and he was named the MVP of the league's finals.
After the 2002 FIBA World Cup, which was held at Indianapolis, Ortiz announced his retirement from the national team, to coincide with national teammate Jerome Mincy's retirement from the team. However, Ortiz would later reconsider his decision to retire, and he rejoined the national team. In 2004, he was a part of the Puerto Rican team that defeated the 2004 Team USA at the Athens Summer Olympics.
Ortiz opened a restaurant called Patria, in his hometown of Cayey. However, in 2003, the restaurant went bankrupt.[16]
Politics
Ortiz became interested in politics, after meeting politician Ferdinand Pérez in 2000. Pérez sought Ortiz's advice for legislative measures related to sports. Ortiz eventually accepted to run for Senator, behind Pérez' campaign for Mayor of San Juan, for the Popular Democratic Party. Ortiz ran for senatorial candidate from the district of San Juan-Guaynabo, in Puerto Rico's 2008 general elections. However, both their bids were unsuccessful.[17] Pérez has said that Ortiz distanced from politics after the defeat.[18]
Social activism
On May 28, 2011, Ortiz officially opened the Piculín Ortiz Basketball Institute, in Cayey. The former center aimed to develop the basketball skills and performance of local children and teenagers.[19][8]
Personal life
Ortiz married actress Nirita Ruíz, with whom he had one daughter, Volleyball player Neira, and whom he had met during the filming of a commercial for Aqua Velva, in which both acted.[20] He also had a son from a previous relationship.[21] However, the couple divorced in 2006.[16] He has been in a relationship with Sylvia Ríos, since 2009 and married her in 2021.
Legal problems
On June 29, 2011, Ortiz was arrested for drug related charges. Federal agents seized 218 marijuana plants in a rented property, along with munitions for AR-15 rifles. Ortiz allegedly claimed possession of all the material during the arrest. At the bail hearing, Ortiz was legally represented by a public defender, since he claimed he had no money for a lawyer. At the hearing, the judge decided to send Ortiz to a rehabilitation clinic.[22]
On November 4, 2011, Ortiz declared himself guilty of the charges against him.[23] The next week, he failed a surprise drug test, which revealed he had used cocaine. Judge Camille Vélez Rivé ordered the immediate imprisonment of Ortiz, arguing that she had given him several opportunities already.[24] On March 29, 2012, he was sentenced to six months in prison.[3]
