Ralph Drollinger
Ralph Kim Drollinger (born April 20, 1954) is an American pastor and former professional basketball player. He was born in La Mesa, California, and is 7 feet 2 inches tall, weighing about 250 pounds. He played basketball at Grossmont High School, where he was the CIF Southern Section MVP and helped his team win the 1972 state title.
He then played for UCLA from 1972 to 1976, winning NCAA championships in 1973 and 1975. Drollinger helped UCLA reach four Final Four tournaments, was UCLA’s top freshman after his first year, and earned Academic All-American honors in his junior and senior years. He also played for America’s World Cup team in 1978.
Drollinger was drafted several times by different NBA teams. He was picked by the Boston Celtics in 1976 (seventh round), by the New York Nets in 1977 (eighth round), and by the Seattle SuperSonics in 1978 (fifth round). He ultimately joined the Dallas Mavericks in 1980 and became the franchise’s first-ever player. A knee injury limited him to six games in the 1980–81 season, and he retired after that short NBA career. In his six games, he averaged 2.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
Outside of basketball, Drollinger earned a BA in Geography/Ecosystems from UCLA and later a Master of Divinity from The Master’s Seminary.
In 1997, he founded Capitol Ministries, a group that brings Bible study and discipleship to political leaders. He runs the Capitol Ministries work in Washington, D.C., and leads a White House Bible study for senior officials. He also produces Bible study materials for Donald Trump and says Capitol Ministries is separate from The Fellowship.
Capitol Ministries has grown to include chapters in many U.S. state capitals and in several countries, including Mexico, Honduras, Paraguay, Costa Rica and Uruguay. Drollinger has traveled in Latin America to meet with politicians, including events in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Drollinger is a conservative evangelical Christian who believes in an institutional role for religion in public life, though he emphasizes a separation of Church and State. He has been criticized for views seen as anti-LGBTQ rights, anti-women’s rights and anti-immigration. He has also expressed climate change skepticism and has criticized Catholicism. In 2020, he faced controversy for comments linking the COVID-19 pandemic to God’s wrath and homosexuality; he later said he was misunderstood and that he did not believe homosexuality caused the virus.
He is married to Danielle Madison, with whom he has three children and seven grandchildren. He is the son of the founder of Adventure16, a California mountaineering store. Drollinger is an accomplished climber and is known for climbing every peak on the main Sierra Nevada ridgeline between Olancha and Sonora Pass, a 250-mile stretch known as the High Sierra.
In 2011, the San Diego Hall of Champions named him one of its Fabulous 50 Basketball Players.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 08:29 (CET).