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).

Most notably, he was a member of the 2004 Puerto Rican team that defeated the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

[2] Despite his success in sports, Ortiz went through financial troubles, after he retired from playing professional club basketball.

He was nicknamed Piculín, after one of the characters in The Wizard of Oz and The Concorde, as a reference to the popular plane and his height (6'11").

At Oregon State, he was a teammate of future Basketball Hall of Fame player Gary Payton, during the latter's freshman year.

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.

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.

However, before his first NBA season, he received an offer from CAI Zaragoza, of Spain's Liga ACB, and he accepted it.

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.

While a member of Real Madrid, he played with players such as Fernando Romay, Antonio Martín Espina, and José "Chechu" Biriukov.

In 1982, Ortiz reached the minimum age to join Puerto Rico's national basketball team, and in 1983, he saw his first international competition, at the Pan American Games of Caracas, Venezuela.

[15] Ortiz also helped the Puerto Rican National basketball team earn a gold medal at the 1991 Pan American Games, which were held in Havana, Cuba.

Overall, Ortiz played with Puerto Rico's national team at four FIBA World Cups (1990, 1994, 1998, and 2002), and at four Summer Olympics (1988, 1992, 1996, and 2004).

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.

[19][8] 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.

At the bail hearing, Ortiz was legally represented by a public defender, since he claimed he had no money for a lawyer.