Damion Lee (born October 21, 1992) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for three years at

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

and transferred to

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

for his final year of eligibility. Lee won an

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

in 2022.

High school career

Lee graduated from

Calvert Hall College High School Calvert Hall College High School (also known as "Calvert Hall" or "CHC") is a Catholic college preparatory high school for boys, located in Towson, Maryland, United States. The school's mission is to make its students "men of intellect, men of f ...

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorpo ...

, where in his final season he was a Second-Team Baltimore Sun All-Metro and a First-Team All-Baltimore Catholic League selection. Lee attended prep school at St. Thomas More in

Oakdale, Connecticut Montville is a New England town, town in New London County, Connecticut in the United States. The population was 18,387 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The Administrative divisions of Connecticut#Village, neighborhood, section of t ...

, where he averaged 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists per game during the 2010–11 season. Lee was a First Team All-New England Preparatory School Athletic Council selection, leading his team to a 30–7 record and the National Prep School Championship.

College career

Drexel Dragons

In his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

season as a member of the

2011–12 Drexel Dragons men's basketball team The 2011–12 Drexel Dragons men's basketball team represented Drexel University during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Dragons, led by 11th year head coach Bruiser Flint, played their home games at Daskalakis Athleti ...

, Lee started at

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

. During that season, he averaged 12 points and 4.4 rebounds. After the impressive start to his college career, he was named the

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...

(CAA) Rookie of the Year. He was also named to the CAA All-Tournament team after averaging more than 15 points in Drexel's three tournament games. In the CAA championship game, the Dragons (25–5) lost to

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

, 59–56. VCU was a Final Four team the previous year, and the majority of projections had both teams making the NCAA tournament. However, a disappointing Selection Sunday saw the Dragons not invited to the NCAA Tournament and instead accepting an automatic bid to the

2012 National Invitation Tournament The 2012 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2012 NCAA tournament. The annual tournament began on March 13 on campus sites and ended on Marc ...

as the CAA regular season champion and #3 seed. The Dragons defeated the University of Central Florida and Northern Iowa, before falling to the University of Massachusetts in the regional final. The following season, Lee was named to the Second-Team All-CAA after leading Drexel in scoring and finishing third in the CAA averaging 17.1 points per game. He was also second in the CAA in free throw percentage (82.9%), and fourth in three-pointers per game (2.3). In a game against Old Dominion, Lee recorded a career-high 34 points. In his third season at Drexel, after being selected to the Preseason CAA All-Conference First Team, Lee suffered a torn ACL in a game against

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. This caused him to sit out the entire season and

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

his junior year. Before his redshirt

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

season at Drexel, Lee was named to the Preseason CAA All-Conference First Team for the second year in a row. He also was named to the

Charleston Classic The Charleston Classic is a three-day invitational college basketball season-opening tournament held in Charleston, South Carolina. An ESPN-owned and operated event, it is contested at TD Arena, home of the College of Charleston Cougars. Each t ...

All-Tournament team. On February 21, 2015, during a game against

Northeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

, Lee suffered a fractured right hand which prematurely ended his season. Lee averaged 21.4 points per game during the season, ranking fourth in the nation and first in the CAA. His free throw percentage of 88.7% ranked 14th in the nation and second in the CAA. He also averaged 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 27 games. Furthermore, Lee also led the team in steals per game (1.5), field goal percentage (43.8%), and three-point percentage (38.5%%). At the conclusion of the regular season, Lee was one vote shy of winning CAA Player of the Year, losing to Senior William and Mary guard Marcus Thornton. However, Lee did win awards in CAA All-Conference First Team, CAA All-Defensive Team, and CAA All-Academic Team. On March 30, 2015, Lee announced that he would be transferring out of Drexel University for his fifth and final collegiate season. He was considered to be the top transfer in college basketball by ESPN.

Louisville Cardinals

On April 23, 2015, Lee announced he would play his final collegiate season at Louisville under head coach

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (born September 18, 1952) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for Iona College. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA D ...

. Other schools Lee was considering included

, Gonzaga, Marquette, and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Lee said after the move, "The U of L community itself was unreal. I don't think there's any other city or college basketball town like it." By mid-season in December 2015, he was Louisville's top point scorer. He was named to the 35-man midseason watchlist for the

Naismith Trophy The Naismith Trophy is a trophy awarded to the men's champion of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, and is named in honor of basketball's inventor, James Naismith. The trophy was first awarded to the winner of the 1967 FIBA World Championship. The ...

on February 11, 2016. On Senior Night, Lee passed the 2,000-point mark. With 10 games remaining in the season, Louisville ranked as the 13th best team in the country announced a self-imposed postseason ban for the 2015–16 season amid an ongoing NCAA investigation involving recruits between 2010 and 2014. They finished the regular season as the #16 ranked team with a 23–8 record, and did not play in the ACC Tournament or the NCAA Tournament because of the ban.

Professional career

Maine Red Claws (2016–2017)

After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Lee joined the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

for the

2016 NBA Summer League The 2016 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week ...

. On September 26, 2016, he signed with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. He was later waived by the Celtics on October 20 after appearing in two preseason games. On October 31, he was acquired by the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics (formerly the Maine Red Claws) are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo B ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

as an affiliate player of the Celtics. On January 10, 2017, he was waived by the Red Claws after suffering a season-ending injury. In 16 games, he averaged 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 34 minutes.

Santa Cruz Warriors (2017–2018)

On August 24, 2017, Lee was traded to the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

Atlanta Hawks (2018)

On March 13, 2018, Lee signed a 10-day contract with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

. On March 23, the Atlanta Hawks signed Lee to a second 10-day contract. On April 2, the Atlanta Hawks signed Lee for the remainder of the season.

Golden State Warriors (2018–2022)

On July 14, 2018, Lee signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the

, which would lead him to return to the

. On July 31, 2019, the

re-signed with Lee on another two-way contract. On October 28, Lee recorded a double-double with a career-high 23 points, 11 rebounds and two assists in a 134–123 road victory over the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

. On December 25, Lee got his second double-double of the season with 22 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in a 116–104 win against the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

. Lee picked up ample playing time due to a litany of injuries that befell the Warriors' roster (including a hand fracture in November that cost Lee 14 games) and burned through the 45-day allotment with the NBA team on his two-way contract. On January 15, 2020, the Golden State Warriors signed Lee to a multi-year contract. On December 27, 2020, Lee put up 12 points, alongside a game-winning three-pointer, in a 129–128 win over the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

. On June 16, 2022, Lee won the

2022 NBA Finals The 2022 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2021–22 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Western Conference champion Golden State Warr ...

with the Warriors.

Phoenix Suns (2022–present)

On July 7, 2022, Lee signed with the

. On October 19, 2022, Lee made his Suns debut, putting up 11 points, two rebounds, two assists, and an off-balance, game-winning baseline jumper in a 107–105 win over the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

National team career

On February 22, 2018, Lee was added to the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

for the

2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 18th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament was hosted in China and was rescheduled from 2018 to 2019, becoming the first since 1967 FIBA World Ch ...

qualification.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 15 , , 11 , , 26.9 , , .408 , , .250 , , .759 , , 4.7 , , 1.9 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 32 , , 0 , , 11.7 , , .441 , , .397 , , .864 , , 2.0 , , .4 , , .4 , , .0 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 49 , , 36 , , 29.0 , , .417 , , .356, , .873 , , 4.9 , , 2.7 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 57 , , 1 , , 18.9 , , .467 , , .397 , , .909 , , 3.2 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .1 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 63 , , 5 , , 19.9 , , .441 , , .337 , , .880 , , 3.2 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .1 , , 7.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 216 , , 53 , , 21.0 , , .434 , , .357 , , .868 , , 3.5 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .1 , , 8.2

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

† , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 16 , , 0 , , 7.8 , , .382 , , .250 , , .667 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .1 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 16 , , 0 , , 7.8 , , .382 , , .250 , , .667 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .1 , , .0 , , 2.0

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", Drexel , 36 , , 35 , , 28.9 , , .454 , , .375 , , .773 , , 4.4 , , 1.7 , , .8 , , .3 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, style="text-align:left;", Drexel , 27 , , 24 , , 33.0 , , .425 , , .360 , , .829 , , 5.1 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , .1 , , 17.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", Drexel , 5 , , 5 , , 26.8 , , .370 , , .273 , , .864 , , 4.2 , , 2.2 , , .6 , , .2 , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Drexel , 27 , , 27 , , 38.1 , , .438 , , .385 , , .887 , , 6.1 , , 2.3 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , 21.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , 30 , , 33.6 , , .428 , , .341 , , .843 , , 3.9 , , 2.0 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , 15.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 125 , , 121 , , 32.8 , , .433 , , .362 , , .843 , , 4.8 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 16.1

Personal life

Lee earned a degree in general humanities and social science at Drexel and majored in special education, with a concentration in assistive technology at Louisville. Lee is married to Sydel Curry-Lee, who is the daughter of

Dell Curry Wardell Stephen Curry (born June 25, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1986 until 2002 and retired as the Charlotte Hornets' all-time leader in points (9,839) ...

and younger sister of his former teammate

Stephen Curry Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, ...

as well as

Seth Curry Seth Adham Curry (born August 23, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one year at Liberty University before transferring to Duke. ...

. The couple's wedding was held on September 1, 2018. They have a son, Daxon Wardell-Xavier Lee, born on November 26, 2021.

References

External links

Drexel Dragons bio

Louisville Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Damion 1992 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Baltimore Calvert Hall College High School alumni Curry family Drexel Dragons men's basketball players Golden State Warriors players Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players Maine Red Claws players Phoenix Suns players Santa Cruz Warriors players Shooting guards Small forwards Undrafted National Basketball Association players United States men's national basketball team players