Lester Quiñones

Lester Quiñones (born November 16, 2000) is a Dominican-American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. He attended St. Benedict's Preparatory School and played a postgraduate season at IMG Academy. He then played college basketball for the Memphis Tigers.

Lester Quiñones
No. 25 – Golden State Warriors
PositionShooting guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2000-11-16) November 16, 2000
Brentwood, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican / Dominican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeMemphis (2019–2022)
NBA draft2022: undrafted
Playing career2022–present
Career history
2022–2023Santa Cruz Warriors
2023–presentGolden State Warriors
2023–present→Santa Cruz Warriors
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life and high school career

Quiñones grew up in Brentwood, New York and started playing basketball in sixth grade. In his first two years of high school, he attended Brentwood High School. As a junior, Quiñones transferred to Upper Room Christian School in Dix Hills, New York and averaged 19.3 points per game.[1] He was named to the 2017 Long Island Basketball honor roll.[2]

For his senior season, Quiñones moved to St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey. He joined a nationally ranked basketball program and became teammates with five-star recruit Precious Achiuwa.[3][4] On January 7, 2018, Quiñones scored a game-high 23 points in a win over Hudson Catholic Regional High School, the number one team in the NJ.com Top 20 poll.[5] He helped his team to a 28–2 record and a top 10 national ranking by MaxPreps.[6] In the summer, Quiñones played for New Heights alongside Achiuwa, averaging 15.2 points and 4.7 rebounds on the Under Armour Association (UAA) circuit.[7]

Entering the 2018–19 season, he transferred to IMG Academy, a prep school in Bradenton, Florida with a successful basketball program, joining the postgraduate team.[8] Quiñones averaged 24 points, nine rebounds, and six assists per game, shooting 38 percent on three-pointers.[9]

Recruiting

Quiñones finished his high school and postgraduate career as a consensus four-star recruit.[10] On May 10, 2019, he committed to play college basketball for Memphis under head coach Penny Hardaway. He had also strongly considered playing for Indiana.[11]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Lester Quiñones
SG		 Brentwood, NY IMG Academy (FL) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) May 10, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 84
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 48  247Sports: 51  ESPN: 82
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Memphis 2019 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  • "2019 Memphis Tigers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019.

College career

With James Wiseman sitting out due to eligibility issues, Quiñones had his first double-double on November 16, 2019, recording 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 102–56 win over Alcorn State.[12] As a result, he was named American Athletic Conference freshman of the week on November 18.[13] Quiñones broke his right hand during a November 23 game against Ole Miss and missed three weeks.[14] At the conclusion of the regular season, Quiñones was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Freshman Team.[15] He averaged 10.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.[16] After his junior season, Quiñones announced his intentions to leave Memphis and enter the 2022 NBA draft.

Professional career

Santa Cruz Warriors (2022–2023)

After going undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft, Quiñones signed a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors on July 5, 2022.[17] Quiñones debuted for the Warriors' 2022 NBA Summer League team in the NBA California Classic, scoring seven points, five rebounds, and two steals in a 68–86 loss to the Sacramento Kings.[18] He was waived by the Warriors on October 13.

On October 15, 2022, Quiñones signed with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League.[19] On February 25, 2023, Quiñones had 42 points and 8 rebounds in a 112-119 loss to the Salt Lake City Stars.

On March 2, 2023, Quiñones signed a 10-day contract with the Golden State Warriors, but saw no playing time.[20] He was reacquired by Santa Cruz on March 12.

Golden State Warriors (2023–present)

On March 17, 2023, Quiñones signed a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors.[21] He made his NBA debut on March 31, 2023 versus the San Antonio Spurs, playing one minute and securing his first rebound.[22] On April 4, he was named the NBA G League Most Improved Player.[23]

On July 24, 2023, Quiñones signed another two-way contract with the Warriors.[24]

National team career

Quiñones plays for the Dominican Republic national team.[1] He joined the under-18 team at the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship in St. Catharines, Ontario. In six games, Quiñones averaged 17.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game, leading his team to sixth place.[25] His best performance came in a loss to Puerto Rico, in which he recorded 31 points and seven three-pointers.[26]

Personal life

Quiñones was born in the United States, but is of Salvadoran, Dominican, Puerto Rican descent.[27] Internationally, he represents the Dominican Republic.[28]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022–23 Golden State 404.5.400.500.667.8.5.3.02.5
Career 404.5.400.500.667.8.5.3.02.5

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Memphis 262329.4.402.313.8043.82.2.8.110.7
2020–21 Memphis 282826.3.432.400.6725.81.9.9.29.5
2021–22 Memphis 333027.2.449.390.7503.51.31.2.110.0
Career 878127.6.429.369.7524.31.8.9.110.1

References
  1. Cordova, David (January 11, 2019). "Lester Quinones: Long Island Native Makes A Name Himself Nationally". Dave's Joint. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  2. "2017 Basketball Honor Roll". Long Island Basketball. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  3. Zagoria, Adam (December 17, 2017). "New Jersey Tip-Off Notebook: Lester Quinones, Precious Achiuwa, Louis King, Trey Patterson Show Out". Zags Blog. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  4. Divens, Jordan (May 17, 2018). "Way-too-early high school basketball Top 25 for 2018-19". MaxPreps. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  5. Schneider, Jeremy (January 7, 2018). "Precious Achiuwa and St. Benedict's Prep take down No. 1 Hudson Catholic". NJ.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  6. Divens, Jordan (April 2, 2018). "Final 2017-18 MaxPreps High School Top 25 Boys Basketball Rankings". MaxPreps. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  7. Harkins, Lukas (April 16, 2019). "NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing favored five for Lester Quinones". Busting Brackets. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  8. Zagoria, Adam (August 13, 2018). "Precious Achiuwa, Lester Quinones transfer to Florida powerhouses from St. Benedict's Prep". Zags Blog. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  9. "Lester Quinones - 2019-20". University of Memphis Athletics. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  10. "Lester Quinones, 2019 Shooting guard". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  11. Abdeldaiem, Alaa (May 10, 2019). "Four-Star Prospect Lester Quinones Is The Latest Star Joining Penny Hardaway In Memphis". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  12. "Quinones, Achiuwa send No. 13 Memphis past Alcorn St 102–56". ESPN. Associated Press. November 16, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  13. "Tulsa's Rachal, Memphis' Quinones Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Awards". American Athletic Conference. November 18, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  14. "Memphis guard Lester Quinones out 3 weeks with broken hand". ESPN. Associated Press. November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  15. "American Athletic Conference Announces All-Conference, All-Freshman Teams". American Athletic Conference. March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  16. Fowler, Christian (April 19, 2020). "Freshman Review: Lester Quinones". 247 Sports. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  17. "Warriors Sign Lester Quinones to Two-Way Contract". Golden State Warriors. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  18. "Sacramento Kings vs Golden State Warriors Jul 2, 2022 Box Scores | NBA.com". www.nba.com. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  19. "Santa Cruz Warriors Announce 2022 Training Camp Roster". gleague.nba.com. October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  20. "Warriors PR on Twitter: "Warriors sign guard Lester Quinones to 10-Day contract"". Twitter. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  21. "Warriors PR on Twitter: "Warriors sign guard Lester Quinones to two-way contract"". Twitter. March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  22. "San Antonio Spurs vs Golden State Warriors Mar 31, 2023 Box Scores". NBA.com. March 31, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  23. Siegel, Brett (April 4, 2023). "Golden State Warriors Guard Named G League Most Improved Player". Yardbarker.com. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  24. "Warriors Sign Guard Lester Quinones to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  25. "Lester Quinones (DOM)'s profile". FIBA. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  26. Zagoria, Adam (June 11, 2018). "2019 guard Lester Quinones sees interest spike as he plays for Dominican U18 team". Zags Blog. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  27. https://www.nba.com/warriors/videos/lester-quinoness-latino-heritage
  28. https://dailymemphian.com/article/37368/lester-quinones-dominican-national-basketball-team-memphis-tigers
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