Saben Lee

Saben Anthonia Lee (born June 23, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract. He played college basketball for the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Saben Lee
Lee with Vanderbilt in 2020
No. 38 – Phoenix Suns
PositionPoint guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1999-06-23) June 23, 1999
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight183 lb (83 kg)
Career information
High schoolCorona del Sol
(Tempe, Arizona)
CollegeVanderbilt (2017–2020)
NBA draft2020: 2nd round, 38th overall pick
Selected by the Utah Jazz
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–2022Detroit Pistons
2021–2022→Motor City Cruise
2022Raptors 905
2022Philadelphia 76ers
2022→Delaware Blue Coats
2022–2023Raptors 905
2023–presentPhoenix Suns
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life and high school career

Lee grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and attended Corona del Sol High School in Tempe, Arizona. As a junior, Lee was named first-team All-State after averaging 18 points, five rebounds, and three assists per game.[1] Lee committed to play college basketball at Vanderbilt after his junior year over offers from Louisville, Stanford, Florida State, and Nebraska.[2][3] He was again named first team All-State as a senior and scored 39 points against Cesar Chavez High School in the state semifinal to lead the Aztecs to the state title game before falling to Basha High School.[4][5]

College career

Lee served as the Commodores starting point guard as a true freshman and averaged 10.6 points, 3.1 assists and a team-leading 1.2 steals per game.[6] As a sophomore, Lee averaged 12.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game.[7][8][9] As a junior, he averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game and was named second team All-SEC by the Associated Press.[10][11] He scored a career high 38 points on March 3, 2020 in an 87–79 win over Alabama.[12] Following the end of the season, Lee declared for the 2020 NBA draft.[13] On May 1, he announced he was signing with an agent and forgoing his last season of eligibility.[14]

Professional career

Detroit Pistons (2020–2022)

Lee was selected 38th overall by the Utah Jazz in the 2020 NBA draft, then subsequently traded to the Detroit Pistons on November 22, 2020.[15][16] On December 1, 2020, the Detroit Pistons signed him to a two-way contract with their NBA G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise.[17][18] On May 11, 2021, Lee scored a career-high 22 points in a 119-100 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. On August 6, 2021, the Pistons re-signed Lee to a multi-year contract.[19] On April 1, 2022, Lee achieved his first career double-double, with 11 points and 12 assists in a 110-101 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Raptors 905 (2022)

On September 26, 2022, Lee was traded with Kelly Olynyk to the Utah Jazz for Bojan Bogdanović.[20] He was waived by the Jazz on October 9.[21] On October 11, Lee signed an exhibit 10 contract with the Phoenix Suns.[22] He was waived on October 13.[23] On October 16, Lee signed an exhibit 10 contract with the Toronto Raptors, but was waived the same day.[24] On October 18, Lee joined the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League.

Philadelphia 76ers (2022)

On November 23, 2022, Lee signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, replacing Michael Foster Jr. on a two-way contract.[25] On December 26, he was waived in favor of Louis King.[26]

Return to the 905 (2022–2023)

On December 28, 2022, Lee was re-acquired by the Raptors 905.[27]

Phoenix Suns (2023–present)

On January 11, 2023, Lee signed a 10-day contract with the Phoenix Suns.[28] He signed a second 10-day contract with the Suns on January 21.[29] Lee signed a two-way contract with the Suns on February 1.[30] He was named to the G League's inaugural Next Up Game for the 2022–23 season.[31]

On July 13, 2023, Lee signed another two-way contract with the Suns.[32]

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

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Detroit 48716.3.471.348.6852.03.6.7.35.6
2021–22 Detroit 37016.3.390.233.7892.42.91.0.35.6
2022–23 Philadelphia 205.0.750.000—.01.0.5.03.0
2022–23 Phoenix 23115.8.393.379.7372.02.8.8.06.3
Career 110816.0.427.292.7332.13.2.8.25.7

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Vanderbilt 322926.8.462.307.7263.03.11.2.210.6
2018–19 Vanderbilt 323232.6.460.362.6753.33.81.0.212.7
2019–20 Vanderbilt 321732.9.483.322.7523.54.21.5.318.6
Career 967830.7.471.328.7183.33.71.3.213.9


Personal life

Lee is the son of former NFL running back Amp Lee and Vanderbilt University Law Graduate, Natalie Williams.[33] Lee is also close friends with West Aurora star cornerback, Liam Lopez.

References
  1. Sills-Trausch, Alec (June 1, 2016). "Arizona basketball recruiting: In-state prospect Saben Lee's recruitment heating up". AZDesertSwarm.com.
  2. "Corona Del Sol PG Saben Lee commits to Vanderbilt". The Arizona Republic.
  3. Webster, Danny (June 14, 2016). "Saben Lee to Vanderbilt: Commodores Land 4-Star PG Prospect". Bleacher Report.
  4. Augustine, Jordan (October 22, 2017). "Arizona 6A All-State". PrepHoops.com.
  5. Obert, Richard (February 24, 2017). "Corona del Sol returns to final behind Saben Lee's 39 points, will meet Basha for 6A boys crown". USATodayHSS.com.
  6. Sparks, Adam (October 3, 2018). "Vanderbilt basketball's Darius Garland, Saben Lee working on chemistry". USAToday.com. Nashville Tennessean.
  7. Aronin, Ivan (March 8, 2019). "Vanderbilt's Lee making the most of challenging season". The Nashville Ledger.
  8. Arias, Greg (November 5, 2019). "Stackhouse, Commodores Kickoff Regular Season Wednesday". SI.com.
  9. DiSturco, Charlie (September 2019). "SEC Basketball: Top returning players on each team for 2019-20 season". BustingBrackets.com. FanSided.
  10. Tansey, Joe (March 13, 2020). "SEC 2020 Final Team Standings, Top Player Stats and Best NBA Draft Prospects". Bleacher Report.
  11. Arias, Greg (March 9, 2020). "Vanderbilt's Saben Lee, Scottie Pippen Jr. Honored By SEC". SI.com.
  12. "Lee's 38 leads Vanderbilt to 87-79 upset of Alabama". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 3, 2020.
  13. "Vanderbilt guard Saben Lee declares for NBA Draft". The Tennessean. March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  14. Weinstein, Robbie (May 1, 2020). "Vanderbilt's Saben Lee signs with agent, will stay in NBA Draft". 247 Sports. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  15. Sparks, Adam (November 18, 2020). "Vanderbilt's Saben Lee drafted with No. 38 pick in NBA Draft, headed to Detroit via trade". The Tennessean. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  16. "Utah Jazz Acquire Cash Considerations". NBA.com. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  17. "Detroit Pistons Sign Rookies Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey and Saben Lee". NBA.com. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  18. Gauruder, Dana (November 18, 2020). "Pistons To Sign Saben Lee To Two-Way Contract". HoopsRumors. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  19. "Saben Lee Re-Signs With Pistons". Hoops Rumors. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  20. Treasure, Angie (September 26, 2022). "Utah Jazz Acquire Kelly Olynyk, Saben Lee, and Cash Considerations". NBA.com. Utah Jazz. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  21. "Utah Jazz Sign Darryl Morsell". NBA.com. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  22. "SUNS SIGN ARMS, LEE". Twitter. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  23. "SUNS WAIVE ARMS, LEE, LUWAWU-CABARROT". Twitter. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  24. "Raptors Sign, Waive Saben Lee". Hoops Rumors. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  25. "Saben Lee Signs Two-Way Contract with Sixers". nba.com. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  26. "Louis King Signed to Two-Way Deal". NBA.com. December 26, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  27. @@Raptors905 (December 29, 2022). "Got our guy back Welcome back, Saben" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. "OFFICIAL: Phoenix Suns sign Saben Lee to a 10-day contract". Twitter. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  29. "Suns Sign Saben Lee To Second 10-Day Contract". Twitter. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  30. "Duane Rankin on Twitter: "#Suns re-sign Saben Lee to two-way, waive Duane Washington Jr., who was on a two-way deal."". Twitter. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  31. "Wolves' Garza And Ignite's Henderson Named Captains For NBA G League Next Up Game". NBA G League. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  32. "SUNS RE-SIGN SABEN LEE". NBA.com. July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  33. "Saben Lee | Phoenix Suns". NBA.com.
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