.jpg) Lee with theBoston Celtics in 2013 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1985-10-03)October 3, 1985 (age 39) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Pike (Indianapolis, Indiana) |
| College | Western Kentucky (2004–2008) |
| NBA draft | 2008: 1st round, 22nd overall pick |
| Selected by theOrlando Magic | |
| Playing career | 2008–2020 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Number | 11, 6, 5, 1 |
| Career history | |
| 2008–2009 | Orlando Magic |
| 2009–2010 | New Jersey Nets |
| 2010–2012 | Houston Rockets |
| 2012–2014 | Boston Celtics |
| 2014–2016 | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 2016 | Charlotte Hornets |
| 2016–2019 | New York Knicks |
| 2018 | →Westchester Knicks |
| 2019–2020 | Dallas Mavericks |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Courtney Lee (born October 3, 1985) is an American former professionalbasketball player. He playedcollege basketball atWestern Kentucky University.
Lee was drafted by theOrlando Magic with the 22nd overall pick in the2008 NBA draft and was traded in June 2009 to theNew Jersey Nets. In August 2010, he was traded to theHouston Rockets. In July 2012, Lee was dealt to theBoston Celtics. He was traded to theMemphis Grizzlies in January 2014 before being dealt to theCharlotte Hornets in February 2016. In July, Lee signed with theNew York Knicks, where he spent three seasons before being traded to theDallas Mavericks in January 2019.
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Lee was born inIndianapolis,Indiana.
Lee attendedPike High School in Indianapolis and played on their Indiana 4A state championship winning team in 2003. He starred for the Indy Hornets AAU team, winning several state championships and annually placing high at the AAU nationals.
Considered a three-star recruit byRivals.com, Lee was listed as the No. 34 shooting guard in the nation in 2004.[1]
In 2004, Lee was recruited by formerWestern Kentucky assistant coachWilliam Small to play for the Hilltoppers. In his first season, Lee set aWKU record for freshman scoring with 461 points in 31 games. He was named First Team All-Sun Belt Conference for three consecutive seasons (2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08). As a senior at WKU, Lee was namedSun Belt Player of the Year. He also helped lead the Hilltoppers to a Sweet 16 appearance in the2008 NCAA Tournament while being ranked 28th nationally in scoring with 20.4 points per game.
On January 27, 2008, Lee recorded a career high 33 points in a 77–68 win overArkansas State.
Lee finished his collegiate career tied withJim McDaniels for all-time leading scorer at WKU, with 2,238 points. During his four-year career at WKU, he started 127 games, played an overall 3,957 minutes, made 82% of free throws, made 245 three-point shots, had 242 steals, 281 assists and 78 blocked shots. On January 10, 2015, it was announced that Lee's jersey would be retired by the Hilltoppers.[2]
Lee's tattoo on his arm reads "R.I.P.Danny Rumph" dedicated to his WKU teammate who died in May 2005 from an enlarged heart after hitting a game winning shot in a pick-up game in his hometown, Philadelphia.[3]
Lee was drafted 22nd overall by theOrlando Magic in the2008 NBA draft.[4]
On February 4, 2009, Lee posted season-high numbers against theLos Angeles Clippers. He finished the night with 21 points, including 9-of-10 field goals while making three 3-pointers.[5]
Then on March 23, 2009, in a game against theNew York Knicks atMadison Square Garden, Lee set a then-career high with 22 points. He made two critical free throws late in the fourth quarter to secure a comeback win for the Magic. Lee finished 6–8 from the field, 2–3 from behind the three-point line, and 8–8 from the free throw line.[6]
During the Magic's first roundNBA playoff series against thePhiladelphia 76ers, Lee scored 18 points in game 1 and a team-high 24 points in game 2, helping the team tie the series at 1–1.
On April 28, 2009, Lee was hit in the face byDwight Howard during Game 5 of the Magic's first round playoff series, suffering a fractured sinus. The following day it was announced that he would miss Game 6 of the series due to the injury. He then returned for the second round matchup against theBoston Celtics but he was forced to wear a protective mask over his face for the remainder of the postseason.
In Game 2 of the2009 NBA Finals, Lee missed a potential game-winning layup with 0.6 seconds remaining on the shot-clock at the end of regulation that would have evened the series at 1–1.
After spending his rookie year with theOrlando Magic, Lee was traded on June 25, 2009, along withRafer Alston andTony Battie, to theNew Jersey Nets for future teammateVince Carter andRyan Anderson.[7]
During the2009–10 season, Lee led theNets in steals (93), three-point shots made (76), and free throw percentage (86.9%).
On March 8, 2010, he recorded a career high 30 points in a 107–101 loss to theMemphis Grizzlies.
On August 11, 2010, Lee was traded to theHouston Rockets in a four-team, five-player trade in which the Rockets sentTrevor Ariza to theNew Orleans Hornets.[8] He was officially introduced by the Rockets on August 18, 2010.
On July 20, 2012, Lee was traded to theBoston Celtics in a three team sign and trade deal involving theHouston Rockets andPortland Trail Blazers.[9] Lee agreed to a 4-year, $21.5 million deal with Boston. He had a fine start to the 2013–14 season hitting around 50 percent of his 3-point attempts under new coachBrad Stevens.[10]
On January 7, 2014, a three-team trade was completed between the Celtics, theMemphis Grizzlies, and theOklahoma City Thunder. Boston traded Lee and a 2016 second round draft pick to Memphis for in exchange for the Grizzlies'Jerryd Bayless and the Thunder'sRyan Gomes.[11] On January 14, Lee led Memphis to a 90–87 win over theOklahoma City Thunder, with a season-high and team-leading 24 points, two of which were win-securingfree throws to end the game.[12]
On February 16, 2016, the Grizzlies traded Lee to theCharlotte Hornets in a three-team trade also involving theMiami Heat.[13] Five days later, he made his debut and first start with the Hornets in a 104–96 win over the Brooklyn Nets, recording five points, one rebound and one assist in 21 minutes.[14]
On July 8, 2016, Lee signed with theNew York Knicks.[15] Prior to the start of the 2017–18 season, Lee was named co-captain of the Knicks alongsideLance Thomas.[16] On January 15, 2018, in a 119–104 win over theBrooklyn Nets, Lee made his 44th straight free throw on a third-quarter technical, tying the Knicks' record set byChris Duhon in 2008–09. Lee came into the game leading the league at 96.1 percent after hitting 73 of 76.[17] Two days later, he converted a free throw in the second quarter of the Knicks' 105–99 loss to theMemphis Grizzlies—his 45th straight, setting a franchise record.[18] In December 2018, he played a game with the Knicks'NBA G League affiliate, theWestchester Knicks.[19]
On January 31, 2019, Lee was traded, along withTrey Burke,Tim Hardaway Jr. andKristaps Porziņģis, to theDallas Mavericks in exchange forDeAndre Jordan,Wesley Matthews,Dennis Smith Jr. and two future first-round draft picks.[20] On June 22, 2020, theDallas Mavericks announced that Lee suffered a leftcalf injury during theNBA hiatus.[21] After becoming a free agent after the season, he was re-signed on December 11, 2020,[22] but was waived after training camp.[23] Lee retired on June 21, 2021.[24]
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | Orlando | 77 | 42 | 25.2 | .450 | .404 | .830 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 1.0 | .2 | 8.4 |
| 2009–10 | New Jersey | 71 | 66 | 33.5 | .436 | .338 | .869 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 1.3 | .3 | 12.5 |
| 2010–11 | Houston | 81 | 1 | 21.3 | .439 | .408 | .792 | 2.6 | 1.2 | .7 | .2 | 8.3 |
| 2011–12 | Houston | 58 | 26 | 30.3 | .433 | .401 | .826 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 1.2 | .4 | 11.4 |
| 2012–13 | Boston | 78 | 39 | 24.9 | .464 | .372 | .861 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 1.1 | .3 | 7.8 |
| 2013–14 | Boston | 30 | 0 | 16.8 | .492 | .442 | .818 | 1.6 | 1.1 | .7 | .3 | 7.4 |
| 2013–14 | Memphis | 49 | 47 | 30.0 | .476 | .345 | .884 | 2.8 | 1.7 | .9 | .4 | 11.0 |
| 2014–15 | Memphis | 77 | 74 | 30.6 | .448 | .402 | .860 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 1.0 | .2 | 10.1 |
| 2015–16 | Memphis | 51 | 37 | 29.2 | .458 | .370 | .826 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 1.0 | .3 | 10.0 |
| 2015–16 | Charlotte | 28 | 28 | 30.2 | .445 | .392 | .885 | 3.1 | 2.1 | 1.2 | .4 | 8.9 |
| 2016–17 | New York | 77 | 74 | 31.9 | .456 | .401 | .867 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 1.1 | .3 | 10.8 |
| 2017–18 | New York | 76 | 69 | 30.4 | .454 | .406 | .919 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.1 | .2 | 12.0 |
| 2018–19 | New York | 12 | 2 | 13.3 | .447 | .313 | .643 | 2.3 | 1.3 | .7 | .2 | 4.7 |
| 2018–19 | Dallas | 22 | 4 | 12.2 | .390 | .282 | .714 | 1.2 | 1.0 | .6 | .0 | 3.6 |
| 2019–20 | Dallas | 24 | 9 | 14.4 | .488 | .447 | .857 | 1.3 | .5 | .8 | .3 | 4.5 |
| Career | 811 | 518 | 27.1 | .451 | .388 | .853 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 1.0 | .3 | 9.6 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Orlando | 21 | 16 | 26.2 | .435 | .273 | .885 | 1.9 | 1.3 | .9 | .1 | 8.0 |
| 2013 | Boston | 4 | 0 | 9.8 | .200 | .000 | 1.000 | .5 | .3 | .5 | .0 | 1.5 |
| 2014 | Memphis | 7 | 7 | 32.0 | .417 | .316 | .778 | 2.0 | 1.6 | .7 | .3 | 10.0 |
| 2015 | Memphis | 11 | 11 | 33.4 | .550 | .467 | .957 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 1.1 | .0 | 13.3 |
| 2016 | Charlotte | 7 | 7 | 36.7 | .412 | .444 | .933 | 2.9 | 1.3 | .9 | .4 | 8.6 |
| Career | 50 | 41 | 28.7 | .457 | .346 | .895 | 2.1 | 1.4 | .9 | .2 | 9.0 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | Western Kentucky | 31 | 31 | 33.2 | .450 | .399 | .722 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 1.8 | .5 | 14.9 |
| 2005–06 | Western Kentucky | 30 | 30 | 31.1 | .451 | .408 | .847 | 6.3 | 2.9 | 2.6 | .3 | 17.4 |
| 2006–07 | Western Kentucky | 30 | 30 | 30.6 | .472 | .401 | .840 | 4.6 | 1.9 | 1.5 | .8 | 17.3 |
| 2007–08 | Western Kentucky | 36 | 36 | 30.0 | .477 | .397 | .822 | 4.9 | 2.1 | 1.8 | .8 | 20.4 |
| Career | 127 | 127 | 31.2 | .464 | .401 | .817 | 5.2 | 2.2 | 1.9 | .6 | 17.6 | |
