David Lee

At 41 years old, David Lee has this physical status:

David Lee (born April 29, 1983) is an American professional basketball player.

He played college basketball for the Florida Gators before being drafted 30th overall by the New York Knicks in the 2005 NBA draft.

Lee made his first All-Star pick with the Knicks in the 2009-10 season.

Lee was signed and traded to the Golden State Warriors in the 2010 offseason.

Lee was selected for his second All-Star selection, joined an All-NBA Team member, and won an NBA championship in 2015, his fifth and final season with the team. Lee retired in November 2017 after brief stints with three other NBA teams and becoming a free agent in June 2017.

Early life

Lee was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended middle school at John Burroughs School and high school at Chaminade College Preparatory School, both in St. Louis suburbs. Lee, who was left-handed, became essentially ambidextrous after he broke his left arm and learned to play right-handed. Lee was a McDonald's All American and championed the 2001 Slam Dunk competition. Parade magazine also named Lee as a first-team high school All-American.

Personal life

Lee is a Christian. Lee and several other NBA players joined the St. Jude charity effort, which funds the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in 2009.

In June 2019, Lee married Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki. Olivia Lee-Wozniacki and her family were born on June 11, 2021, by Lee and Wozniacki.

He revealed on June 19, 2022, on his Instagram account, that he and his wife, Caroline, are expecting their second child.

Source

College career

Lee accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he competed for Florida's basketball team from 2001 to 2005. He was recruited by the conference's coaches to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) freshman team as a freshman in 2002. He averaged 11.5 points and 7 rebounds per game during his sophomore season in 2002-03, the first time he played. Lee was named as a second-team All-SEC pick in his junior year in 2003-2004, averaging 13 points and 7 rebounds per game.

Al Horford, Corey Brewer, Taube Green, and Joakim Noah all joined him in Lee's senior year. The Gators secured the 2005 SEC men's basketball tournament, the Gators' first SEC men's basketball tournament championship—by defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 70-53 in the tournament final.

Professional career

Following Channing Frye, Lee was selected by the Knicks with the team's second first-round pick (30th overall) in the 2005 NBA draft. On July 1, 2005, Lee signed with the team for the first time.

In December 2005 and January 2006, Lee was signed as a starting forward for a stretch of 13 games. The Knicks defeated the Phoenix Suns in triple overtime on January 2, 2006, with Lee scoring 23 points on 10-11 shooting, as well as 15 rebounds and three steals in 52 minutes. In his rookie season, Lee averaged 5.1 points (59.6%) and 4.5 rebounds per game, while the average of 16.9 minutes in 67 games was 9.

Lee started his first game of the season against the Chicago Bulls on November 28, 2006. Channing Frye sustained a bruised ankle. He was one of ten players to be banned in the Knicks-Nuggets brawl on December 16, 2006. However, he was not involved in the brawl and was not suspended by the NBA, and he was not suspended. Lee won the winning basket with 0.1 seconds remaining against the Charlotte Bobcats on December 20, 2006, with 0.1 seconds remaining. This was within the league's so-called Trent Tucker Rule, whereby a player is unable to kick and shoot a field goal with less than three-tenths of a second remaining on the clock. Lee had averaged 11.1 points on 61.0 percent shooting (first in the league), an 81% free throw percentage, 10.8 rebounds (8th in NBA), and 1.8 assists in 30.9 minutes per game at the All-Star break. Lee, a Sophomore, was named the Most Valuable Player in the Rookie Challenge on February 16, 2007, shooting 14 of 14 shots from the field and 11 rebounds. Lee went down on future teammate Andrew Bogut's foot and sprained his ankle during a game against the Milwaukee Bucks on February 23, 2007. The initial diagnosis was for him to only miss a few days, but after the injury, he was still unable to play. He was reexamined, and the doctor discovered a much more pronounced sprain than was expected. For the remaining games of the season, Lee only played sporadic minutes.

Lee continued to develop into a key contributor off the bench for the Knicks in the 2007–08 season.

Lee set a career high in points on November 30, 2008, becoming the first Knicks player to have 30 points and 20 rebounds in a game since Patrick Ewing had 34 points and 25 rebounds on February 23, 1997.

Lee became the eleventh Knick to face the Chicago Bulls in a match-up on December 9, his 11th Knick to record ten consecutive double-doubles.

Lee was chosen to replace an injured Allen Iverson on the East team in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game on February 11. He was the first Knick to make the All-Star team since Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell appeared in the 2001 NBA All-Star Game. Lee had his first triple-double of his career against the Golden State Warriors on April 2, putting up 37 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists. In a game, he became the first player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1976 to record at least 35 points, 20 rebounds, and ten assists. Lee became an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He had career highs in points per game as well as assists per game.

In the 2010 off-season, Lee became an unrestricted free agent. Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike, Ronny Turiaf, and a future second-round pick for the Golden State Warriors were signed and traded to the Golden State Warriors on July 9, bringing Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike, Ronny Turiaf, and a future second-round pick to the Knicks. Lee's six-year deal earned him almost $80 million over 6 years.

Lee played in 73 games (all started), averaging 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.01 steals in 36.1 minutes per game.

In a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 7, 2012, Lee scored 25 points and 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. He averaged over 20 points per game in the second year of his NBA career.

Lee was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in 2013 on January 24, 2013. He was the Warriors' first All-Star since Latrell Sprewell in 1997. Lee had a career-high 22 rebounds against the Spurs and registered his third-double against the Charlotte Bobcats, with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. Lee finished the season with 18.5 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, leading the league in double-doubles with 56. In addition, he was selected to the All-NBA Third Team.

During his first playoff game, Lee injured his hip during the fourth quarter. Later in MRI, there was a "complete tear of his right hip flexor." Lee finished the game with ten points and 14 rebounds. Despite the injury, which was supposed to end his season, Lee returned to the Warriors for their sixth and final game of the season. In the next round, the Warriors were defeated by the San Antonio Spurs in six games.

In a 91–75 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats, Lee snapped his double-digit scoring streak at 123 games with 8 points on February 2, 2014.

In the final game of the preseason, Lee suffered with a strained left hamstring, his sidelined him for 24 out of the season's first 25 games. Draymond Green was brought into the Warriors' starting lineup, and Lee was back to action even after Lee recovered. Lee, the Warriors' highest-paid player, was a reserve for the first time since being a student at the University of California. In a 113-111 overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls on January 27, 2015, he scored a season-high 24 points. After the Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2015 NBA Finals in six games, Lee won his first NBA championship with the Warriors.

Lee was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Gerald Wallace and Chris Babb as Golden State was trying to offload his salary due to his inexperience with the team. In a 112–95 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, he made his Celtic debut against the 76ers in the team's season opener, scoring 8 points and 5 rebounds as a starter. Lee started only three games for the team before being forced to the bench and eventually out of the rotation completely. He was waived by the Celtics on February 19, 2016.

Lee signed with the Dallas Mavericks on February 22, 2016. In a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, he made his Mavericks debut two days later, posting four points and four rebounds off the bench. In a 122–116 overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets in his second game for the Mavericks on February 26, he had 14 points and 14 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. Lee returned to Oracle Arena for the first time since being cut from the Warriors and received a standing ovation at a pre-game function in which he received his 2015 championship ring. Lee missed the Mavericks' first two playoff games against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a right foot injury.

Lee signed with the San Antonio Spurs on August 2, 2016. In a 129-100 victory over his former team, the Golden State Warriors, in his season opener on October 25, 2016, he scored six points, six rebounds, and two assists in 11 minutes off the bench. In a 118-104 victory over the Denver Nuggets, he had a season-high 16 rebounds to go with ten points. In a 100–99 victory over the Indiana Pacers on March 1, 2017, he scored a season-high 18 points. In a 114-104 victory over the Sacramento Kings, he tied his season high with another 18-point effort on March 8. Lee was reported to have discarded his player choice and entered the free agent market on June 29, 2017.

Lee resigned on November 19, 2017.

Source