Malcolm Lee (basketball)

Malcolm Lee
Malcolm Lee
Born	Malcolm Toshio Lee; May 22, 1990 (age 36); Riverside, California, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2011–2021
Known for	NBA player, UCLA Bruins basketball

Malcolm Toshio Lee (born May 22, 1990) is a retired American professional basketball athlete whose most recent team was CSO Voluntari competing in Romania's Liga Națională. During his collegiate career at UCLA, he secured first-team all-conference recognition within the Pacific-10 Conference (currently known as the Pac-12). Following his junior season, Lee entered the 2011 NBA draft and was chosen in the second round by the Chicago Bulls, subsequently commencing his professional journey with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Early years

Born in Riverside, California to parents Toshio and Delma Lee, he attended John W. North High School in Riverside. Rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com, Lee was ranked as the nation’s No. 5 shooting guard and placed 47th overall among players in the class of 2008.

At UCLA, Lee earned distinctions including first-team All-Pac-10 and Pac-10 All-Defensive team honors in 2011. Despite advice from coach Ben Howland to remain in school, Lee declared for the NBA draft after his junior year—a choice that drew scrutiny from prominent sports media.

Professional career

Selected with the 43rd pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls, Lee was immediately traded on draft night to the Minnesota Timberwolves along with rights to Norris Cole, in exchange for rights to Nikola Mirotić. He secured a notable three-year guaranteed contract, an uncommon arrangement for a second-round selection.

Following surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee, Lee missed the opening portion of the 2011–12 season and spent time recovering while playing for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the NBA Development League before making his NBA debut in March 2012. The 2012–13 season saw him limited to 12 starts due to injuries, leading to hip and knee surgeries that ended his season prematurely.

On draft day in 2013, Lee was traded from Minnesota to the Golden State Warriors, then swiftly moved to the Phoenix Suns. Recurring quadriceps problems prevented him from full participation. In October 2013, he was traded once more, this time to the Washington Wizards, who released him shortly thereafter.

In October 2014, Lee signed with the Philadelphia 76ers but was waived within weeks. He then joined their affiliate team, the Delaware 87ers, before briefly returning to Philadelphia in December 2014; after being waived again following a trade, he returned to Delaware. January 2015 saw him traded to the Grand Rapids Drive.

February 2016 marked his signing with Puerto Rico’s Brujos de Guayama of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional, where he averaged 13.4 points across 19 games. By September 2016, he had joined Turkish side Trabzonspor Basketball.

In November 2017, Lee inked a deal with Bosnian club Igokea for the remainder of that season but departed in January 2018 to compete with Germany’s Tigers Tübingen during their BBL season.

January 2019 brought a move to Greece with Kolossos Rodou B.C., followed by a contract with Rethymno Cretan Kings B.C. for the 2019–20 campaign, posting averages of 5.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. In August 2020, he signed with Romanian outfit CSO Voluntari competing in Liga Națională, where he averaged 10.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per contest before renewing his contract in June 2021.

Regular season

|- | align="left" | | align="left" | Minnesota | 19 || 0 || 12.8 || .390 || .200 || .824 || 1.4 || 1.6 || .4 || .2 || 3.3 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Minnesota | 16 || 12 || 18.1 || .382 || .333 || .600 || 2.4 || 1.3 || .8 || .4 || 4.9 |- | align="left"| | align="left"| Philadelphia | 1 || 0 || 2.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |-class="sortbottom" | align="center" colspan=2 | Career | 36 || 12 || 14.8 || .382 || .294 || .703 || 1.8 || 1.4 || .6 || .3 || 3.9

College statistics

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2008–09 | style="text-align:left;"| UCLA | 29 || 0 || 10.7 || .500 || .300 || .417 || 1.5 || .6 || .5 || .1 || 3.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10 | style="text-align:left;"| UCLA | 32 || 32 || 34.8 || .432 || .252 || .706 || 4.4 || 3.1 || 1.1 || .3 || 12.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11 | style="text-align:left;"| UCLA | 33 || 33 || 33.1 || .437 || .295 || .778|| 3.1|| 2.0|| .7|| .2||13.1 |-class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan=2 | Career | 94||65||26.7||.441||.278||.717||3.0||2.0||.8||.2||9.7

External links