DAVID LEE

Basketball

Position: Power Forward / Center
Born: April 29, 1983; St. Louis, Missouri
Played For: Florida University (2001-2005), New York Knicks (2005-2010), Golden State Warriors (2010-2015), Boston Celtics (2015-2016), Dallas Mavericks (2016), San Antonio Spurs (2016-2017)

By Ron Jacober

The St. Louis area has produced a number of outstanding, world-class basketball players.  That’s the good news. The bad news? Since St. Louis has not had a pro basketball team for decades, local fans have not had the joy of watching those professionals, except on television.

David Lee is a classic case in point. The product of John Burroughs middle school and Chaminade College Prep, the 6-foot-9 inch Lee was a dominant high school star.

One of the famous quotes from the late Mike Shannon was: “I’d give my left arm to be ambidextrous.”

David had to become somewhat ambidextrous when he broke his left arm and had to learn to play right handed! And that made him a much better player.  He became a McDonald’s All-American and was named a first team high school All-American by Parade Magazine. He won the 2001 Slam Dunk competition.

David Lee could have played college hoops almost anywhere. He chose the University of Florida where he played four years for legendary coach Billy Donovan. In his senior year at Gainesville, he helped the Gators win their first SEC men’s tournament, beating Kentucky in the championship game.

Then, the NBA came calling.  David was a first-round selection by the New York Knicks. He was a part-time starter for New York as a rookie. In one game, a triple overtime win over Phoenix, he scored 23 points on 10 for 11 shooting, and had 15 rebounds and three steals.

At the All-Star break in 2006, he was averaging 11 points a game with  a league-leading 61 percent shooting percentage. In 2007, in the Rookie Challenge game, David was named the MVP when he made all 14 shots he took, scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. However, a severely sprained ankle all but ended his season.

He had outstanding games the next season.  On November 30, 2008, he scored a career-high 37 points and became the first Knicks player with 30 points and 20 rebounds since Patrick Ewing accomplished that feat some 11 years earlier. Later that season, in a game against Golden State, he had his first triple double with 37 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists. Then, David Lee  moved on.

As a free agent, he signed with Golden State where he started all 73 games and averaged 16.5 points per game. He was named to the 2013 NBA All-Star game. However, injuries started slowing him down. Still, he helped Golden State win the NBA Championship in 2015. David finished his career playing for Boston, Dallas and San Antonio.

During his remarkable career, David played 829 NBA games and scored 11,232 points, making 53 percent of his shots. He pulled down more than 7,000 rebounds.

Probably a good thing that he broke his arm in high school.