Drexel alum Damion Lee’s time in Philly played a large part in his NBA success: ‘It means everything’

Moments after the 76ers beat the Phoenix Suns at the Wells Fargo Center on Nov. 7, as most fans began to funnel their way out into the halls, a group congregated away from all the chaos in Section 111.

They were there to see a Suns role player who wrote a significant chapter of his basketball story at Drexel.

When Damion Lee walked out of the tunnel, he was greeted by his mother and prominent Drexel figures, including Director of Athletics Maisha Kelly and former Dragons teammate Samme Givens.

The post-game scene was casual. There wasn’t as much “isn’t it crazy you’re here” as it was “good game, great to see you.” But, in all honesty, the former would have been more logical than the latter.

To understand how unlikely Lee’s journey is, you must flash back to his sophomore year of high school at Mount Saint Joseph’s in Baltimore. After a timeout, a coach had choice words for Lee.

“One of the coaches was like, ‘Yeah, man, you know, you’re nothing but a Division II player,’” Lee said. “… I was like, this isn’t an environment I feel I could be successful at.”

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Following the incident, Lee transferred to Calvert Hall. He starred at the private school for two years and won the Baltimore Catholic League title, beating his former team in the championship game.

Lee then did a prep year at the St. Thomas More School in Connecticut, where he played alongside future NBA All-Star Andre Drummond and caught the eye of then-Drexel head coach Bruiser Flint.

“It’s crazy because I went to see a lot of his AAU games, and he really didn’t play that much,” Flint said. “I got to see him play [at prep school]. … When I went to see him, people would collapse on Drummond and throw it to him. I was like, ‘This kid can shoot. He’s a legit 6-foot-5 guard.’ That was the biggest thing. He had great size, and he could shoot the ball.”

Lee committed to Drexel in April 2011 and started his career with a bang, averaging 12 points per game in his debut season and won the Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year.

“You could see his talent,” Flint said. “The other thing about him, too, was you really saw his work ethic. Once you got him on campus, you really saw how hard he worked at it. So you knew with this kid, he could be special.”

Adversity hit when Lee tore his ACL five games into his junior campaign.

“It was super tough,” Lee said. “Especially a year that we had Frantz Massenat and Chris Fouch... that possibly could have been the best team that we could have had [in] Drexel basketball history.”

Lee was a prolific scorers in his senior season, averaging 21.4 points per game and rating fourth in the nation. That season was also cut short by a broken hand.

Following the season, Lee decided to play at Louisville in his final year of eligibility.

“It was tough,” Lee said. “... It was just a matter of, ‘What did I feel was best for my career?’ It was just the opportunity to prove to myself that I could play at the highest level. I felt that was the knock on me.”

In Lee’s lone season at Louisville, it was evident that he could play against Power 5 competition. He averaged 15.9 points per game and helped the Cardinals to a 23-8 record.

Lee then declared for the NBA draft in 2016 but went undrafted despite scoring 2,000 collegiate points and later tore his ACL. Lee fought back, as he’s done time and time again. Through all the adversity, Lee never thought about quitting.

“Probably not making it to the NBA crossed my mind at some point,” Lee said. “Just like not being able to achieve my dream and goal that I put all my hard work and effort into... I want to be the best version of Damion Lee that I could be because the best version of Damion Lee is good enough to be in the NBA.”

Lee was right. And after bouncing around on two-ways, 10 days and, in G League assignments, Lee inked a multi-year deal with the Golden State Warriors in 2019.

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He played a pivotal role for the Warriors last season, averaging 7.4 points and playing 19.9 minutes per game a night. Lee, who married Sydel Curry in 2018, won an NBA title in 2022 alongside his brother-in-law Stephen Curry.

“I’d say to go through all that, to do what we did on June 16th, I love my story for that, man,” Lee said. “Just overcoming it all, being an NBA champion. That’s something I’ll never take for granted; those moments with those guys.”

Now, Lee is with the Suns. He’s become an everyday player who brings value on both sides of the ball, which he showed in Philly to the tune of 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in 26 minutes.

“It really is a part of our story that you can come to a school like Drexel, develop as an athlete and go on to the highest level,” Kelly said. “... I think what’s really great for us and our relationship with Damion is that he’s also a really good person. He’s an individual who certainly continues to work hard and aspires to do things athletically, but he also wants to be a part of the community.”

Although Lee spent his last year of college at Louisville, he still reps Drexel. Hard. Don’t get it twisted.

“It means everything,” Lee said about Drexel. “I mean, obviously, I still rep Louisville, but I have them put down ‘Damion Lee, Drexel University’ whenever they announce me for games because I want Drexel to make sure that they get the credit that they deserve… Drexel is always going to be a special place in my heart.”