SANTA CRUZ — Damion Lee said he didn’t spend much time on the beautiful beaches of Santa Cruz during his first season with Golden State’s G League affiliate.
There were more pressing matters at hand.
“I was just so focused on getting my knee right,” said Lee, who had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee just two days before Christmas in 2016.
Now with a clean bill of health and a two-way deal with Golden State in his back pocket, Lee, 25, plans to walk down to the beach, dig his feet in the sand and soak in how far he’s come over the last 18 months.
“Now, having the security for this year, I’ll be able to enjoy it a little more and not put so much stress on myself,” Lee said. “I can relax and reflect on life a little more.”
Of course, the days of soaking in the rays will be far outnumbered by the days the 6-foot-6 wing leaves the gym soaked in sweat.
After tasting the NBA for the first time last season with the Atlanta Hawks, Lee said he’s ready to build on what he called an “euphoric” rollercoaster ride to realizing his dreams of playing in the league he grew up watching.
Lee last season pieced together his best professional basketball campaign. He was a steady night-in-night-out force for Santa Cruz over 38 games, scoring 15.8 points on 45.6 percent shooting from the field. His productivity and team-first play style — he also averaged 5.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists with Santa Cruz — helped him secure a spot on USA Basketball’s FIBA World Cup Qualifying roster, and his career-changing call-up with the Hawks.
“I’m trying to build off what I did this past season,” Lee said. “Just trying to become a better player and a better person, and just go from there.”
The improvement of Lee the “player” was not mutually exclusive from Lee the “person.” His ACL tear in 2016 was his second in the past three years, and it could have been the final blow to what looked like a promising young career.
After going undrafted out of Louisville, Lee went to training camp with the Boston Celtics and wound up signing with the Maine Red Claws in the then-D-League. He was an immediate star for the East Coast squad, pouring in 18 points per game and shooting a ridiculous 45.3 percent from deep. But just 16 games into the season, Lee was sidelined for the rest of the year with the aforementioned knee injury.
Having suffered the same injury to his right knee during his junior year at Drexel in 2013, Lee said he was familiar with the journey that was ahead of him. But while knowing the path allowed him to be better prepared, it did little to ease the process. There were days where he felt like his old self, and other times where he was wondering what was going wrong.
It was in these moments when he leaned on his loved ones, particularly his mom, his close friends and his fiancé, Sydel Curry (younger sister to Stephen and Seth), and her family. Those relationships gave him a sobering realization of who was in his corner and who wasn’t, allowing him to leave all the negative energy on the sidelines as he worked to return to the multifaceted player he believed he could be.
“Whenever I see ‘em I just tell them thank you, small signs of appreciation,” Lee said. “It’s just crazy how something can change and people can either be with you or not be with you. My mom would tell me this saying when I was younger, ‘when people show you their true colors, don’t try to repaint them.’ If someone shows something, that’s who they are. I can’t change who they are, but I can appreciate the people that have been there.”
Santa Cruz Warriors General Manager Kent Lacob said Lee had been on the organization’s radar dating back to his college days, and the interest surged after he improved his shooting and playmaking during his stint with Maine. So when his returning rights were on the table last summer, Lacob and Co. had to make the move.
Lacob said Lee has shattered expectations as a player and person.
“Getting to work with him on a daily basis, it has opened our eyes to just how high his potential as an NBA player is,” Lacob said. “Damion’s character is second to none. He is a highly intelligent individual, and he has a relentless drive to improve. Attributes like these are ones that take getting to know a person over time to understand what type of player and person they are, and these are some of the types of qualities that help lead to success in the long term. In this sense, Damion has absolutely surpassed our expectations.
“Knowing him the way I do now, I’m not surprised that he has overcome adversity and achieved so much in his young career, and hopefully he will build on that success next season.”
His maturity and newfound perspective seemingly transferred over to the basketball court last season. Lee initially struggled during his first few outings with Santa Cruz while essentially playing himself into shape because of the knee injury. But his game started to turn around near the NBA All-Star break.
Before he knew it, Lee was under the tutelage of coach Jeff Van Gundy as a late addition to the USA Basketball team that thumped Cuba and Puerto Rico in the first round of FIBA World Cup qualifying in late February. And less than a month later he received the phone call he’d been so patiently waiting for, informing him he’d landed a call-up from Atlanta, where he’d enter coach Mike Budenholzer’s starting lineup four games into his NBA career and average 10.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest.
The last year and a half had been somewhat of a blur of life-changing events, both on and off the court — he and Curry announced their engagement in November of last year.
“Everything came together at once,” Lee said. “Right after the call-up it hit me that it’s not a dream anymore, it’s a reality.”
A reality that he’d like to keep going.
Lee said he’s eager to return to his role as Santa Cruz’s swiss army knife while also parachuting into Oakland to help Golden State when needed. He said he doesn’t know how much time he’ll spend with the back-to-back NBA champions, but he’s ready for any role available. His size, shooting ability and basketball IQ make him a tailor-made fit for Steve Kerr’s system, and Golden State’s limited depth on the wing could give him an opportunity to play meaningful minutes this season.
Lee said he plans to watch plenty of film of Golden State’s wings, with hopes of emulating the role they play within the offense and defense when he does get a chance to line up next to two-time M.V.P. and future brother-in-law Stephen Curry.
He also has an invaluable source of advice in teammate and friend Quinn Cook, who late last season turned a two-way deal into a two-year contract with Golden State. Lee said he’s known Cook since they played AAU basketball when they were 12, and FaceTime “two or three” times a week. Cook is slated to be an usher at his upcoming wedding.
“We go back,” Lee said. “I know if anything needs to be talked about, I can call him right now and I know he’ll pick up.”
Lee arguably could have received his NBA opportunity sooner if not for the whirlwind of the past two years, but he strongly believes the recent challenges are ones he needed in order to accomplish his dreams.
“[It’s been] unreal, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Lee said. “My perspective on life, I’m 25 but I feel like I’m 35. I feel wise beyond my years.”
