Clyde Lee

Clyde Wayne Lee (born March 14, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player who had his most success as an All-American center at Vanderbilt University, where the two-time Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Year was among the most heralded players in school history. He was the No. 3 overall pick in the 1965 NBA draft and a one-time NBA All-Star, playing ten seasons in the league.

Early life

Lee was born on March 14, 1944, in Nashville, Tennessee. He attended high school at David Lipscomb Campus School from 1961-63 (now Lipscomb Academy). He is considered one of the greatest high school basketball players in Nashville history.

College career

A lanky 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) power forward/ center, Lee went on to star at Vanderbilt under coach Roy Skinner for three seasons (1963–66). While there, he was active in the Fellowship for Christian Athletes.

Known for his rebounding skills and scoring prowess around the basket, Lee made an immediate impact as a sophomore, when he averaged 18.8 points and a SEC leading 15.6 rebounds per game. While Lee considered himself to be a rebounder first and foremost, he added a drive to the basket and mid-range jump shot to his game in the next season and quickly blossomed into one of the elite big men in the country.

As a junior (1964-65), Lee led the SEC in scoring (22.5 points per game) and rebounding (15 per game) and shattered several school records along the way. Lee set school marks for most points (631) and field goals (239) in one season, and his 420 total rebounds that year is still a Vanderbilt record (as of 2025). His point total and field goal total stood as a school records until 1992-93, when broken by Bill McCaffrey. He was selected second team All-American.

After Lee went off for 41 points against Kentucky, the most ever by a Vanderbilt player against its conference rival, Wildcats coach Adolph Rupp was moved to say, "We'd like to have him. He's a fine one." North Carolina coach Dean Smith said of Lee, "'He is a great one.'"

left, 100px, Clyde Lee's #43 was retired by Vanderbilt
The Commodores reached the NCAA Mideast Regional Finals, where top-ranked Michigan outlasted them, 87–85, but not before Lee outplayed the Wolverines' Bill Buntin in a highly anticipated matchup in the middle. He had 28 points and 20 rebounds in the loss (to Buntin's 26 points and 14 rebounds; with Michigan's Cazzie Russell also scoring 26). The game included one of the most controversial calls by a referee in tournament history, potentially costing Vanderbilt the game. Lee was named the Mideast Regional's Most Valuable Player. He was also a member of the NCAA all-tournament team.

The Commodores finished the season with a 24–4 record and their first Southeast Conference championship with a 15–1 mark, after which Lee was selected for the first of two consecutive SEC Player of the Year Awards. This was the first SEC championship in any sport for Vanderbilt.

In his senior season (1965–66), Lee continued his dominance the paint area. He grabbed the most rebounds in one game by a Commodores player in their history, a January 1966 game against Ole Miss where he had 29 points to go along with his 28 rebounds. Despite an impressive 22–4 record, which included a pair of losses against No. 2 Kentucky, and a No. 8 national ranking, the Commodores did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 22.7 points and 15.8 rebounds per game (still the school's rebounding record as of 2025), earning first team All-American honors and another SEC Player of the Year Award in 1966 (along with Kentucky's Pat Riley). Sportswriter Howell Pesier called him as "the greatest player in Vanderbilt history".

Lee averaged 21.4 points and 15.5 rebounds over his 79-game college career, leading Vanderbilt to 65 victories over three seasons. After Vanderbilt's success during Lee's tenure, the balconies in the school's Memorial Gym were constructed to increase seating capacity, and were called “the balconies that Clyde Lee built.”

NBA career

San Francisco/Golden State Warriors

After four years at Vanderbilt, Lee was selected by the San Francisco Warriors with the No. 3 overall pick of the 1966 NBA draft behind Cazzie Russell, No. 1 to the New York Knicks and Dave Bing, Detroit Pistons.

In 1966–1967, as a rookie, he averaged 7.4 rebounds per game while playing only 16.9 minutes per game. Lee and the Warriors made the NBA Finals, where they were defeated 4–2 by Wilt Chamberlain and the Philadelphia 76ers. Lee averaged 6.4 points and 7.2 rebounds in the series. In his second year, Lee averaged nearly 12 points and 14 rebounds per game, in 33 minutes per game; and appeared in the 1968 NBA All-Star Game, with six points and 11 rebounds in only 18 minutes of playing time. The Warriors reached the Western Division finals again, but were swept by the Los Angeles Lakers, with Lee averaging 10.3 points and 15.5 rebounds a game.

During his next two seasons with the Warriors, Lee again averaged a double-double (10.7 points and 13.8 rebounds per game for 1968-69, and 11 points and 11.3 rebounds in 1969-70). The following year he only played 17 minutes per game as a backup center, behind Nate Thurmond, but in 1971-72 was the Warriors starting power forward, and averaged a career-high 14.5 rebounds per game (averaging over 30 rebounds a game in combination with Thurmond). He played two more seasons after that with the Warriors (1972-74). In the 1973 conference finals, the Warriors lost again to the Lakers, but Lee averaged a double-double, with 10 points and 14.2 rebounds per game.

In Lee's eight years with the Warriors, the team reached the playoffs six times. He was fourth in the NBA in rebounding average in1967-68, and was top-10 three other times (1968-69, 1969-70, 1971-72). In 51 playoff games (all but three with the Warriors), he averaged 10.2 rebounds per game in only 26.3 minutes per game.

Later career

Lee was the player to be named later upon being sent to the Atlanta Hawks on October 4, 1974, to complete a transaction from February 2, 1970, in which the Warriors acquired the NBA contractual rights to Zelmo Beaty in exchange for its first-round pick in the 1970 NBA draft which eventually became Pete Maravich who was selected third overall.Rogers, Thomas. "People in Sports," ''The New York Times'', Saturday, November 9, 1974.
Retrieved February 9, 2022. After only nine games with the Hawks, he was traded along with a third-round pick in the 1975 NBA draft (39th overall– Jimmie Baker) to the Philadelphia 76ers for Tom Van Arsdale on November 8, 1974. He then concluded his career in Philadelphia, playing his final two seasons. He averaged nearly 10 rebounds per game for the 1974-75 76ers.

A strong rebounder and defender, Lee said, “It's what you might consider the dirty work, but that's the way I'm able to play in the league.” He added, “I don't feel that I'm a good shooter, but then again I don't feel I have to score. I don't look for the shot. I try to get an offensive rebound or keep the ball alive. This is my value to the team."

In ten (1966–1976) National Basketball Association seasons, spent with the Warriors (1966–1974), Atlanta Hawks (1974), and Philadelphia 76ers (1974–1976), Lee scored 5,733 points (7.7) with 7,626 (10.3) rebounds in 742 games. Lee ranks 46th in NBA history in rebounds per game (as of March 2025) and 56th among combined NBA and ABA players.

Personal

Lee has taught yoga classes at Vanderbilt, after discovering yoga to alleviate pain from basketball injuries.

He has served as a color commentator for radio broadcasts of Vanderbilt men's basketball games.

Honors

In 1966, Vanderbilt designated "Clyde Lee Day" on the occasion of Lee's last career home game.

He was the first Vanderbilt player to have his number retired.

Lee was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

in 2008, Lee was named to the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Clyde
1944 births
Living people
All-American college men's basketball players
Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players
American members of the Churches of Christ
American men's basketball players
Atlanta Hawks players
Basketball players from Nashville, Tennessee
Centers (basketball)
Golden State Warriors players
NBA All-Stars
Philadelphia 76ers players
Power forwards
San Francisco Warriors draft picks
San Francisco Warriors players
Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball players