Xaivian Lee (born March 12, 2004) is a Canadian-American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

player for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC). He previously played for the

Princeton Tigers The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 35 varsity teams in 20 sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, three in women's lacrosse, six in me ...

Early life and high school career

Lee played both baseball and basketball in his youth and idolized

Fred VanVleet Fredderick Edmund VanVleet Sr. (born February 25, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, VanVleet played college basketball for Wichita State Uni ...

of the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

. When he was 13, he traveled to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, to watch

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

play Notre Dame in the

2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 20 ...

. In a 2023 interview with ''

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language Discretionary service, discretionary sports broadcasting, sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture betw ...

'', his mother described the experience as crucial in his decision to pursue basketball: "What

ould Ould is an English surname as well as an element of many Arabic names. In Arabic contexts it is a transliteration of the word wikt:ولد, ولد, meaning "son". Notable people with this surname include: English surname * Edward Ould (1852–190 ...

be a possibility for him in the future became more tangible, being there, seeing that in person. I think it's a bit lovely how it came full circle." Lee initially attended Crescent School in Toronto, where he played basketball and was one of the best players in the . He later attended

Perkiomen School Perkiomen School is an independent, co-educational, college preparatory, boarding and day school located in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. Perkiomen admits students in grades 6–12 and offers a one year educational option for post-graduate students. ...

Pennsburg, Pennsylvania Pennsburg is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its population was 3,889 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Upper Perkiomen School District. It is also part of the strip of small towns that run together along Rou ...

. In his lone prep year, he averaged 17.4 points and 4.7 assists in 35 games. He led his team to their first-ever state title appearance alongside

Ryan Dunn Ryan Matthew Dunn (June 11, 1977 – June 20, 2011) was an American stunt performer, television personality, and actor. He was one of the stars of the MTV reality stunt show '' Jackass'' and its film franchise. Born in Medina, Ohio, Dunn rose ...

and

Thomas Haugh Thomas Haugh (born July 7, 2003) is an American college basketball player for the Florida Gators of the Southeastern Conference. Early life and high school career Haugh was born and raised in New Oxford, Pennsylvania, just outside of Gettysbu ...

. They qualified for the National Prep Tournament in the same year. Lee also played for CIA Bounce AAU on the

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, also known as Nike EYBL, or simply EYBL, is a basketball circuit for teams of players aged 17 and under. The circuit was founded in 2010 and is composed of AAU travel teams. Both boys and girls play in the ...

(EYBL) circuit. The father of one of Lee's AAU teammates, former basketball player Cordell Llewellyn, contacted the recruiting coordinator and associate head coach at Princeton, Brett MacConnell, recommending that he take a look at Lee. The Princeton staff later had the chance to see him play during a trip he made to the United States with his high school and AAU teams in between his junior and senior seasons. "I remember texting Brett after the game and I was like, 'Oh my God. We need him right now,'" said Princeton head coach

Mitch Henderson Mitchell Gordon Henderson (born August 14, 1975) is an American college basketball coach, currently serving as head coach for the Princeton Tigers men's basketball team. Before taking the Princeton job in 2011, he served as an assistant for the ...

. "He had all the stuff — everything you see now was there: the way he would flow through the game and his ability to make things look simple and easy. The passing, the shooting, it was all there."

College career

As a freshman during the 2022–23 season, Lee made an immediate impact as a rotation player off the bench. In his freshman season, he appeared in 32 games averaging 4.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists, helping Princeton reach the Sweet Sixteen. He began the following season averaging 19.5 points per game, leading Princeton to a 9–1 record through their first ten games, the school's best start in a century. In the conference opener against Harvard, he scored a career-high 33 points, in addition to eight rebounds, seven assists, and two steals, being named conference player of the week for his performance. On April 5, 2024, Lee declared for the

2024 NBA draft The 2024 NBA draft was the 78th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft. Unlike recent years, the 2024 draft took place over two nights. This was the first NBA draft to be held on multiple nights since the draft ...

, while retaining his college eligibility.

National team career

Lee participated in the 2023 FIBA U-19 World Cup in

Debrecen, Hungary Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century ...

, representing the

Canada men's national under-19 basketball team The Canadian men's national under-19 basketball team represents Canada in international under-18 and under-19 (under age 18 and under age 19) basketball competitions. They are overseen by Canada Basketball, the governing body for basketball in Ca ...

. He averaged a team-high 14.1 points to go along with 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, helping lead Canada to a seventh-place finish.

Career statistics

College

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, style="text-align:left;",

, , 32 , , 0 , , 13.4 , , .376 , , .232 , , .804 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , .5 , , .1 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;",

, , 29 , , 29 , , 31.2 , , .451 , , .338 , , .798 , , 5.7 , , 3.7 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 17.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2024–25 , style="text-align:left;",

, , 30 , , 30 , , 32.1 , , .439 , , .366 , , .789 , , 6.1 , , 5.5 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , 16.9

Personal life

Lee was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, and he is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada. He is of South Korean descent.

References

External links

Princeton Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Xaivian 2004 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Canadian sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from Toronto Canadian men's basketball players Canadian sportspeople of Korean descent People with multiple citizenship Point guards Princeton Tigers men's basketball players