Butch Lee
First Puerto Rican NBA player and NCAA champion.
via Wikipedia: Butch Lee · see source
Alfred "Butch" Lee Jr., born December 5, 1956, is a former professional basketball player from Puerto Rico. He became the first Puerto Rican and first Latin American-born player in the NBA when the Atlanta Hawks selected him in the first round of the 1978 draft. Lee is the only Puerto Rican pro to win titles in the NCAA, NBA, and BSN. He also represented Puerto Rico’s national team.
Quick Facts
- Born
- 5 December 1956
- Birthplace
- Santurce, Puerto Rico
- High school
- DeWitt Clinton (The Bronx, New York)
- College
- Marquette (1974–1978)
- Draft round
- 1
- Draft pick
- 10
- Drafted by
- Atlanta Hawks
- Career number
- 15
Facts from the source article.
Playing career
Butch Lee was born in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico to Gloria and Alfred Lee Sr. His family moved to Harlem, New York, when he was a young child. There he became a 1st Team, PSAL All City basketball player and honor student at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. Lee accepted an offer to play for Marquette University, starring there from 1974 to 1978. In 1974, Lee asked his coach Al McGuire to allow him to play for the United States Olympic basketball team, but McGuire sent someone else. Lee went to Puerto Rico and qualified for the Puerto Rican national team. When Puerto Rico played against the U.S. in the 1976 Summer Olympics, Lee made 15 out of 18 field goals and scored 35 points, though the U.S. won 95–94. In 1977, Lee led Marquette to the Final Four in what McGuire announced would be his final season. The Warriors defeated UNC-Charlotte 51–49 in the semifinal when Lee found Jerome Whitehead with a length-of-the-court pass for a score just before the buzzer. In the final against North Carolina, Lee scored 19 points and led a come-from-behind 67–59 victory for the national championship, earning tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. Lee became the first Puerto Rican player in the NBA when the Atlanta Hawks chose him in the first round of the 1978 draft. In his first season (1978-79), he averaged 7.7 points per game in 49 games with the Hawks, then was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he averaged 11.5 points in 33 games. He finished the season averaging 9.6 points per game and led the league in games played with 82. After three games with the Cavs in 1979-80, Lee suffered a knee injury requiring surgery. He was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, playing 11 games alongside Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar before the injury recurred, forcing his retirement. He won an NBA championship ring as the Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers in the Finals.
Coaching career
Lee, who is fluent in Spanish, returned to Puerto Rico after his NBA career. He became a well-known and respected head coach with multiple BSN teams. In 1992, he led the Capitanes de Arecibo to the BSN Finals, where they lost to the Leones de Ponce in 6 games. He also coached Aguadilla, Ponce, and the Gigantes de Carolina. In January 2009, he was announced as the new coach of the Cangrejeros de Santurce, but was dismissed during the playoffs after Santurce lost two games in a row. He continued to help out with teams and coached some at the Guaynabo Basketball Academy.
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