Ron Lee

Ronald Henry Lee (born November 2, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player who played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of Oregon, and epitomized the "Kamikaze Kids" under coach Dick Harter with his all-out, fearless hustle and relentless desire to win. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Lee played four seasons for the Ducks between 1972 and 1976. The Phoenix Suns made him the tenth selection in the NBA draft in 1976. Despite not playing football in high school and college, the NFL's San Diego Chargers also made him a 12th round selection in the 1976 NFL draft.^[1] In the NBA, Lee was named to the 1977 NBA All-Rookie Team and led the NBA in steals the following season.

Lee is still the all-time leading scorer for the University of Oregon with 2,085 points in his four seasons of play. He ranks second in career assists with 572, first in field goals (838), and fifth in free throws made (409). He was first-team All-Pac-8 in all four seasons with the Ducks, and made numerous All-American lists during his final three seasons. Lee was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.

After ending his NBA career, Lee played for 3 years in Italy.^[2]

Personal life

Ron is younger brother of Russ Lee, former All-American basketball player at Marshall University and sixth overall pick in the 1972 NBA draft. Ron has another brother who played basketball at Marshall named Eugene.^[3] A third brother, Gerald Lee Sr., played at Dowling College and then professionally in Finland (all-time leading scorer in Finland pro basketball). His nephew is the Finnish international player Gerald Lee.^[4]

Career statistics

NBA

Source^[5]

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 82 || || 22.5 || .441 || || .676 || 3.6 || 3.2 || 1.9 || .4 || 10.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 82 || || 23.5 || .439 || || .746 || 3.1 || 3.7 || style="background:#cfecec;"|2.7* || .2 || 12.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 43 || || 22.0 || .452 || || .712 || 2.6 || 3.1 || 1.6 || .1 || 9.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans | 17 || || 23.4 || .363 || || .649 || 3.2 || 4.3 || 2.2 || .1 || 6.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta | 30 || || 12.1 || .319 || .000 || .529 || 1.1 || 2.2 || .5 || .1 || 2.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Detroit | 31 || || 25.9 || .393 || .393 || .660 || 2.9 || 5.6 || 2.7 || .4 || 7.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Detroit | 82 || || 22.3 || .350 || .154 || .724 || 2.7 || 4.4 || 2.0 || .4 || 4.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Detroit | 81 || 7 || 18.1 || .358 || .305 || .706 || 1.9 || 3.9 || 1.4 || .2 || 3.4 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 448 || 7 || 21.4 || .416 || .321 || .705 || 2.7 || 3.8 || 1.9 || .3 || 7.3

Playoffs

References

1. ^ 1976 NFL Draft Choices Pro-Football-Reference.com.
2. ^ "Where in the World is Ron Lee?". NBA.com
3. ^ Dominion loaded with confidence with Gerald Lee
4. ^ ODU sports
5. ^ "Ron Lee NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 4 May 2025.