Five things to know about Charles Lee
The Oklahoman is highlighting one Thunder head coaching candidate per day as the search for Billy Donovan's replacement continues.
Here are five things you need to know about Charles Lee:
Bucknell star
Oklahoma City basketball f ans might not remember Lee, but they certainly remember Lee's team.
In a 2005 stunner at the Ford Center, No. 14 seed Bucknell topped No .3 seed Kansas 64-63 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Lee, a 6-foot-4 guard, was a junior captain for the Bis on. He scored 15 points and had eight rebounds in the unforgettable upset of the Jayhawks.
Lee was named Patriot League Player of the Year in 2006, his senior season, and he guided Buck ne ll to another NCAA Tournament berth. This time as a No. 9 seed, Buck ne ll beat Arkansas in the first round.
Lee was inducted into the Bucknell Hall of Fame in 2017.
Professional career
Lee earned a spot on the Spurs' summer league roster in 2006, when Sam Presti was San Antonio's assistant general manager.
Lee was waived just before the 2006-07 season, but he received another summer league invite from the Spurs in 2007.
He retired in 2010 after playing professionally in Belgium, Germany and Israel.
Wall Street
Lee graduated from Bucknell, a small liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, with a degree in business management.
Following his playing days, Lee used that degree to land a job on Wall Street. He worked two years as an equities trader for Bank of America.
Coincidentally, Donovan also worked on Wall Street between his playing and coaching careers.
Path to NBA
Lee, who grew up i n Gaithersburg, Maryland, returned to Buck ne ll in 2012 as an assistant coach.
The Bison went 28- 6 in Lee' s first season. They were led by Patriot League Player of the Year Mike Mus cal a, who' s now with the Thunder.
Lee got his NBA break in 2014 when Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer offered Lee an assistant coaching job.
Lee and Budenholzer, a longtime San Antonio assistant, had connected eight years earlier when Lee played for the Spurs in summer league.
Future head coach
The Hawks, with Muscala a nd Thunder guard Dennis Schröder, won 60 games in Lee's first season on staff.
When Budenholzer left Atlanta for Milwaukee in 2018, he brought Lee with him. Lee has spent the last two seasons with the Bucks after four seasons with the Hawks.
Lee ,35, is seen as a future head coach. He's been considered for the Pace rs job, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.