NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Former Vanderbilt basketball standout Saben Lee was selected 38th overall Wednesday with the eighth pick in the second round of the NBA Draft and will reportedly head to the Detroit Pistons.
The Utah Jazz had the 38th pick with a pending trade to Detroit.
Lee joins teammate Aaron Nesmith, who was drafted 14th overall by the Boston Celtics, as the latest Commodores in the NBA, along with Darius Garland (Cleveland), Damian Jones (Atlanta) and Luke Kornet (Chicago). Vanderbilt last had two players selected in the same draft in 2016 when Jones was taken by Golden State and Wade Baldwin IV was chosen by Memphis
Lee, a 6-foot-2 guard from Phoenix, Arizona, was a second-team All-SEC selection after he led the Commodores in scoring with 18.6 points per game last season. In 32 games and 17 starts, Lee scored 30 or more points four times, including a career-high 38-point performance in a win at Alabama.
His 38 points tied for the eighth-highest by a Commodore in a single game and was the second-most by a Vanderbilt player in a road game (Clyde Lee at Kentucky, 41 points, Jan. 2, 1965).
Lee’s four 30-point games in 2019-20 tied for the second-most in a season by a Vanderbilt player with Tom Hagan (1968-69), Shan Foster (2007-08), Matt Freije (2003-04) and Clyde Lee (1964-65; 1965-66). Dan Langhi had five 30-point games in 1999-2000.
A four-star prospect from Corona del Sol High School, Lee finished his final collegiate season ranked fourth in the SEC in scoring (18.6), sixth in assists (4.2), eighth in field goal percentage (48.3%), second in free throws made (155), second in free throws attempted (206) and seventh in steals (1.53).
Overall, in three seasons and 96 career games at Vanderbilt, Lee scored 1,338 points, including 594 as a junior which ranks 10th all-time in a season in school history. As a sophomore, he was one of seven major conference underclassmen with 400+ points, 100+ rebounds and 100+ assists.
