Damion Lee Nails Difficult Game-Winner in Season-Opener vs. Mavericks

The former Louisville men's basketball guard lifted the Suns over the Mavericks thanks to an improbable game-winning shot.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Former Louisville men’s basketball standout Damion Lee took a little but of a gamble this offseason. After spending the previous four years of his career with the Golden State Warriors playing alongside his brother-in-law in Steph Curry, Lee bet on himself, eventually signing with the Phoenix Suns in free agency.

Lee didn't waste any time making an impact for his new team, playing a critical role in the Suns' 107-105 season-opening win over the Dallas Mavericks.

With the game tied at 105 and less than 20 seconds to go, Lee took a pass at the wing from Devin Booker, attempted to drive into the lane, but had Spencer Dinwiddie draped all over him. Pinned on the right baseline by Dinwiddie, Lee took an unbalanced jumper while falling to his right over his defender, and drained the go-ahead shot with 9.7 seconds left.

Damion Lee with the improbable off-balance game winner pic.twitter.com/cPIYMuAp0C

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) October 20, 2022

“Ball was in my hands, just go make a play,” Lee said, via the Associated Press. “I know people are giving me the credit with the game-winning shot, but this was a total team effort.”

Lee finished the game with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting and 3-of-5 on three-point attempts, along with two rebounds and two assists. His efforts off the bench helped the Suns rally from a 22-point deficit to Luka Doncic and the Mavs. Doncic led all scorers with 35, while Booker led the Suns with 28.

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound shooting guard signed a one-year, $2.1 million contract with Phoenix over the offseason. In 201 games and 42 starts for Golden State, Lee averaged 8.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. His best season as a pro came during the 2019-20 season, when he put up 12.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists over 49 games and 36 starts.

He played a minor role in helping the Warriors capture the 2022 NBA Championship, marking the second year in a row that a former Cardinal had won an NBA championship after Jordan Nwora won in 2021 with the Milwaukee Bucks. In 14 games during the 2022 NBA Playoffs, Lee averaged just 1.9 points over 8.3 minutes, though he did set a career playoff-high 10 points in game five of the Western Conference semifinals against the Memphis Grizzlies.

After going undrafted in 2016, Lee spent time with the Maine Red Claws & Santa Cruz Warriors before signing with the Atlanta Hawks towards the end of the 2017-18 season. He signed two way contracts with Golden State over the next two seasons, before inking a multi-year contract during the 2019-20 season. 

Lee joined Louisville for the 2015-16 season as a grad transfer from Drexel, where he was the nation's fourth-leading scorer the season before with 21.4 points per game. In his lone year as a Cardinal, he averaged 15.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, and was tabbed as a 2015-16 All-ACC Second Team selection.

(Photo of

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter