TORONTO — When Xaivian Lee was playing high school basketball in Toronto just a few years back, he could never have dreamed of this.
In fairness, no one else could either.
Oh, Lee could always see himself as a rising college star with the NBA potentially in his future.
Self-belief has never been a problem for the dynamic combo guard, who will be anchoring the lineup for Canada’s men’s team at the third edition of GLOBL JAM this week. The U23 event pits Canada’s men’s and women’s teams against entries from the U.S., Brazil and Japan at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on the campus of Toronto Metropolitan University starting Wednesday night and running through Sunday. Canada’s women and men host their counterparts from Brazil at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET, respectively, on Wednesday.
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GLOBL JAM on Sportsnet
Top Canadian under-23 players are set to square off against international counterparts at GLOBL JAM this week in Toronto. Catch all of Canada’s games, along with the men’s and women’s final on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
It’s just that for Lee, it took the rest of the basketball world a while to catch on to the idea that a (then) undersized Korean-Canadian playing for an elite private school in north Toronto could be at the stage he is now — as one of the most recognized players in U.S. college basketball, with the NBA as his next potential step.
“Honestly, when I was in high school, I really wanted to blow up, kind of, and be posted on like, SLAM and Overtime, all that stuff,” Lee said in an interview Tuesday.
“Like, when I was a kid, I always felt like I was very overlooked in that regard. I wasn’t getting any media attention and stuff. But in terms of my skill set and me as a player, I always believed that I was going to be one of the best, regardless of being overlooked or not publicized or whatever. So in terms of, like, getting to where I am as a player, I always believed I could do that. But all the attention and stuff that that’s come with it is — obviously — amazing to see.”
Hey, nice story: underdog makes good.
But that’s not the part that no one could have predicted. The odds may have been long, but Lee was always good. He hit a growth spurt during COVID, topping out at six-foot-three, and was always an effective player on the AAU circuit. He played for Canada’s U19 team at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and led it in scoring.
But what no one could have predicted was that after starring for the Princeton Tigers in the Ivy League — not exactly a hotbed for professional basketball talent — Lee would spurn NBA opportunities to return to college, this time to play his senior season at the University of Florida, the defending NCAA champions.
Skip the NBA for college?
It’s a twist no one could have predicted because when Lee was working on his game in high school and had his recruiting set back by the pandemic before eventually landing at Princeton, no one fully understood that college sports were on the verge of the NIL revolution, where college athletes could profit from their name, image and likeness without compromising their NCAA eligibility.
The new rules — or lack thereof — have been in place for four seasons and have had a profound effect on high-revenue sports like basketball and at high-profile schools like Florida.
For Lee, it meant — incredibly — that it made more financial sense for him to transfer to Florida for his senior season than to test the waters in the NBA draft, where players in his draft range (mid-second round or lower) often are only promised a two-way deal paying them just $636,435 for the 2025-26 season.
According to on3.com, between Lee’s roster deal with the Gators and the multi-year shoe deal he signed with Serious Players Only, an Asian-based start-up sneaker brand, Lee could earn $6 million this season playing for Florida, with — according to sources — $2 million of that coming from the Gators.
For comparison, Collin Murray-Boyles, drafted ninth overall by the Toronto Raptors in June, will earn $6.3 million this season, although the former University of South Carolina star has a second year guaranteed at $6.65 million.
No wonder the kid who grew up watching the Raptors and idolized former Raptors guard Fred VanVleet figured that the NBA could wait, even if it’s a bit brain-bending to think about.
“Yeah, it’s crazy, honestly. I mean, it’s a blessing, to be in (this) position,” Lee said. “Last year, going through the (draft) process, and this spring, going through the transfer process, those were probably the hardest decisions I’ve had to make in my life, and I was very stressed about all that, but I just told myself to have perspective, because these are all problems that I couldn’t have even dreamt of when I was in Grade 10 or 11 at Crescent, during COVID. I’ve just tried to make the best decision, but it’s definitely cool and I try and keep that perspective.”
The financial benefits or attending Florida aside, the 21-year made the choice to transfer while just one year short of his Ivy League degree with his basketball future in mind.
“Obviously, the climate of college basketball is ridiculous nowadays,” he said. “(And) the money is nice, but that really wasn’t on my priority list at all. I want to be the best basketball player I can possibly be, that’s my No. 1 goal right now in life. And I thought Florida was the best way to achieve that, and the best next step for me.”
He’s got a believer in U23 head coach Dave Smart, the legendary former Carleton University head coach who is entering his third season coaching at the NCAA Division 1 level — first as an assistant at Texas Tech and now as a head coach at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif.
“I just think he’s an example of how — with the combination of hard work, determination and intelligence — how far you can go in this game, or any game, with those three things, right?” said Smart, who is returning to the national-team program after previously working as an assistant coach with former head coach Jay Triano.
“I mean, he’s not a bad athlete, but compared to the guys he outplays on a daily basis, he’s not a great athlete. But he outplays them because his skill set is so high, because of his work ethic and his determination. He doesn’t pout, he focuses on the next play and that’s how obviously he trains. And then his intelligence level allows him to take advantage of his skills.”
Lee is hoping his year at Florida will help lift his NBA draft stock into first-round territory. He expects to have a more clearly defined role as a point guard who can score, rather than as a scorer who can play point, which is the role he played during his last two all-conference seasons at Princeton, where he averaged 17.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
“My entire life, I’ve been a score-first point guard, score-first combo guard, honestly, and, like, now I’m developing more into a point-guard type of role,” he said. “This year at Florida, people are really going to see my ability to play-make and pass. I think people know I can score, and I’m sure I can continue to score. So I’m working on being a floor general. I’m a little soft spoken, I’m not too extroverted, so I’m trying to really be more of a leader because at the next level, I kind of see myself being in that role (and) I think my passing, people are gonna see it this year.”
It will start at GLOBL JAM, an event that Lee was eager to play in to get high-quality live reps against competition similar to what he’ll face in the SEC with Florida this season, along with the rare opportunity to play for Canada and in his hometown.
It’s a dream come true. In the meantime, Lee can — in a literal sense — afford to keep the NBA waiting, something not even he would have dreamed of not all that long ago.
