76ers Make Saben Lee Signing Official Before Hornets Matchup

Saben Lee has officially joined the 76ers.

The Philadelphia 76ers finalized their new roster acquisition on Wednesday night ahead of their matchup against the Charlotte Hornets. 

Shortly before the Sixers tipped off against the Hornets on Wednesday, Philadelphia’s President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey announced that the Sixers officially inked Saben Lee to a two-way contract.

In order to make room for Lee on the roster, the Sixers waived the undrafted rookie, Michael Foster Jr. Now, Lee is set to split time between the Sixers’ main roster and their NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats.

Prior to landing with the Sixers, Lee played with the Toronto Raptors’ G League affiliate, Raptors 905. In the Raptors’ first seven games of the G League season, Lee averaged 22 points and six assists while draining 56 percent of his shots.

Before Lee made it to the NBA, the St. Louis-born guard was playing college hoops at Vanderbilt. He spent three seasons in the NCAA, starting in 78 of the 96 games he appeared in. During his final season at Vandy, Lee averaged 19 points while draining 48 percent of his shots and 32 percent of his threes. 

Following his Junior year campaign, Lee entered the 2020 NBA Draft. Lee was a second-round selection by the Utah Jazz. Despite becoming Utah’s 38th overall pick, Lee was traded to the Detroit Pistons shortly after. As a rookie, Lee inked a two-way deal with the Pistons, splitting time on the main roster and in the G League with the Motor City Cruise. 

During the 2020-2021 season, Lee appeared in 48 games with the Pistons. During that time, he averaged six points while draining 47 percent of his shots and 35 percent of his threes. In his sophomore season with the Pistons, Lee averaged the same amount of points, with his shooting numbers taking a dip to just 39 percent from the field.

Over the offseason, Lee was traded back to the Jazz along with Kelly Olynyk in the deal that netted the Pistons Bojan Bogdanovic. Shortly after the deal was finalized, Lee was waived, which led him to join Raptors 905.

Now, Lee will join the Sixers. Considering Philadelphia lacks depth at the guard position at this time with James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, and Jaden Springer nursing injuries, the two-way signee could be on Philadelphia’s bench as soon as Friday when the Sixers take on the Orlando Magic on the road for a two-game stretch. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.