Lee Nailon (born February 22, 1975) is an American professional basketball player who played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the 2007 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP. In 2011, he was the top scorer in the Israel Basketball Premier League. He had an All-American college career at Texas Christian University. In 2022, Lee Nailon became the head basketball coach for Carbondale Community High School in Carbondale, Illinois.

Lee Nailon
Personal information
Born (1975-02-22) February 22, 1975 (age 49)
South Bend, Indiana, U. S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolClay (South Bend, Indiana)
College
  • Southeastern Iowa CC (1995–1996)
  • Butler CC (1996–1997)
  • TCU (1997–1999)
NBA draft1999: 2nd round, 43rd overall pick
Selected by the Charlotte Hornets
Playing career1999–2014
PositionPower forward / small forward
Number54, 4, 33
Career history
1999–2000Adecco Milano
20002002Charlotte Hornets
2002–2003New York Knicks
2003Atlanta Hawks
2004Orlando Magic
2004Cleveland Cavaliers
2004–2005New Orleans Hornets
2005–2006Philadelphia 76ers
2006–2007Bnei HaSharon
2007–2008Lokomotiv Novosibirsk
2008–2009Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
2009Leones de Ponce
2010Piratas de Quebradillas
2010–2011Bnei HaSharon
2011Atomerőmű SE
2012Panteras de Aguascalientes
2012Goyang Orions
2012–2013Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca
2013–2014Panteras de Aguascalientes
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points2,622 (8.6 ppg)
Rebounds936 (3.1 rpg)
Assists298 (1.0 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

High school career

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Nailon was a graduate of South Bend Clay High School where, along with sophomore and former Purdue player, Jaraan Cornell, the two led the Colonials to capture the 1994 Indiana State Championship title, scoring a combined 46 points.

College career

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Nailon started his college career playing one year at Southeastern CC (Iowa) before transferring to Butler County CC (Kansas) for his sophomore year then finishing his career playing his final two years (1997–1999) at Texas Christian University where he averaged 23.9 points and 9.1 rebounds, earning first-team WAC All-Conference honors both seasons.

Professional career

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Nailon was a second round (43rd overall) pick of the Charlotte Hornets in the 1999 NBA draft. He has played for the Hornets (in separate stints for both Charlotte and New Orleans franchises in 2000 to 2002 and 2004–05 respectively), the New York Knicks (2002–03), Atlanta Hawks (2003–04), Orlando Magic (2003–04), Cleveland Cavaliers (2003–04) and Philadelphia 76ers (2005–06). Nailon feuded with coach Paul Silas while at Charlotte over minutes played which led to him being released and leaving for the Knicks. Nailon got into multiple confrontations with Silas during a preseason game in 2002 which led to his dismissal.[1] Nailon was recommended to play for the Knicks in a phone call then coach Don Chaney made to Silas.[1] While playing for the Knicks Nailon was frustrated over lack of playing time.[2][3] He holds NBA career averages of 8.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. His international experience includes playing for Adecco Milano in Italy (1999-00), Bnei HaSharon in Israel (2006–07; 2010–11), Lokomotiv Novosibirsk in Russia (2007–08), Al-Riyadi in Lebanon, Leones de Ponce (2009) and Piratas de Quebradillas in Puerto Rico (2010).

In the 2006–07 season, Nailon led Bnei HaSharon to the Israeli Cup final, shocking the champions, Maccabi Tel Aviv, in the semifinal (eventually losing to Hapoel Jerusalem in the final). He was named the 2007 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP.

Nailon re-signed with Bnei HaSharon on August 1, 2010.[4] In 2011, he was the top scorer in the Israel Basketball Premier League.

In 2018, Nailon was drafted 6th overall by the Ghost Ballers of the United States–based BIG3.[5]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2000-01 Charlotte 42 0 11.2 .485 .000 .744 2.2 .6 .21 .12 3.9
2001-02 Charlotte 79 41 24.2 .483 .500 .747 3.7 1.2 .75 .22 10.8
2002-03 New York 38 0 10.7 .442 .000 .824 1.8 .7 .16 .08 5.5
2003-04 Atlanta 27 0 11.1 .457 .000 .842 2.3 .6 .37 .26 5.3
2003-04 Orlando 8 0 10.4 .407 .000 .778 1.8 .5 .13 .00 3.6
2003-04 Cleveland 22 4 18.0 .451 .000 .800 3.0 .8 .18 .05 7.7
2004-05 New Orleans 68 51 29.7 .478 .000 .806 4.4 1.6 .53 .24 14.2
2005-06 Philadelphia 22 0 10.8 .500 .000 .867 1.9 .3 .36 .18 4.2
Career 306 96 19.0 .474 .111 .786 3.1 1.0 .43 .10 8.6

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002 Charlotte 9 1 17.8 .458 .000 .789 2.7 .7 .3 .0 7.7

References

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  1. ^ a b Vecsey, Peter (November 8, 2002). "Why Silas Hammered Nailon; Pair Almost Came to Blows During Preseason Game".
  2. ^ Price-Brown, Laura (November 21, 2002). "Nailon Tries To Get Past His Past". Newsday.
  3. ^ Borden, Sam. "For Nailon, Half a Wish". nydailynews.com.
  4. ^ Israeli - Men Basketball. Retrieved on August 1, 2010.
  5. ^ "Lee Nailon – BIG3". BIG3. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
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