'Wow': Damion Lee receives championship ring, plays big in Phoenix Suns win over Golden State Warriors

DENVER – The only thing Damion Lee didn’t get in his return to the Bay Area night Tuesday was a pregame nap.

He shared hugs and smiles with former Golden State Warriors teammates and staff.

He received a video tribute, his NBA championship ring from his brother-in-law, Stephen Curry, and a resounding ovation from a sellout crowd of 18,064 at Chase Center in San Francisco.

After that special moment, Lee delivered 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists in Phoenix’s much-needed 125-113 victory over his former team to snap a season-worst six-game losing skid.

“It was a special night all the way around,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “To come back here, get your championship ring and have your family (present). Sydel (Curry-Lee) was out there with their child, and they had family, I’m sure, in the stands. For him to be able to come back here, get a ring, play well, and win the game, that’s a trifecta if I ever heard of one.”

After the game, Lee, sporting black shades, took his championship bling ring out of its shiny black and red case, put it on, and took pictures while kissing it.

“Wow,” Lee said while admiring the ring. “Wow.”

Here’s a recap of Lee’s special day starting with the morning shootaround at Golden State’s old practice facility in Oakland and ending with him receiving the game ball and taking in a night he’ll never forget.

10:40 a.m. Tuesday, Pacific time: Shootaround

Lee was back in familiar surroundings at the practice facility where he put in long hours as recent as this past summer thanks to Jeff Addiego, senior director of Warriors Basketball Academy.

“He really let me in here all summer to come in and work out,” he said. “When I really didn’t have a place to work out, obviously Chase, I couldn’t go there, but I would come in here every single day to work out. We’d used Shoot360 machines, we’d do all that stuff.”

Lee said he’d have workouts as early as 6 a.m. or as late as 10 p.m. at the facility that’s inside a hotel.

“Anytime I was out here in the Bay, working out here,” Lee added. “Just trying to find some time. Just trying to find some quiet hours to get back to a place of solace.”

Lee put up a variety of shots with Suns assistant Patrick Mutombo, who also is his player development coach, after shootaround.

Threes. Floaters. Free throws.

Lee has had Jan. 10 marked down since the NBA released its 2022-23 schedule this past summer.

That day had finally arrived.

“I’m excited,” Lee said. “This is something when you’re a little kid, you dream of playing at the highest level. To play at the highest level for the past five years. To be with a such an amazing organization as Golden State.”

Having played college ball at Drexel and Louisville, Lee began his NBA career on a 10-day contract with Atlanta in March 2018 more than a year after being waived by Boston in October 2016.

That was the first of two 10-day contracts Lee signed with the Hawks. He then joined the Warriors on a two-way deal July 2018 and signed another two-way deal with them July 2019.

Lee spent considerable time with Golden State’s G League team, but he started 36 games for the Warriors in the 2019-20 season when he averaged a career-high 12.7 points. The Warriors converted Lee's two-way deal to a regular contract in January 2020.

Lee said he got fitted for a ring the week after Golden State won it all in June.

“Everybody’s been telling me it’s crazy,” Lee said. “It’s nice.”

Lee said has talked with his former teammates Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Gary Payton Jr., Klay Thompson, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Curry and “everyone” on the team about the championship hardware.

“They’re like, ‘Yeah bro, this is your day, soak it in. Enjoy it all,’” Lee said “That’s really what it’s about. Love to win the game, that’s first and foremost, but my journey, man. To get here is nothing but God and perseverance. To have this ring is going to mean a lot. It’s going to mean a lot. Trying not to cry.”

5 p.m.: Pregame workout, head coaches talk Lee

Lee and Mutombo were once again working together in preparation for the game at Chase Center.

The two went over film sitting side-by-side on the sideline. Then they took the court as Mutombo was putting a hand up while Lee was shooting corner 3s.

Fifteen minutes later, Warriors coach Steve Kerr did his pregame media availability and was more than happy to talk about his former player.

“Damion is a special guy,” Kerr said. “When you look at his journey to get to the NBA and now to have the success that he’s having, winning a championship with us, and now going to Phoenix and becoming one of the best 3-point shooters in the league, and a really valuable role player off their bench. We couldn’t be happier for Dame and his family."

Lee was averaging 8.6 points and leading the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage at a career-best 47.7% going into Wednesday’s game at Denver.

“Tonight will be special,” Kerr continued. “I'm really excited to see him get his ring and to hear the ovation that he gets because he played a key role for us last year not only on the court, but just his character, his commitment to the team. He was a wonderful guy to coach."

Fifteen or so minutes later, Williams was asked during his pregame availability about Lee receiving his ring.

With Phoenix having lost nine of its last 10 games entering Tuesday’s matchup, Williams was thinking about much more than Lee’s upcoming moment.

“I think it’s really cool for him, but I haven’t thought much about it cause we’re trying to win the game, but just sitting here and watching him interact with everybody,” he said.

Then Williams had jokes.

“I knew it was a special night for him because he had on sunshades coming into the arena,” Williams said with a straight face. “So, I was like, must be cool, must be getting his ring because it’s been raining all day and it’s dark in the back and he has on sunglasses. So, he must be getting a championship ring.”

Then Williams posed a question to the media or anyone else who was present.

“Anybody figure that out why guys walk into the arenas with sunglasses on?” he asked.

A reporter asked if guys did that when he played.

“Next question,” Williams responded.

7 p.m.: Game time, ring presentation

After the starting lineups were introduced for both teams, Lee essentially went up and down the sidelines with his purple Suns warmup jacket unzipped.

Can’t blame him if he was a tad bit warm.

Lee had just finished a workout about 30 minutes earlier in an open area right outside the visiting locker room.

He eventually went to the opposite baseline again, got his wife and son, and started heading back to the opposite end of the court.

As he started heading down, Lee hugged Warriors team owner Joe Lacob.

Once Lee made his way back to the Suns bench, the Warriors started playing a video tribute of Lee that ended with him holding the NBA championship trophy.

The crowd started cheering and his brother-in-law, Curry, started making his way to center court with a microphone in one hand and Lee’s ring in the other.

Lee then walked up beside him holding his son.

“We want to welcome our brother Damion Lee back,” Curry said to the crowd. “Four amazing years with the Golden State Warriors. I know he has a lot of amazing years left in this league, but he’s always Dub Nation, he’s always family. Congratulations brother. You’re a champ.”

Curry handed Lee the ring, the two hugged and Lee put on the ring.

Lee then kissed his son, flashed the ring as Curry urged the crowd to cheer by waving his hand.

They gladly obliged.

The Suns and Warriors players and coaches were standing on opposite ends applauding with the crowd.

First half: Fast start

Lee checked into the game with 5:09 remaining in the first quarter and Phoenix leading by a point.

He changed that score in a hurry.

Locked in early, Lee scored eight points in the quarter on 3-of-3 shooting, hitting a pair of 3s to help the Suns build a 31-26 lead after one.

Brother-in-law wasn’t feeling that.

“He played extremely well tonight,” Curry said. “I don’t like to see it at all.”

Curry’s video reaction to Lee hitting the game winner to beat Dallas in Phoenix’s season opener went viral.

No more cheers from here on out, but it’s always all love between those two.

“I did enough cheerleading for D-Lee,” Curry said. “I am proud of him the way he’s played throughout the year. Everybody I talked to in the Suns organization speak so highly of who he is as a person and who he is as a player. For what he does for the locker room and for how he’s playing on the court. Shooting the ball at an extremely high level. You hate to see it against our team.”

Lee has connected on 74-of-155 shots from 3 this season.

Maybe he should be in this year’s 3-point contest during NBA All-Star weekend next month in Utah.

Curry, the greatest shooter ever, believes so.

“Oh, for sure,” Curry said. “Usually, you want the guys shooting the highest percentage and whatever that volume question is. I think he qualifies for sure.”

Lee finished the first half with 14 points as Phoenix led, 59-45, at the break.

Secod half: Free throws

Phoenix led by as many as 27 points late in the third quarter, but Golden State pulled within six with after Poole’s 3 with 1:28 remaining in the game.

Curry started the sequence Poole ended with deep one by stealing the ball from Lee.

Timeout Phoenix.

The Suns came out of the timeout and Curry fouled Lee, who tracked down a jump ball Torrey Craig won over Donte DiVincenzo.

Lee proceeded to go 6-of-6 from the line in the final minute and 13 seconds to help Phoenix hold off Golden State.

Shooting a career-best 94.9% from the line this season, Lee finished Tuesday’s game a perfect 14-of-14 on free throws.

After receiving congrats from all over, Lee was the last one to enter the locker room as he received the game ball.

“Congrats to D-Lee for getting his ring, coming back to his old team and getting it done,” Suns guard Duane Washington Jr. said. “Very happy for him and us. Just going to keep pushing. Got another one tomorrow.”

Williams said the team gave Lee “his flowers,” but his mind too has shifted to the next one.

“For me, let’s get on the plane and let’s go play Denver,” he said.

Williams can’t blame Lee if he was still riding high on the flight from San Francisco to Denver.

It’s a night he’ll never forget.

“It was amazing man,” Lee said. “Like I said before, just like the journey of making it to the NBA, everything it took, hard work, Daily Deposit Crew. Just like the grind of just like making it here made today a special day. I told my family and friends like when I woke up, I was nervous. I couldn’t even get a pregame nap, nothing. But it was like nothing is going to ruin today. Nothing. So just try to be present, try to soak it all in, and I mean we got the win, which is obviously most important, but like most, most important was seeing (the ring) in real life. It is real.”

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Damion Lee receives championship ring, helps Phoenix Suns top Warriors