Lee goes sky high in return to United basketball

After a season away from Melbourne United, Marcus Lee quickly reminded fans why he is one of the most effective big-men in the entire NBL.

Coming off the bench on Saturday night, Lee injected instant energy into the content with his above the rim play at both ends.

In 22 minutes of action, Lee tallied 12 points, eight of which came on the back of pinpoint alley-oop passes from the likes of Shea Ili and Ian Clark.

The import big-man was also a menace on the boards, collecting 14 rebounds (10 defensive rebounds, four offensive rebounds), which helped Melbourne control the pace for much of the game. 

Speaking post-game, Head Coach Dean Vickerman said the performance was exactly what he was looking to see from Lee, while adding that the American is far from playing his peak basketball.

“We wanted him to be that lob threat,” Vickerman explained.

“How quickly he can get in and out of screens, I thought the patience of our guys to pick the right time to throw the lob to him (was great).

“One of the areas we really wanted to improve this year was our defensive rebounding and to see him crash the boards the way he did tonight (was pleasing).

“He’s only going to get better, he’s still a couple of weeks away from being 100% with pre-season so we’ll see another big upside from him.”

United fans will get their next opportunity to see Lee hit the court this coming Saturday at the NBL Blitz on the Gold Coast when they face the Cairns Taipans from 7:30pm. The game will be streamed live of Kayo.

With so much excitement ahead of NBL25, the time is now to lock in your seats to see United’s return to John Cain Arena.

The only way to make sure you don’t miss a second of United basketball during NBL25 is by securing a ticket today, or by standing United with us and becoming a member.

Multiple Full Season Memberships categories have already sold out. Limited Full Season memberships remain available, while our 3 & 5 Game Memberships have just gone on sale but are also selling fast. To find out more about our Membership options, click here.