Lester Quiñones (born November 16, 2000) is a Dominican-American professional basketball player for the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. He attended St. Benedict's Preparatory School and played a postgraduate season at IMG Academy. He then played college basketball for the Memphis Tigers.
No. 25 – Santa Cruz Warriors | |
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Position | Shooting guard |
League | NBA G League |
Personal information | |
Born | (2000-11-16) November 16, 2000 (age 22) Brentwood, New York, U.S. |
Nationality | American / Dominican |
Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
Listed weight | 208 lb (94 kg) |
Career information | |
High school |
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College | Memphis (2019–2022) |
NBA draft | 2022 / Undrafted |
Playing career | 2022–present |
Career history | |
2022–present | Santa Cruz Warriors |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Stats ![]() | |
Stats ![]() | |
Quiñones grew up in Brentwood, New York and started playing basketball in sixth grade. In his first two years of high school, he attended Brentwood High School. As a junior, Quiñones transferred to Upper Room Christian School in Dix Hills, New York and averaged 19.3 points per game.[1] He was named to the 2017 Long Island Basketball honor roll.[2]
For his senior season, Quiñones moved to St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey. He joined a nationally ranked basketball program and became teammates with five-star recruit Precious Achiuwa.[3][4] On January 7, 2018, Quiñones scored a game-high 23 points in a win over Hudson Catholic Regional High School, the number one team in the NJ.com Top 20 poll.[5] He helped his team to a 28–2 record and a top 10 national ranking by MaxPreps.[6] In the summer, Quiñones played for New Heights alongside Achiuwa, averaging 15.2 points and 4.7 rebounds on the Under Armour Association (UAA) circuit.[7]
Entering the 2018–19 season, he transferred to IMG Academy, a prep school in Bradenton, Florida with a successful basketball program, joining the postgraduate team.[8] Quiñones averaged 24 points, nine rebounds, and six assists per game, shooting 38 percent on three-pointers.[9]
Quiñones finished his high school and postgraduate career as a consensus four-star recruit.[10] On May 10, 2019, he committed to play college basketball for Memphis under head coach Penny Hardaway. He had also strongly considered playing for Indiana.[11]
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
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Lester Quiñones SG |
Brentwood, NY | IMG Academy (FL) | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | May 10, 2019 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals:![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 48 247Sports: 51 ESPN: 82 | ||||||
Sources:
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With James Wiseman sitting out due to eligibility issues, Quiñones had his first double-double on November 16, 2019, recording 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 102–56 win over Alcorn State.[12] As a result, he was named American Athletic Conference freshman of the week on November 18.[13] Quiñones broke his right hand during a November 23 game against Ole Miss and missed three weeks.[14] At the conclusion of the regular season, Quiñones was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Freshman Team.[15] He averaged 10.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.[16] After his junior season, Quiñones announced his intentions to leave Memphis and enter the 2022 NBA Draft.
After going undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft, Quiñones signed a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors.[17] Quiñones debuted for the Warriors' 2022 NBA Summer League team in the NBA California Classic, scoring seven points, five rebounds, and two steals in a 68–86 loss to the Sacramento Kings.[18]
On October 24, 2022, Quiñones joined the Santa Cruz Warriors training camp roster.[19]
Quiñones is Dominican American and plays for the Dominican Republic national team.[1] He joined the under-18 team at the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship in St. Catharines, Ontario. In six games, Quiñones averaged 17.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game, leading his team to sixth place.[20] His best performance came in a loss to Puerto Rico, in which he recorded 31 points and seven three-pointers.[21]
Quiñones is of Dominican descent.
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 |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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2019–20 | Memphis | 26 | 23 | 29.4 | .402 | .313 | .804 | 3.8 | 2.2 | .8 | .1 | 10.7 |
2020–21 | Memphis | 28 | 28 | 26.3 | .432 | .400 | .672 | 5.8 | 1.9 | .9 | .2 | 9.5 |
2021–22 | Memphis | 33 | 30 | 27.2 | .449 | .390 | .750 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 1.2 | .1 | 10.0 |
Career | 87 | 81 | 27.6 | .429 | .369 | .752 | 4.3 | 1.8 | .9 | .1 | 10.1 |
Santa Cruz Warriors current roster | |
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