Former Florida basketball guard Xaivian Lee participated in the NBA Summer League held in Las Vegas this month, appearing in five games with the Cleveland Cavaliers with mixed results.
The 6-foot-3-inch, 177-pound Lee, who was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract after failing to hear his name called during the 2026 NBA Draft back in June, came off the bench in four of his five appearances this summer.
He started off slowly in the opening game against the Indiana Pacers — a team he had a pre-draft workout with — scoring just a pair of points on 1-for-6 shooting, including an 0-for-3 mark from beyond the arc. He also grabbed a rebound and an assist while finishing the game with the second-worst plus/minus on the team (minus-16) in 13 minutes of play.
In Lee’s next game against the Detroit Pistons, the former Gator took a step forward, notching five points on 2-for-3 shooting — including 1-for-2 from 3-point range — along with two assists and a steal in just nine minutes on the court. He was the Cavs’ only bench player with a positive plus-minus (plus-1) that day.
The Toronto, Ontario, native once again saw gains in his third game of the season against the Miami Heat, scoring a bench-high eight points on 3-of-5 shooting — but missed both 3-point attempts — grabbing three rebounds and dishing out three assists along with a steal in just 14 minutes of action. Lee finished the game with a plus-4 point value while on the court.
Lee got his only start in the penultimate game of the campaign against the New Orleans Pelicans, recording seven points on 2-for-10 shooting, missing all three of his 3-point attempts, while adding three rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block in 29 minutes of action. He recorded a team-worst minus-9 on the court that night for Cleveland.
In the final consolation game against the Chicago Bulls, Lee finally cracked the double-digit mark with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field, including a 2-for-4 effort from beyond the arc, while adding a trio of rebounds and assists. He finished the contest with a team-high plus-13 in 16 minutes on the court.
Across those five summer league games, Lee averaged 6.4 points per game on 40.0% shooting from the field overall but just 21.4% from beyond the arc, while shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from the free-throw line. He also averaged two rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.2 blocks in 16 minutes per game, finishing the season with a plus-minus value of minus-1.
It is unclear if Lee’s results will be good enough to get some playing time during the 2026 NBA preseason, which runs from early to mid-October. Cleveland’s preseason schedule is still incomplete, but so far it includes a matchup with the Orlando Magic at the Kia Center on Oct. 13.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Here’s how former Gator Xaivian Lee performed in the NBA Summer League
Reporting by Adam Dubbin, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Adam Dubbin, Gators Wire | USA TODAY Network
