South Korean guard Lee Hyun-jung scored a Summer League career-high 22 points Thursday, topping the 20-point mark for the first time in the NBA's annual offseason showcase for rookies and young players.Playing for the San Antonio Spurs, Lee scored 22 points in 22 minutes, 27 seconds to help his team beat the Utah Jazz 94-82 at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. His previous Summer League high was 12 points against the Milwaukee Bucks two days earlier. Only teammate Jacobi Gillespie, who had 25 points, finished with more.More encouraging was Lee's return to form from 3-point range. He made four of seven attempts from beyond the arc, good for 57.1 percent. Known as one of South Korea's top outside shooters for both the national team and his club teams, Lee had entered the game mired in a shooting slump, making just four of his previous 26 attempts from 3-point range, or 15.4 percent. His improved shooting helped San Antonio pull away for the win.Lee is the son of Sung Jung-a, a member of South Korea's silver medal-winning women's basketball team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. After graduating from Samil Commercial High School in Suwon, he moved to the United States to play at Davidson College with hopes of reaching the NBA. He declared for the 2022 NBA Draft after three seasons at Davidson but was not selected.Lee went on to play in the NBA G League and Australia's National Basketball League with the Illawarra Hawks. Last season, he helped Nagasaki Velca win its first Japanese B.League title and was named playoff MVP. After signing with the Spurs on June 3, Lee is making another push to earn a spot in the NBA.
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