# Lester Quiñones

Lester Quiñones (/kɪnˈjoʊnɛz/ kin-YOH-nez; born November 16, 2000) is a Dominican-American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Birmingham Squadron 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.

## Early life and high school career

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. He was named to the 2017 Long Island Basketball honor roll.
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. 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. He helped his team to a 28–2 record and a top 10 national ranking by MaxPreps. 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.
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. Quiñones averaged 24 points, nine rebounds, and six assists per game, shooting 38 percent on three-pointers.

### Recruiting

Quiñones finished his high school and postgraduate career as a consensus four-star recruit. 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.
College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Lester Quiñones SG | Brentwood, NY | IMG Academy (FL) | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | May 10, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 84 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 48 247Sports: 51 ESPN: 82 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Memphis 2019 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019. "2019 Memphis Tigers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 4, 2019. ||||||

## College career

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. As a result, he was named American Athletic Conference freshman of the week on November 18. Quiñones broke his right hand during a November 23 game against Ole Miss and missed three weeks. At the conclusion of the regular season, Quiñones was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Freshman Team. He averaged 10.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. After his junior season, Quiñones announced his intentions to leave Memphis and enter the NBA draft.

## Professional career
### Golden State / Santa Cruz Warriors (2022–2024)

After going undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft, Quiñones signed a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors on July 5, 2022. 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. He was waived by the Warriors on October 13.
On October 15, 2022, Quiñones signed with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. On February 25, 2023, Quiñones had 42 points and 8 rebounds in a 112–119 loss to the Salt Lake City Stars.
On March 2, 2023, Quiñones signed a 10-day contract with Golden State, but saw no playing time. Ten days later, he was reacquired by Santa Cruz.
On March 17, 2023, Quiñones signed a two-way contract with Golden State. He made his NBA debut on March 31, versus the San Antonio Spurs, playing one minute and securing his first rebound. On April 4, he was named the NBA G League Most Improved Player.
On July 24, 2023, Quiñones signed another two-way contract with the Warriors and on February 22, 2024, he signed a standard contract with Golden State. On March 3, he led the Warriors in points and minutes in a blowout loss to the Boston Celtics.

### Philadelphia 76ers / Delaware Blue Coats (2024)

On September 26, 2024, Quiñones signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. However, he was waived on December 3.

### Birmingham Squadron (2024–present)

On December 6, 2024, Quiñones was acquired by the Birmingham Squadron.

## National team career

Quiñones plays for the Dominican Republic national team. 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. His best performance came in a loss to Puerto Rico, in which he recorded 31 points and seven three-pointers.

## Personal life

Quiñones was born in the United States, but is of Salvadorian, Dominican and Puerto Rican descent. Internationally, he represents the Dominican Republic.

## Career statistics
### NBA
#### Regular season

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2022–23 | Golden State | 4 | 0 | 4.5 | .400 | .500 | .667 | .8 | .5 | .3 | .0 | 2.5 |
| 2023–24 | Golden State | 37 | 0 | 10.7 | .397 | .364 | .690 | 1.9 | 1.0 | .2 | .1 | 4.4 |
| 2024–25 | Philadelphia | 4 | 0 | 4.2 | .500 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.0 | .3 | .0 | .0 | 2.3 |
| Career | Career | 45 | 0 | 9.5 | .403 | .358 | .694 | 1.8 | .9 | .2 | .0 | 4.1 |

#### Play-in

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2024 | Golden State | 1 | 0 | 2.2 | .500 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 4.0 |
| Career | Career | 1 | 0 | 2.2 | .500 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 4.0 |

### College

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 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 | Career | 87 | 81 | 27.6 | .429 | .369 | .752 | 4.3 | 1.8 | .9 | .1 | 10.1 |