Ironi Ness Ziona Nears Signing Former EuroLeague Guard Paris Lee

Ironi Ness Ziona is close to signing American point guard Paris Lee, who has played 158 EuroLeague games until last season. Lee, 31, previously played for top Israeli teams and spent this season with Kazan in Russia, but is now expected to make a surprising move to the Israeli club based in Ness Ziona.

Lee graduated from Illinois State in 2017, earning conference player and defensive player of the year honors. He began his professional career in Belgium with Antwerp, winning the Belgian championship, earning BCL second team honors, and being named Belgian league MVP. After a season in Bamberg, Germany, he moved to Orléans in France, then advanced to EuroLeague with Monaco.

At Monaco, Lee was the second point guard, averaging 7.2 points and 2.4 assists per game. He then joined Panathinaikos, where he improved to 11.2 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.8 rebounds per game. After Panathinaikos chose other directions, Lee returned to France with Villeurbanne, posting 11.5 points and 5.5 assists in his first EuroLeague season and leading the league in steals. His second season saw a dip to 8.3 points and 3.1 assists per game. This season in the VTB League with Kazan, he averaged 11.1 points and 5.5 assists.

Lee is expected to join Jackson Rowe, who recently extended his contract, and Bryce Brown, who is also likely to stay. The team has signed French-Israeli Vincent Amsellem and Adam Ariel, and will retain Spencer Weisz and TJ Cline from last season. Noam Dovrat is also expected to return from college. Fans are encouraged to participate in weekly quizzes and contests related to the team.