Xaivian Lee

Xaivian Lee (born March 12, 2004) is a Canadian-American college basketball player for the Princeton Tigers of the Ivy League.

Early life and high school career
Lee played both baseball and basketball in his youth and idolized Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors. When he was 13, he traveled to Buffalo, New York, to watch Princeton play Notre Dame in the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. In a 2023 interview with Sportsnet, his mother described the experience as crucial in his decision to pursue basketball: "What [could] be a possibility for him in the future became more tangible, being there, seeing that in person. I think it's a bit lovely how it came full circle."

Lee initially attended Crescent School in Toronto, where he played basketball and was one of the best players in the CISAA. He later attended Perkiomen School in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. Lee also played for CIA Bounce AAU on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) circuit.

The father of one of Lee's AAU teammates, former basketball player Cordell Llewellyn, contacted the recruiting coordinator and associate head coach at Princeton, Brett MacConnell, recommending that he take a look at Lee. The Princeton staff later had the chance to see him play during a trip he made to the United States with his high school and AAU teams in between his junior and senior seasons. "I remember texting Brett after the game and I was like, 'Oh my God. We need him right now,'" said Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson. "He had all the stuff — everything you see now was there: the way he would flow through the game and his ability to make things look simple and easy. The passing, the shooting, it was all there."

College career
As a freshman during the 2022–23 season, Lee made an immediate impact as a rotation player off the bench. In his freshman season, he appeared in 32 games averaging 4.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists, helping Princeton reach the Sweet Sixteen. He began the following season averaging 19.5 points per game, leading Princeton to a 9–1 record through their first ten games, the school's best start in a century. In the conference opener against Harvard, he scored a career-high 33 points, in addition to eight rebounds, seven assists, and two steals, being named conference player of the week for his performance. On April 5, 2024, Lee declared for the 2024 NBA draft, while retaining his college eligibility.

National team career
Lee participated in the 2023 FIBA U-19 World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary, representing the Canada men's national under-19 basketball team. He averaged a team-high 14.1 points to go along with 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, helping lead Canada to a seventh-place finish.

Personal life
Lee was born in Toronto, and he is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada. He is of South Korean descent.