Wind the clocks back just over a year and William Lee was in the midst of an explosive start to his debut season with the Manchester Giants.
A Molten Player of the Month winner for
September and October 2022, a walking double-double, and the most dominant
forward in the League, the Alabama high-flyer was in terrifying form.
Since then, major injury and minor setbacks
have taken a good chunk of the 28-year-old’s career, but now he’s back and
ready to shine as the Giants welcome his much-needed production into the
starting five.
“I had to trust the process because it was
such a long journey for me,” Lee said of his recovery.
“I tore three ligaments in my ankle in
November 2022 and knew it’d be a long recovery. I thought I might be back to
full health sooner, but I aggravated the injury in pre-season, and it’s taken
me until now to get right.
“From pre-season to now, I’ve come back
quicker than expected – we thought it might be around Christmas or later that
I’d be back playing, so I’m super happy to be back and able to help the team
climb up the League this season.
“I’ve had some decent moments so far, but I
know I can be a lot better for my guys out there. I need to have some patience
with myself, but defensively I can improve at disrupting the other team on that
end of the floor. As a team, we have some room to grow, but we’ve got a good
group here who want to improve so I’m confident we’ll do it.
Reunited and it
feels so good
A British Basketball League Championship winner with the Leicester Riders in the 2020/21 season, Lee formed a super partnership with current teammate and fellow former Rider Jamell Anderson on that title-winning roster.
Reuniting with the Great Britain international has been one of the American’s fondest experiences of the season, he says, as they try to instil a winning culture in the north-west. Lee also spoke glowingly of another former Rider on the roster who he’s playing with this season for the first time.
“Being back with Jamell has been a great
experience. He’s such a competitor and I enjoyed going up against him last
year, but being on the same team is much more fun! He’s a true professional, a
gold medallist and a mentor to everybody. I’m enjoying sharing the locker room
with him again and excited for what we can achieve together.
“There’s obviously another former Rider on
this team who I hadn’t played with before, which is Evan Walshe, and that boy
is hungry! He is truly remarkable, and I’ve really enjoyed working with him
this year and watching him grow – the energy he has is incredible.
“He’s aggressive, he wants to win, he knows
his scout and everybody else’s scout backwards, and he’s been an X-factor for
us this season. His energy is unmatched, and I am so excited to see how he
continues to grow this year.”
Mindfulness
matters
Entering his prime years on the court, it’s scary to think that Lee’s best hoops could well be ahead of him, as his experience and know-how on the hardwood grow more and more to match his undeniable talent.
The 28-year-old has asserted himself as one of the
most dominant forces in the League, and spoke openly about the time he spent
away from the game in the 2021/22 season.
Before joining the Giants last year, Lee took a
year out from playing to prioritise his mental health, and the American was
candid in discussing his motivations for doing so. He’s supportive of any
hoopers who are feeling the need to take a step back for their own wellbeing.
“I took a year out to discover myself a little
more. As players, we never really take the time to stop and reflect and look
after ourselves in that sense, so when I took some time away from the game it
was because I needed to invest that time into myself and my development and
wellbeing.
“I learnt a lot about how to handle my emotions and
maintain my composure in that time and just focus on what I can control. There’s
so many things I can’t be in control of, and I needed to learn to accept that
it’s OK and just concern myself with what was within my power.
“Our careers are obviously short as players but I’m
grateful that I invested that time into myself to understand who I am as a
person; because now I feel like I can truly enjoy the next years of my career
and move forward with a more positive and open mindset.
“If there’s anything I hope my teammates can learn from me, it’s the importance of investing in yourself mentally as much as physically, but I think that’s useful advice for anybody really – if you don’t know who you are then take the time to find out, whatever the cost.”
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