Courtney Lee and Derek Fisher are joined by Trevor Ariza (UCLA) and Rafer Alston (Fresno State) as four of the 10 starters in the this year's NBA Finals to attend college. 

NEW ORLEANS - Two former Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball standouts will be making an appearance in this year’s NBA Finals, as UALR’s Derek Fisher and WKU’s Courtney Lee will take the court in the LA Lakers versus Orlando Magic best-of-seven championship series beginning this Thursday at 8 pm (CT).

Fisher, who helped Los Angeles to three-consecutive NBA titles from 2000-02 and is making the sixth NBA Finals appearance of his stellar 13-year career, started all 82 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 9.9 points, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He enters the 2009 Finals ranked 14th all-time in NBA history for career playoff games (171) and is second among active NBA players – trailing only Shaquille O’Neal (203).

A first round selection by the Lakers in the 1996 NBA Draft, Fisher was the 1995-96 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and earned All-America honorable mention accolades from UPI. He currently ranks third all-time in UALR history for points scored (1,393), second in both assists (472) and steals (184), and first in made free throws (399).

Lee was the 22nd overall selection in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft. He has seen action in 16 playoff games, starting 11, and has averaged 28.9 minutes per game. While playing solid defense, Lee is also averaging 8.8 points per game, 2.0 rebounds per game and 1.6 assists per game. He has converted 20 of his 22 free throw attempts for a sterling 90.9% from the line. Lee saw action in 77 regular season games during his rookie season, and averaged 8.4 points per game along with 2.3 rebounds per game and 1.2 assists per game.

The former Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and All-America honorable mention departed WKU ranked among the top 10 in the school’s career record books in 16 different categories – that included matching Jim McDaniels for the all-time scoring lead with 2,238 points, while setting new WKU standards with 127 games started, 3,957 minutes played, an 81.7 free- throw percentage and 611 attempts from beyond the three-point arc.  Lee also ended his four-year career ranked in the top 10 in the Sun Belt Conference in points (third), steals (fifth) and three-pointers (eighth).