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Suni Lee Sports Sophisticated Monochromatic Look on NBA Draft Red Carpet

The SI Swimsuit athlete took over ‘Esquire’s Instagram as a draft correspondent.

Bailey Colon

Suni Lee
Suni Lee / Evan Yu/NBAE/Getty Images

Suni Lee hasn’t been shy about her newfound love for New York Knicks games, and on Wednesday, the 22-year-old got a behind the scenes look during one of the NBA’s biggest nights. As the NBA draft tipped off from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., Lee joined Esquire as a correspondent on the red carpet.

“Honestly, it’s really inspiring to see all of these guys come out here just because I’ve been in their situation before,” Lee told Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain, who also participated as a correspondent for the highly anticipated event. “I know all the work that it took to get here, so I’m really excited for all of them.”

On the carpet, Lee paired an oversized black blazer from YSL with simple open-toed heels and silver jewelry. She also exclaimed to McCain that her arm was “so sore” from her interviews with the draftees—Lee is 5 feet; the average NBA player’s height for the 2024-25 season is 6-foot-7—after being gifted with a Knicks cap from the former 16th overall pick.

Lee also chatted with some of the top names of the night, including the first four picks, Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe and Kon Knueppel. Before their selections, the Olympic gymnast inquired about the ballers’ favorite personal style tricks and which sport (other than basketball) they could win a gold medal in themselves. Lee has two of her own.

We can’t get enough of Lee’s newest endeavor. The SI Swimsuit model—who made her brand debut with USA Gymnastics teammate Jordan Chiles and eight other athletes in Boca Raton—has been a staple at Knicks home games during the 2024-25 season.

“I really got sucked into the Knicks fandom this year,” Lee said at Fanatics Fest last weekend. “The Knicks fans are just so passionate and loyal and I feel like everybody there is so excited to watch them and cheer for them because it's just such a big crowd [...] The energy is absolutely amazing and it just makes you want to keep coming back.”

Her presence was so well-known, it caught the attention of the players themselves. “We need Suni (Lee) or Anne Hathaway at every game during this playoff run,” Eight-year guard Josh Hart joked. The note was in response to big performances from Hart’s teammate, OG Anunoby, who dropped 18 and 32 points, respectively, during two nights when Lee was in attendance, and a near-double-double with Hathaway in the building.

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Bailey Colon
BAILEY COLON

Bailey Colón is a writer on the Breaking and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit. Before joining SI Swimsuit, Colón worked at the National Basketball Association where she served as a founding member of the ‘Starting 5’ newsletter and led editorial operations for the NBA App and dotcom. Colón is particularly passionate about the impact of athletics on popular culture, fashion and media. The New England native has a bachelor’s degree from Marist College in journalism and political science.

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