# Lamont Butler

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**Lamont Butler Jr.** (born June 9, 2002) is an American professional [basketball](/source/Basketball) player. He played [college basketball](/source/College_basketball) for the [Kentucky Wildcats](/source/Kentucky_Wildcats_men's_basketball) and [San Diego State Aztecs](/source/San_Diego_State_Aztecs_men's_basketball), whom he led to a berth in the [2023 National Championship game](/source/2023_NCAA_Division_I_men's_basketball_championship_game).

## Early life and high school career

Butler grew up in and [Moreno Valley, California](/source/Moreno_Valley,_California) and attended [Riverside Polytechnic High School](/source/Riverside_Polytechnic_High_School).[1] He was a four-year starter for the school and broke the school's career scoring record, which was previously held by [Reggie Miller](/source/Reggie_Miller).[2] Butler was rated a three-star [recruit](/source/College_recruiting) and committed to playing college basketball for [San Diego State](/source/San_Diego_State_Aztecs_men's_basketball) over offers from [Saint Mary's](/source/Saint_Mary's_Gaels_men's_basketball), [Stanford](/source/Stanford_Cardinal_men's_basketball), [Washington](/source/Washington_Huskies_men's_basketball), [California](/source/California_Golden_Bears_men's_basketball), [Colorado](/source/Colorado_Buffaloes_men's_basketball), [USC](/source/USC_Trojans_men's_basketball), [Boise State](/source/Boise_State_Broncos_men's_basketball), and [Utah State](/source/Utah_State_Aggies_men's_basketball).[3][4]

## College career

Butler played in 28 games with two starts during his freshman season at San Diego State, averaging 4.3 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.[5][6] He started 25 games as a sophomore and averaged 7.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game and was named to the [Mountain West Conference](/source/Mountain_West_Conference) All-Defensive team.[6] Butler missed several games due to a broken wrist.[7] He was named third-team All-Mountain West and repeated as an All-Defensive selection during his junior season.[8] In the semifinal of the [2023 NCAA tournament](/source/2023_NCAA_Division_I_men's_basketball_tournament), Butler hit a [buzzer-beating](/source/Buzzer_beater) jump shot as time expired to beat [Florida Atlantic](/source/2022%E2%80%9323_Florida_Atlantic_Owls_men's_basketball_team) 72–71 and send the Aztecs to the [2023 national championship game](/source/2023_NCAA_Division_I_men's_basketball_championship_game).[9] He averaged 8.8 points, 3.2 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game. After the season, Butler entered his name into the [2023 NBA draft](/source/2023_NBA_draft), but ultimately withdrew in order to return to San Diego State for his senior season.[10]

Butler averaged 9.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game as a senior. Eligible for a fifth year due to COVID interruptions to his college career, Butler transferred to [Kentucky](/source/Kentucky_Wildcats_men's_basketball).[11]

## Professional career

On September 24, 2025, Butler signed a training camp contract with the [Atlanta Hawks](/source/Atlanta_Hawks). He was waived by Atlanta prior to the start of the regular season on October 18.[12]

## Career statistics

### College

|- | style="text-align:left;"| [2020–21](/source/2020%E2%80%9321_NCAA_Division_I_men's_basketball_season) | style="text-align:left;"| [San Diego State](/source/2020%E2%80%9321_San_Diego_State_Aztecs_men's_basketball_team) | 28 || 2 || 12.4 || .396 || .290 || .667 || 1.7 || 1.5 || .9 || .0 || 4.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| [2021–22](/source/2021%E2%80%9322_NCAA_Division_I_men's_basketball_season) | style="text-align:left;"| [San Diego State](/source/2021%E2%80%9322_San_Diego_State_Aztecs_men's_basketball_team) | 27 || 25 || 25.4 || .391 || .329 || **.773** || 2.1 || 2.1 || **1.7** || .1 || 7.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| [2022–23](/source/2022%E2%80%9323_NCAA_Division_I_men's_basketball_season) | style="text-align:left;"| [San Diego State](/source/2022%E2%80%9323_San_Diego_State_Aztecs_men's_basketball_team) | **39** || **38** || 25.9 || .421 || .342 || .731 || 2.7 || 3.2 || 1.5 || .1 || 8.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| [2023–24](/source/2023%E2%80%9324_NCAA_Division_I_men's_basketball_season) | style="text-align:left;"| [San Diego State](/source/2023%E2%80%9324_San_Diego_State_Aztecs_men's_basketball_team) | 37 || 37 || **27.5** || .421 || .302 || .594 || 2.6 || 3.0 || 1.5 || **.2** || 9.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| [2024–25](/source/2024%E2%80%9325_NCAA_Division_I_men's_basketball_season) | style="text-align:left;"| [Kentucky](/source/2024%E2%80%9325_Kentucky_Wildcats_men's_basketball_team) | 27 || 27 || 26.0 || **.498** || **.391** || .735 || **2.9** || **4.3** || 1.6 || **.2** || **11.4** |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 158 || 129 || 23.8 || .428 || .333 || .691 || 2.4 || 2.9 || 1.4 || .2 || 8.3

## Personal life

Butler's sister, Asasha Hall, was shot and killed in a domestic dispute on January 25, 2022.[13][14]

## References

1. ["SoCal Prep Legends Athlete of the Week: Lamont Butler, Riverside Poly"](https://www.pressenterprise.com/2017/12/11/socal-prep-legends-athlete-of-the-week-lamont-butler-riverside-poly/). *[The Press-Enterprise](/source/The_Press-Enterprise)*. December 11, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2023.

1. Miller, Bryce (February 16, 2021). ["Column: Lamont Butler's emerging nickname illustrates his game for Aztecs"](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/sports-columnists/story/2021-02-16/lamont-butler-guard-aztecs-san-diego-state-freshman-trey-pulliam). *[The San Diego Union-Tribune](/source/The_San_Diego_Union-Tribune)*. Retrieved April 3, 2023.

1. Zeigler, Mark (June 19, 2019). ["SDSU basketball lands prep recruit from Inland Empire"](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/aztecs/story/2019-06-19/sdsu-aztecs-basketball-lamont-butler-commit-riverside-poly-moreno-valley). *[The San Diego Union-Tribune](/source/The_San_Diego_Union-Tribune)*. Retrieved April 3, 2023.

1. Cassidy, Rob (April 3, 2023). ["Looking back on the recruitment of San Diego State's starting five"](https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/looking-back-on-the-recruitment-of-san-diego-state-s-starting-five). *[Rivals.com](/source/Rivals.com)*. Retrieved April 3, 2023.

1. ["Final Four: Lamont Butler's journey from heartbreak to hero"](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-nation/college/article/lamont-butler-san-diego-state-winning-shot-ncaa-17873606.php). *[Houston Chronicle](/source/Houston_Chronicle)*. April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.

1. Al-Khateeb, Zac (April 3, 2023). ["Who is Lamont Butler? What to know about player who hit Final Four buzzer-beater for San Diego State"](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-basketball/news/lamont-butler-san-diego-state-final-four/yix7q23thwf45oxvoatrfum2). *[Sporting News](/source/Sporting_News)*. Retrieved April 3, 2023.

1. Zeigler, Mark (December 1, 2021). ["Bad break for Aztecs as Lamont Butler suffers wrist injury"](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/aztecs/story/2021-12-01/san-diego-state-sdsu-aztecs-basketball-3-thoughts-long-beach-state-lamont-butler-broken-wrist). *[The San Diego Union-Tribune](/source/The_San_Diego_Union-Tribune)*. Retrieved April 3, 2023.

1. Zeigler, Mark (March 6, 2023). ["Lamont Butler is Mountain West defensive player of the year"](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/aztecs/story/2023-03-06/san-diego-state-sdsu-aztecs-basketball-lamont-butler-defensive-player-mountain-west-awards-matt-bradley). *[The San Diego Union-Tribune](/source/The_San_Diego_Union-Tribune)*. Retrieved April 3, 2023.

1. Keh, Andrew (April 1, 2023). ["Lamont Butler Hits Buzzer-Beater to Send San Diego State to N.C.A.A. Title Game"](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/01/sports/ncaabasketball/san-diego-state-buzzer-beater.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. Retrieved April 3, 2023.

1. ["Final Four hero Lamont Butler to return to SDSU for his senior season"](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/aztecs/story/2023-05-29/san-diego-state-sdsu-aztecs-basketball-lamont-butler-nba-draft-return-college-jaedon-ledee-impact-las-vegas). *[The San Diego Union-Tribune](/source/The_San_Diego_Union-Tribune)*. May 29, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.

1. Zeigler, Mark (April 26, 2024). ["That was quick: SDSU transfer Lamont Butler commits to Kentucky"](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2024/04/26/that-was-quick-sdsu-transfer-lamont-butler-commits-to-kentucky/). *[San Diego Union Tribune](/source/San_Diego_Union_Tribune)*. Retrieved July 16, 2024.

1. ["Top NBA Free Agent Centers After Hawks Cut Ties With Charles Bassey"](https://www.si.com/fannation/nba/fastbreak/news/top-nba-free-agent-centers-after-hawks-cut-ties-with-charles-bassey-01k7w2vjm1td). *si.com*. Retrieved October 24, 2025.

1. Forde, Pat (April 2, 2023). ["A Buzzer-Beater For Teammates, Family and a Fallen Sister"](https://www.si.com/college/2023/04/02/march-madness-mens-ncaa-tournament-san-diego-state-reaches-final). *[Sports Illustrated](/source/Sports_Illustrated)*. Retrieved April 3, 2023.

1. Thamel, Pete (April 2, 2023). ["SDSU's Lamont Butler: Felt sister's presence on game winner"](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/36046598/sdsu-lamont-butler-felt-sister-presence-buzzer-beater). *[ESPN.com](/source/ESPN.com)*. Retrieved April 3, 2023.

## External links

- [San Diego State Aztecs bio](https://goaztecs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/lamont--butler/8368)
- [Kentucky Wildcats bio](https://ukathletics.com/sports/mbball/roster/player/lamont-butler/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lamont Butler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamont_Butler) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamont_Butler?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.