As a senior, he averaged 13.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists in leading University High to the 2004 Class 2A state championship.

[1] After redshirting the 2004–05 season at Louisiana State University to work on his game, Temple earned a reputation as a defensive stopper as a freshman in 2005–06.

[1] In his senior season, he became LSU's all-time leader in minutes played (4,432), breaking a record set by Howard Carter in 1983.

[15] On July 27, 2011, Temple signed a one-year deal with Novipiù Casale Monferrato of Italy.

[30][31] Two days later, he had another strong performance for the Wizards with 20 points against the Memphis Grizzlies, becoming the first NBA player to score at least 20 in three straight games after not reaching that level for his first 250 contests.

[33] He made his debut for the Kings in their season opener on October 26, 2016, scoring 12 points in just under 18 minutes off the bench in a 113–94 win over the Phoenix Suns.

[34] On November 5, 2016, he scored a team-high 19 points off the bench and tied his career high with five three-pointers in a 117–91 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

[35] On February 1, 2017, he was ruled out for two to three weeks after an MRI revealed a partial tear of his left biceps femoris muscle.

[36][37] On January 23, 2018, Temple scored 19 of his career-high 34 points in the final quarter to lift the Kings to a 105–99 win over the Orlando Magic.

[38] On July 17, 2018, Temple was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Deyonta Davis, Ben McLemore, a 2021 second-round pick and cash considerations.

[42] On February 7, 2019, Temple and JaMychal Green were traded by the Grizzlies to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Avery Bradley.

He has a younger sister, Colleen Noelle, and two older brothers, Collis III (who played at LSU from 1999 to 2003) and Elliott.

[54] Temple is a member of the "Starting Five," along with Malcolm Brogdon, Joe Harris, Justin Anderson and Anthony Tolliver.

Their goal was to raise $225,000 through Hoops2O, founded by Brogdon, to fund five wells in East Africa by the end of the 2018–19 season.

[55] By February 2020, the charity had funded the construction of ten wells in Tanzania and Kenya, bringing water to over 52,000 citizens.