He was largely unnoticed during his freshman year due to the presence of Kim Tae-sul and Yang Hee-jong, both in their senior season.

[11][12] Despite his stellar record, Lee instead became better known for an incident during the playoffs, when Anyang KGC met Seoul Samsung Thunders in the finals.

During Game 2, he elbowed Thunders shooting guard Lee Gwan-hee, his former Yonsei teammate, in the neck while defending him and latter forcefully pushed him down on the ground as retaliation.

[14] After his contract with Anyang KGC ended, Lee became a free agent and joined Jeonju KCC Egis for the 2017-18 season.

[12] In December 2019, he was nominated for and won the Male Basketball Player of the Year, voted for by league coaches and his KBL peers, at the annual Dong-a Sports Awards honoring domestic professional athletes across all disciplines.

[18] Lee was a key player in KCC winning the 2020-21 regular season and reaching the finals of the play-offs, losing the KBL Championship title to his former team Anyang KGC.

In South Korea's opening Group C game against hosts Lebanon, Lee failed to score all five attempted three-pointers and his and shooting guard Heo Ung's lackluster performance around the perimeter were specifically pointed out as a major cause for South Korea's shock loss to the host nation.

[32][31] Their alleged "feud" has been indirectly referenced numerous times during "draft day" for the annual All-Star Game, with fellow players and coaches noting that they should not be placed in the same team.

[33][34] After departing Anyang KGC, Lee gained the moniker eu-ak-sae (으악새), which is the Korean equivalent of the onomatopoeia "Whoops!