CJ McCollum became the first Lehigh student-athlete to make the NBA when the Portland Trail Blazers drafted him 10th overall in 2013.
Next month, McCollum will address a fresh crop of Lehigh graduates who are trying to make their own way in the world. On May 21, McCollum — the New Orleans Pelicans guard who serves as president of the NBA Player’s Association — will deliver the commencement speech at Lehigh a decade after he graduated from the school.
“It’s an honor for me to be back on Lehigh’s campus and to be asked to give the commencement speech 10 years after my own graduation,” McCollum said. “Lehigh has had such a profound impact on the trajectory of my life; I honed my skills as a player, developed personally as a man, and met my wife there. I’m excited to send the next class of Mountain Hawks off to start their very bright futures.”
McCollum planned to pursue a full-time career in media if professional basketball hadn’t worked out. He worked at The Brown and White, Lehigh’s student newspaper. McCollum filed stories about all sorts of Lehigh sports, including men’s lacrosse.
“I mean, I was a journalism major,” McCollum told The Times-Picayune in October. “It made sense. I enjoy covering sports. I wanted to get ready for what life might be like when I wasn’t playing basketball.”
McCollum was named the Patriot League Player of the Year in 2010 and 2012. In 2012, he led 15th-seeded Lehigh to an upset win over second-seeded Duke in the NCAA Tournament.
The Pelicans acquired McCollum in a trade in February 2022. He has averaged 21.8 points and 5.8 assists in 101 games with New Orleans.
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