Leon Powe Jr. (/ˈpoʊ/; born January 22, 1984) is an American former professional basketball power forward. Drafted in 2006 by the Denver Nuggets, Powe grew up in Oakland, California, and played college basketball at the University of California, Berkeley. He played his first three years in the NBA with the Boston Celtics and won a championship with the team in 2008. From 2009 to 2011, Powe played for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He also had a stint with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2011. After a stint in Puerto Rico, Powe announced his retirement in 2014 citing multiple injuries and his desire to become a businessman.

Powe attended Oakland Technical High School along with former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, where he averaged 27.4 ppg, 14.2 rpg and 3.1 bpg as a senior. With Powe in the roster, Oakland Tech won the CIF Oakland Section Championship and also reached the CIF State Championships in 2002 and 2003. He was named a first-team Parade All-American and the Gatorade California Player of the Year during his senior year. A highly rated prep star, Powe was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American game and became the first Oakland Tech athlete to have his number retired by the school.[

Powe played college basketball for the California Golden Bears from 2003 to 2006. Although he was present for three seasons, he did not play in his sophomore year (2004–05) due to a serious knee injury.[3] During his freshman season, he was named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, leading the conference in rebounding.

Questions abounded about whether Powe would return to form following his knee surgery, but he worked hard and rehabilitated to become a dominant force on the interior as he continued to improve his game. He produced 20.5 PPG and 10.1 RPG while leading Cal to a 20–11 record and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Powe was named California's most valuable player during a banquet in April 2006. Powe, who also was selected Cal's MVP as a freshman in 2004, averaged 20.5 ppg and 10.1 rpg to become just the sixth player ever to pace the Pac-10 Conference in both categories. Named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press, the U.S. Basketball Writers and ESPN.com, he was chosen to the All-Pac-10 First Team for a second time in 2006.

After his junior year, Powe decided to enter his name in the 2006 NBA draft.[3] Powe was selected by the Denver Nuggets in the second round as the 49th overall pick. The Nuggets subsequently traded him to the Boston Celtics. After playing for the Celtics summer league team, Powe was signed by the team to a 3-year contract. Although Powe did not reach the sum of 14 in his per game points, rebounds, and assists necessary to guarantee the second year of his contract, that second year became guaranteed when Boston did not waive him by July 1, 2007. Powe had a similar hurdle of 16 for the sum of the three statistics to guarantee the third year of his contract (2008–09).