Ronnie Lester (born January 1, 1959) is an American retired basketball player. Lester had previously worked as a scout for the Phoenix Suns from the years 2013 through the 2015 season.

Born in Mississippi, Lester grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated Dunbar Vocational High School in 1976. Lester started on the varsity team as a 5'6" sophomore. In between seasons he grew to 6'2". He averaged ten points and ten assists per game in his junior campaign. As a senior, Lester averaged twenty-seven (27) points per game. The Dunbar "Mighty-Men" season came to an abrupt end by losing to Morgan Park. Lester was named to the All-City and All-State teams.

Basketball Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, then of the University of Iowa, was among the first to recognize Lester's talent. At Iowa, Lester was a four-year starter, earning All-American honors in 1979, and First Team All-Big Ten honors in 1978 and 1979. He led the Iowa Hawkeyes to a share of the 1979 Big Ten title and to the Final Four of the 1980 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.

In his senior season, Lester missed 15 Big Ten games due to a knee injury. At the time he left the lineup, Iowa was undefeated and ranked among the top ten teams in the nation. He returned to the Hawkeye lineup on March 1, 1980, for the final game of the regular season against the University of Illinois. With the consent of Illinois Head Coach Lou Henson, the Iowa Athletic Department delayed the game in order to hold a ceremony to retire Lester's jersey, and number (12). At that time, Lester already owned the Iowa records for scoring and assists. In addition to missing 15 games, Lester's assist record was all the more remarkable given that he shared playing time (and hence, ball touches) with two other players ranked among Iowa's top ten in career assists.

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