TOUR dE LANCE
Turbulent path of B’klyn native Stephenson has him ‘grinding’ in G-League
LANCE STEPHENSON wasn’t born ready for this. Defeat doesn’t come naturally. Especially after you spent 10 seasons in the NBA, played on six playoff teams and banked tens of millions of dollars, after you won an unprecedented four PSAL championships and two state titles, after inspiring awe as a grade-schooler. One day, basketball will have no more use for him. Stephenson is 33. He hasn’t been on an NBA roster in nearly two years. The former king of Coney Island knows he might never be again. “It messes with you mentally,” Stephenson said. “I started doing different things — music, movies, selling my own merch. I was just trying to do different things to keep me occupied. And then I got this call.”
It came from the G-League’s Iowa Wolves, who acquired Stephenson on Dec. 11. Since joining the Pacers on a 10-day contract and finishing the 2021-22 season with them, his only professional action had come during a one week stint in Puerto Rico in April.
“When I got the call, it definitely caught me by surprise,” Stephenson said. “But I was keeping my body in shape. I’m from New York, man. That grind, to keep grinding, that’s just built in me. I just continued to believe that something was gonna happen if I kept working.”
In 18 games with Iowa, Stephenson has showcased the all-around ability that once convinced eight different NBA teams to roll the dice, averaging 15.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 29.0 minutes.
On a roster filled with projects, Stephenson is the only player older than 25.
“We’re all used to seeing Lance Stephenson, the entertainer, but now we’re seeing him helping elevate those young guys and build them up,” said Jonathan Wallace, the Timberwolves’ director of player personnel and Iowa Wolves general manager. “There was an opportunity for Lance to be himself, but also show the league he’s grown in ways beyond just putting the ball on the floor, that he can help rosters with younger talent.
“The rookies see him say, ‘Hey, I’m not taking the G-League as a hit to my ego. It’s a way to work myself back into the league.’ It’s hard to get up when you go from playing in front of 20,000 people to playing in front of 200 people in Birmingham, Ala., but he hasn’t lost that fire or that edge at all.
“People saw the antics and the showmanship, but when you really assessed his game and talked to him, you could see how much he cares and his daily approach and the intangibles he brings on the floor. That’s been fun to watch, seeing a different side of Lance, seeing the growth and development to where he’s now a senior statesman.”
Stephenson, the senior statesman?
Roll your eyes. Snicker. Scoff. Then, think: Who knows more of a world that can transform you from a deity to a pariah to anything in between?
“Some of these guys are 20 years old,” Stephenson said. “I remember when I was
20, I thought I knew it all. Now, I’ve got a lot of experience. I want to help these young guys get better and teach them the things I’ve learned on and off the court, so they won’t go through the things I went through and have a better experience than I did.
“At 20 years old, there’s a lot you’ve got to learn.”
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STEPHENSON’S name is a Rorschach test, evoking different images in different minds. In New York, he is of the lineage of Lincoln High School legends. In Indiana, he is the energetic fan favorite who had a section of seats named after him and nearly helped the Pacers reach the NBA Finals. In Charlotte, Los Angeles, Memphis, New Orleans, Minnesota and Atlanta, he was a failed or forgotten experiment. Elsewhere, he is a wild card, an agitator, a headache, a meme, a talented and flawed two-way force who could help or hurt any team.
In four of the past five seasons, Stephenson has not been on an NBA roster.
“I have no regrets,” Stephenson said. “I’m happy how everything played out. If I retire right now, I played [10] years in the NBA. Who can say that? A lot of people can’t say that. I’m definitely thankful and grateful that I’m still going right now, still moving, injury-free. It’s a blessing.”
Stephenson is speaking on the phone from Iowa, where he awaits another call.
“I definitely think I can help a contending team,” said Stephenson, a father of five. “I can help a team with leadership and winning, bringing that attitude to every game. I’ve done the overseas stuff. I just want to be in the NBA and be close to my family.
“I’m gonna continue to grind until it happens. I’m patient.”
Patience was acquired as a professional. It wasn’t an option in Brooklyn.
His father, Lance Sr., raised him to run up and down their apartment building’s 15 flights of stairs, then up and down the beach. Stephenson was a sixth grader who could dunk and was touted as the nation’s top player in his high school class.
He was 13 when he earned his first headline in The Post in 2004 after shining in a contest featuring Division I players at Rucker Park. He was 14 when he earned respect for challenging the nation’s topranked player (17-year-old O.J. Mayo) to a battle at the 2005 ABCD Camp. His name carried so much weight that he held a news conference to announce where he would attend high school.
“My goal is to be the No. 1 player in the country at any age,” Stephenson told The Post nearly 20 years ago. “I know I can do it.”
Stephenson would have been one of the nation’s top-ranked players wherever he lived. But growing up on West 28th Street and Mermaid Avenue meant living beneath a spotlight that few players ever experience before starting high school.
It grew because he chose to stay home, rather than quietly blend in with similarly talented stars at a distant prep school. He left Bishop Loughlin after three days to attend his neighborhood high school, inviting an avalanche of unfair and unavoidable comparisons to Sebastian Telfair, Stephon Marbury and Jesus Shuttlesworth.
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AT THE end of a decadeslong line of New York City phenoms, Stephenson was the first whose high school career coincided with the rise of social media, increasing the scrutiny he faced with every poor shot and poor decision.
“Man, I don’t know how I did it,” Stephenson said. “The spotlight was on me since I was ranked No. 1, since third, fourth grade. Everywhere I’d go, it was, ‘Hey, Lance, Lance, Lance.’ For me to stay focused and continue to grind and be humble enough to get to the point where I am now is just great.
“A lot of guys get to where they want to be and start doing other stuff that doesn’t contain basketball. I just kept basketball No. 1.”
Stephenson easily could have been Lenny Cooke, succumbing to distractions and hype. He could have been any number of local stars whose legends never extended beyond the boroughs, considered a failure if an NBA owner didn’t sign his paychecks.
Stephenson contributed to the mythology, to the strangers who wished to see him stumble, to those who believe any player coming out of New York is largely a product of promotion. He was the youngest player featured in a documentary (“Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot”) directed by the late Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys. He starred in his own reality show (“Born Ready”).
Stephenson’s presence at Lincoln created lines to get into the gym that stretched for hours and into the cold. He justified it by becoming the only player to lead his school to four straight PSAL championships (2006-09) while also claiming two state federation championships, New York’s all-time state scoring record and a McDonald’s All-American selection.
“When I was at Lincoln, I had so many goals in my head,” Stephenson said. “My dad put so many goals in my head: to get four championships, scoring titles, trying to win everything. … That’s what I was focused on. Trying to be the best to ever come out of New York.”
The 6-foot-5 guard came out of New York with more concerns than acclaim.
As a high school junior, Stephenson was suspended for five days after getting into a fight with a teammate. He was charged later that year after being accused of groping a girl near the school and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. Then, before beginning his rookie season with the Pacers in 2010, Stephenson was arrested for allegedly pushing his girlfriend down a flight of stairs. That case was eventually dismissed. His game presented issues, too. Stephenson was cut from the USA National Under-18 team for a perceived attitude problem. His lone college season at Cincinnati was underwhelming, sparking doubt that his shot, ball-handling and maturity would allow him to thrive at the next level.
“Coming out of Lincoln, I was definitely nervous because I heard going to college was really tough, and it was really tough for me,” Stephenson said. “The whole time I’m going through this process, I’m thinking, ‘I’m not gonna make the NBA.’ Even though everybody said I was and how good I was, I didn’t feel like I was gonna make it. As good as I was, I didn’t think I was gonna make the NBA. For real.”
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THE LONG-projected lottery pick was taken in the second round (40th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft by the Pacers, following the Knicks’ backto-back selections of Andy Rautins and Landry Fields. Stephenson spent his first two seasons at the end of the Indiana bench, finding comfort in the words of then-team president Larry Bird — his cheerleader and soothsayer, who told Stephenson he was “gonna be the one.”
Stephenson became a full-time starter in his third season as the Pacers fell one win short of the Finals. The next season, Stephenson nearly made the All-Star team, leading the league in triple-doubles while averaging 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists, and better than 49 percent from the field. In the 2014 playoffs, Indiana lost its Eastern Conference finals rematch with LeBron James’ Heat.
Stephenson’s importance in those battles have been buried by time, by his Rodman-like attempts to fluster James with a variety of antics — including a choke sign, a face slap, trash talk, flopping and, most infamously, blowing into James’ ear.
“A lot of young kids always mention that, and I tell them, ‘I’ll do anything to win,’ ” Stephenson said. “In New York, you gotta beat the best in order to be king of the court. Whoever’s the best, I want to see what makes them the best, and I’m gonna challenge them. All my life, I’ve been the one everybody chased, so it’s good to chase somebody, go after somebody, play against the best.”
Stephenson’s behavior scared off several suitors in free agency that offseason. He ultimately found belief from then-Hornets owner Michael Jordan, who praised Stephenson’s fearlessness and signed him to a three-year, $27 million contract. Stephenson appeared in just 61 games with Charlotte before being traded to the Clippers.
In all, he would play for seven teams in a five-season stretch, and later played in China and the G-League. After short stints with the Hawks and Pacers in 2021-22, he failed to land a spot on an NBA roster last season. This season began no differently.
“It’s kind of that out-of-sight, out-ofmind type of deal,” Wallace said. “It’s hard for some teams to take a step outside the box to go get a guy like Lance.”
Stephenson continued working out, splitting his time between homes in Indiana and Las Vegas. He wondered if the odyssey was over.
So he dabbled in music. He began selling self-branded clothing on his website. He appeared in the movie “Fatale,” starring Hilary Swank, and is slated to play a lead role in the upcoming film “Ballin 2024,” starring Tray Chaney of “The Wire.”
He will happily delay whatever comes next. It is why he is in Des Moines, waiting on another call.
“I’m a little older now, but I feel like my game has matured,” Stephenson said. “Back in the day, I would’ve hit you with a couple dribbles, cross you over, but my game is simpler now. It’s just making the right play at the right time, very efficient, getting straight to the point.
“I always feel like I still got it, so I’m gonna play until my body tells me that’s enough. I’m just gonna keep going.”