Lance Stephenson: What The Former NBA Player Is Up To Now

One of the things that makes the NBA so great is the wide-range of personalities we get to see across the league. Some players are very serious, some are jokesters and some are…well, tough to describe. One player who can go under the “tough to describe” category is Lance Stephenson. Depending on which team you root for, you either love or despise him. After bouncing around the league, creating viral moments wherever he went, where did Stephenson go? Because some of us miss having him in the league so much, let’s check in on Lance Stephenson and see what he’s been up to since leaving the NBA.

Lance Stephenson at Abraham Lincoln High School

Coming out of high school, Stephenson was one of the most well known recruits in the country. He attended Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, New York, the same school that Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair played for. In his sophomore and junior years, Stephenson led Lincoln to back-to-back New York City titles.

In his senior year, he broke Sebastian Telfair’s record and became the all-time leading scorer for New York high school basketball. After breaking the record, Stephenson said “I wasn’t trying to break the record. I just played hard. I felt I earned it.” Although he didn’t lead Lincoln to another city championship, Stephenson was named Mr. New York Basketball in 2009.

Stephenson’s recruiting process was far from straight forward. Initially he had Kansas, Maryland and St. Johns as his top three choices. When he visited the University of Maryland he received a tour of the Under Armor headquarters, and because Under Armor’s CEO attended Maryland it was considered a recruiting violation. Stephenson was then expected to commit to Kansas, but after the Jayhawks offered Xavier Henry, there were no more scholarships for Stephenson.

Stephenson eventually committed to play for the Cincinnati Bearcats.

College years

Stephenson’s collegiate debut was one of the most-anticipated of the last 20 years. Coming out of high school as New York City’s all time leading scorer, the Cincinnati Bearcats freshman had a lot to prove. Although he might not have reached everyone’s expectations, he still had a productive season.

Stephenson averaged 12.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in his one season at Cincinnati. He was named the Big East Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the conference’s All-Rookie team. Cinci didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, but made an impressive run as the No. 11 seed in the Big East Tournament reaching the semifinals before losing a tightly contested game to West Virginia. In Cincinnati’s loss to West Virginia, Stephenson led the Bearcats in scoring and rebounding with 19 points and seven boards.

Shortly after his freshman season, Stephenson announced that he would enter his name into the NBA Draft.

Lance Stephenson with the Pacers

With the 40th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Indiana Pacers selected Lance Stephenson. His NBA career got off to a slow start due to being on such a deep roster, but once Danny Granger got hurt early in the 2012-2013 season, Stephenson’s minutes tripled. With Granger out of the lineup Stephenson went from averaging 2.5 points and 1.3 rebounds to 8.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

Stephenson shined on both ends of the floor throughout the 2013 playoffs. The Pacers reached the Eastern Conference Finals where they would face the Heat. To everyone’s surprise, Indiana brought Miami to seven games. Although the Pacers couldn’t beat the Heat, they established themselves as a true threat in the East.

Stephenson carried the momentum from the 2013 playoffs into the next season. The 2013-2014 season was by far the best of Stephenson’s career. He averaged 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. During this season he was also a triple double machine. The Pacers once again reached the Eastern Conference Finals and this time Lance Stephenson had one mission – get in LeBron’s head. In one of the most bizarre moments in recent NBA history, Lance Stephenson got up close and personal with LeBron James and blew in his ear.

The Pacers once again lost to the Heat, but Stephenson’s performance made him one of the most-sought after free agents in the NBA. In the 2014 offseason, Stephenson signed a three-year, $27 million dollar deal with the Charlotte Hornets.

Stephenson bounces around the league and his final NBA stats

After Stephenson left Indiana, he began to regress. Despite being the Hornets biggest offseason acquisition, Stephenson only started in 25 games for Charlotte averaging 8.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists. The Hornets finished with a 33-49 record and Stephenson was traded to the Clippers shortly after his first and only season in Charlotte.

Things got worse for Stephenson during the 2015-2016 season. After 43 games with the Clippers averaging just 4.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, Stephenson was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. The trade to Memphis did wonders for Stephenson, who helped the Grizzlies reach the playoffs.

Following the 2016 playoffs, Stephenson signed a deal with the Pelicans but was cut six games into the season. The next team to give him a shot was the Timberwolves, who also cut Stephenson after just six games. Finally, Stephenson ended up back in Indiana where things seemed to workout.

After a full season with the Pacers, Stephenson signed a one year deal with the LeBron led lakers. Despite being rivals in the past, LeBron and Stephenson appeared to get along while teammates.

(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

(Barring a comeback) Stephenson averaged 8.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for his career.

Stephenson’s stats while playing in China

After Lance’s season with the Lakers, the versatile guard took his talents to China, where he would dominate the competition for a season. In August of 2019, Stephenson signed a 1 year $4 million deal with the Liaoning Flying Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association. Similarly to Stephon Marbury, Stephenson absolutely dominated while playing in China.

In his one season with the Flying Leopards Stephenson averaged 26.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. To nobody’s surprise, Stephenson was a human highlight reel in China.

Lance Stephenson memes

Whether you love Stephenson or hate him, one thing is for sure is that he’s extremely entertaining. Over the course of his NBA career, Stephenson has had a couple of viral moments that NBA fans turned into memes. Here are some of the best Lance Stephenson memes from around the internet.

Although he’s not in the NBA right now, don’t be surprised if you see Stephenson the next time you’re scrolling through your feed.

Lance Stephenson’s endorsement deal with AND 1

Back in 2012, Stephenson signed an exclusive deal with AND 1. The deal caught many by surprise because AND 1 had been out of the mix for a while. The shoe deal felt fitting considering Stephenson’s New York City roots. AND 1 brand president, Robert Purvy commented on the signing saying “Lance is a welcome addition to the AND 1 family, he is a very promising young talent and is committed to playing at the highest level. We at AND 1 share the same passion, as we produce only the best basketball footwear and apparel for our customers.”

Here are some pictures of various AND 1 sneakers that Stephenson wore.

What’s Lance Stephenson’s net worth and where is he now?

Stephenson almost signed with the Indiana Pacers ahead of the 2020 season but was not allowed to sign after playing in China earlier in the year. He entered his name into the G-League draft, but was not selected. Stephenson, who is only 30 years old, is still trying to make an NBA comeback. At this point in Stephenson’s professional basketball career he has accumulated an estimated net worth of $12 million.

While we’re not sure what will happen with Stephenson’s career, it sure would be fun to see him compete in the NBA again.

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