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DeShawn Stevenson

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Not to be confused with Deshawn Stephens.

DeShawn Stevenson
Stevenson with the Wizards in 2008
Personal information
Born (1981-04-03) April 3, 1981 (age 43)
Fresno, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight218 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High schoolWashington Union
(Easton, California)
NBA draft2000: 1st round, 23rd overall pick
Selected by the Utah Jazz
Playing career2000–2013
PositionShooting guard
Number2, 9, 92
Career history
2000–2004Utah Jazz
2004–2006Orlando Magic
2006–2010Washington Wizards
2010–2011Dallas Mavericks
2011–2012New Jersey Nets
2012–2013Atlanta Hawks
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points5,930 (7.2 ppg)
Rebounds1,832 (2.2 rpg)
Assists1,355 (1.6 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

DeShawn Stevenson (born April 3, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. Stevenson played for six teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) during a 13-year career. He originally committed to play at the University of Kansas, but decided to enter the NBA directly from high school and was picked by the Utah Jazz with the 23rd selection of the 2000 NBA draft. He was a member of the Dallas Mavericks team that won an NBA championship in 2011. In 2017, Stevenson joined Power, one of the eight BIG3 basketball league teams.

Early life

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Stevenson was born in Fresno, California. His father, Darryl Stevenson, never married his mother Genice Popps, and eventually was forcibly placed in a facility after threatening family members and diagnosed as schizophrenic. Darryl signed a court order agreeing he had a duty to support his son, but eventually murdered his own mother Clara by strangling her; he died of cancer at the age of 36 in prison. DeShawn's name was tattooed on his chest.[1][2] Due to the absence of his father, DeShawn lived with his godparents in Easton, California. He played high school ball at the same school where his father had played, and won a state championship his junior year.

Stevenson signed with the Kansas Jayhawks in the fall of his senior year. Jayhawks head coach Roy Williams called him his "most gifted recruit ever".[3] As a senior, Stevenson averaged 30.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists a game. He was named to the McDonald's All-American team and scored 25 points to lead the West to a 146–120 win, and won the slam-dunk contest. Stevenson's mother advised him not to go straight to the NBA, but after there were irregularities with his SAT test, because he claimed he didn't know any answers because his girlfriend allegedly did all his homework in high school, Stevenson did indeed enter the league straight out of high school.[4][5]

Professional career

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Utah Jazz (2000–2004)

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Stevenson was picked by the Utah Jazz with the 23rd selection of the 2000 NBA draft.

Stevenson appeared in 222 regular season games during his time with Utah. He averaged 5.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg, and 1.2 apg, in 16.7 mpg during that time. Stevenson played in five career playoff outings. At 19 years old, he became the youngest player to ever play and start for the Jazz during the 2000–01 season. In 2001, Stevenson finished second in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.[6] Later that year, Stevenson pleaded no contest to having sex with a 14-year-old girl.[7]

On March 16, 2003, Stevenson received widespread attention for shoving Ricky Davis of the Cleveland Cavaliers after Davis deliberately missed a shot on his own basket in an attempt to record a triple-double, when the Cavaliers were up 120–95.[8] On November 1, 2003, Stevenson scored a then-career-high 24 points in a loss against the Mavericks.[9]

On February 19, 2004, Stevenson and a future second round draft pick were acquired by the Orlando Magic from the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard–forward Gordan Giricek.

Orlando Magic (2004–2006)

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Stevenson played with the Orlando Magic for 2½ seasons. He had his best year during the 2005–06 season when he averaged 11.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, and 2.0 apg. Stevenson opted out of the third and final year of his contract with Orlando, and on August 5, 2006, he signed a two-year minimum contract with the Washington Wizards.[10]

Washington Wizards (2006–2010)

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Stevenson and LeBron James in April 2008. The two had a short feud after Stevenson called James "overrated".[11]

On August 5, 2006, Stevenson signed a two-year contract with the Washington Wizards for the NBA minimum salary. Stevenson quickly adjusted to coach Eddie Jordan's system, averaging 11.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, and 2.7 apg in his first season with Washington. Following the 2006–07 season, he opted out of the second year of his contract to test free agency. On July 16, 2007, Stevenson re-signed with the Wizards on a four-year, $15 million deal.[12]

On the early morning of August 20, 2007, a 31-year-old man, Curtis Ruff, was shot and injured at Stevenson's home, following an argument with women who were invited from Destiny's Club in Orlando. Circumstances of the incident remain unclear.[13]

After Stevenson, with a sore knee, scored a career-high 33 points, including a game winning three-pointer as time expired in a February 25, 2008, victory over the New Orleans Hornets, Wizards coach Eddie Jordan described Stevenson by saying, "He's a warrior, man, a true warrior. His confidence is growing, he's making threes, he's just a true pro. This is a man's league and he is man. In the dictionary next to that word there is a picture of DeShawn Stevenson."[14]

At the start of the 2008–09 season, Stevenson struggled and could not bring his offensive game to the level it had attained in 2007. As a result, Stevenson's minutes dipped slightly with the development of second year shooting guard Nick Young and former Maryland standout Juan Dixon.

Dallas Mavericks (2010–2011)

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Stevenson at the Dallas Mavericks championship parade

On February 13, 2010, Stevenson was traded to the Dallas Mavericks along with Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton and Quinton Ross.[15][16] Stevenson became the first player in NBA history to wear number 92 on his jersey. Stevenson chose number 92 because he wore number 9 in Orlando and number 2 with Utah and Washington.[17] He used his player option and made $4.15 million during the 2010–11 NBA season.[18] On June 12, 2011, the Mavericks won the NBA championship, defeating the LeBron James-led Miami Heat 105–95 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. In that game, Stevenson made three of five three-point shots, scoring nine points.[19]

New Jersey Nets (2011–2012)

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On December 23, 2011, Stevenson signed one-year $2.5 million contract with the New Jersey Nets.[20]

Atlanta Hawks (2012–2013)

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On July 11, 2012, the Nets traded Stevenson in a sign-and-trade, along with Jordan Farmar, Jordan Williams, Anthony Morrow, and Johan Petro, to the Atlanta Hawks for Joe Johnson.[21] On August 2, 2013, he was waived by the Hawks.[22][23]

Stevenson played his final game on May 1, 2013, during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference's 1st Round. The Hawks lost the game 83 - 106 with Stevenson only playing 16 seconds. Stevenson formally announced his retirement three and half years later on December 19, 2016.[24]

NBA career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship  *  Led the league

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2000–01 Utah 40 2 7.3 .341 .083 .684 .7 .5 .3 .1 2.2
2001–02 Utah 67 23 16.9 .385 .080 .698 2.0 1.7 .4 .4 4.9
2002–03 Utah 61 8 12.5 .401 .333 .691 1.4 .7 .4 .1 4.6
2003–04 Utah 54 54 28.0 .445 .233 .669 3.3 1.7 .5 .3 11.4
2003–04 Orlando 26 24 35.9 .404 .293 .690 4.6 2.5 .9 .0 11.2
2004–05 Orlando 55 27 19.8 .408 .373 .554 1.9 1.3 .3 .2 7.8
2005–06 Orlando 82* 82* 32.3 .460 .133 .744 2.9 2.0 .7 .2 11.0
2006–07 Washington 82* 82* 29.5 .461 .404 .704 2.6 2.7 .8 .2 11.2
2007–08 Washington 82* 82* 31.3 .386 .383 .797 2.9 3.1 .8 .2 11.2
2008–09 Washington 32 25 27.7 .312 .271 .533 2.4 3.1 .7 .1 6.6
2009–10 Washington 40 13 15.4 .282 .177 .720 1.6 1.1 .3 .1 2.2
2009–10 Dallas 24 5 11.1 .283 .320 .700 1.1 .5 .2 .0 2.0
2010–11† Dallas 72 54 16.1 .388 .378 .767 1.5 1.1 .3 .1 5.3
2011–12 New Jersey 51 30 18.8 .285 .283 .563 2.0 .8 .4 .1 2.9
2012–13 Atlanta 56 31 20.7 .374 .364 .522 2.2 .9 .5 .1 5.1
Career 824 542 22.3 .406 .340 .698 2.2 1.6 .5 .2 7.2

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2001 Utah 1 0 8.0 .500 .000 .000 1.0 .0 .0 .0 2.0
2003 Utah 4 0 9.3 .400 .000 1.000 1.8 1.0 .3 .0 4.5
2007 Washington 4 4 30.5 .196 .158 .429 2.5 1.8 .5 .8 6.0
2008 Washington 6 6 32.7 .367 .389 .889 2.2 3.0 1.0 .0 12.3
2010 Dallas 2 0 3.0 .000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
2011† Dallas 21 18 15.8 .349 .397 .750 .9 .6 .5 .1 4.5
2013 Atlanta 4 0 11.3 .600 .600 .000 2.5 .3 .0 .0 2.3
Career 42 28 17.8 .327 .353 .791 1.4 1.0 .5 .1 5.3

See also

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References

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  1. ^ http://twp.com/BETTER/detail.jsp?key=343211&rc=to&p=1&all=1 [dead link]
  2. ^ "Stevenson follows dad's dream to NBA". Lawrence Journal-World. Associated Press. July 22, 2000. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  3. ^ "KU Recruit Going Pro After All". CBS News.
  4. ^ Bedore, Gary (May 9, 2000). "Stevenson picks Kansas after all". Lawrence Journal-World. Archived from the original on May 4, 2001.
  5. ^ "Memphis basketball teaches the wrong lesson". The Oregonian. June 5, 2009.
  6. ^ "Slam Dunk Year-by-Year Results". NBA.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
  7. ^ McCarthy, Michael; Upton, Jodi (May 4, 2006). "Athletes lightly punished after their day in court". USA Today. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  8. ^ Aldridge, David (March 17, 2003). "Davis should be punished for showing up Jazz". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  9. ^ "Jazz vs Mavericks, November 1, 2003".
  10. ^ "ESPN - Wizards sign former Magic guard Stevenson - NBA". ESPN. August 5, 2006. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  11. ^ MacMahon, Tim (May 28, 2011). "Stevenson: LeBron beef 'pretty much over'". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  12. ^ "NBA.com News Flash". NBA.com. July 16, 2007. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  13. ^ "Man Injured In Shooting At NBA Player's Home". Wesh.com. August 20, 2007. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  14. ^ Magazine, Dime (February 26, 2008). "Worlds Apart | Dime Magazine (dimemag.com) : Daily NBA News, NBA Trades, NBA Rumors, Basketball Videos, Sneakers". dimemag.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  15. ^ "MAVERICKS ACQUIRE BUTLER, HAYWOOD AND STEVENSON IN SEVEN-PLAYER TRADE". NBA.com. February 13, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  16. ^ Townsend, Brad (June 1, 2011). "Townsend: How Mavericks' DeShawn Stevenson went from troublemaker to 'perfect' life". DallasNews.com. Dallas News. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  17. ^ "NBA & ABA Players Who Wore Number 92". basketball-reference.com. March 15, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
  18. ^ "Stevenson uses his Option". ESPN. May 24, 2010. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  19. ^ "Mavs' Big Team sheds negative labels with team's first title". NBA.com. June 13, 2011. Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  20. ^ "NETS Sign DeShawn Stevenson". NBA.com. December 23, 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  21. ^ Couch, Ben (July 11, 2012). "A Jolt of Joe for the Nets". Brooklyn Nets. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  22. ^ "Hawks Waive DeShawn Stevenson". HoopsRumors.com. August 2, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  23. ^ "Atlanta Hawks expected to add DeMarre Carroll". InsideHoops.com. August 2, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  24. ^ Conway, Tyler (December 19, 2016). "DeShawn Stevenson Retires: Latest Comments and Reaction". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
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