- Report: Lakers have new plan for LeBron James in terms of minutes and workload
- Report: Buzz around Lakers is Anthony Davis is in best pre-training camp shape he’s been in since joining franchise
- Darvin Ham offers update on Lakers’ final spot in starting 5
- Report: LeBron James has been personally working with Rui Hachimura all summer
- Report: LeBron James’ intense practice routine has rubbed off on Rui Hachimura
- Lakers insider drops truth bomb on health of LeBron James and Anthony Davis heading into 2023-24 season
- Report: LeBron James has ‘revamped energy,’ been working out before sunrise and doing 2-a-days
- Nick Young takes personal shot at Marcus Spears as he scolds ESPN
- Report: Jrue Holiday interested in joining teams like Lakers and Heat
- Magic Johnson points to Finals MVPs, other accolades, as he destroys Stephen Curry in GOAT point guard debate
Lance Stephenson opens up on his days as a ‘LeBron stopper,’ reveals what his teammates would tell him
- Updated: November 8, 2021
NBA veteran Lance Stephenson is currently trying to battle his way back to the league.
He was recently drafted by the Denver Nuggets’ G League affiliate, and the 31-year-old is trying to get back to the NBA for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
Stephenson recently spoke with Betway Insider about his career. Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James came up, and Stephenson talked about how he earned a reputation as a great defensive pest on James in the 2010s.
“It was a great challenge,” Stephenson said. “My teammates said: ‘Pick up on him, don’t let him get nothing easy, we’re gonna have your back.’ And I knew from the jump that they weren’t just gonna have me playing one-on-one with him.
“That’s what helped me a lot because I knew if I pressured him, I knew four other guys were gonna be there for me, be held accountable and have my back all the time.”
After being competitors for multiple years, Stephenson and James wound up playing on the same team during the 2018-19 campaign. Both players were members of the Lakers that season. Unfortunately, the team wasn’t able to crack the playoffs.
Stephenson has career averages of 8.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He’s a lifetime 44.4 percent shooter from the field and 31.5 percent shooter from deep.
The former second-round pick has nine years of experience at the NBA level, and he’s hoping to add to that number in the near future. Time will tell if he finds himself on an NBA team soon.