DeShawn Stevenson (born April 3, 1981) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. Stevenson played for six teams in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA) during a 13-year career. He originally committed to play at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, but decided to enter the NBA directly from high school and was picked by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference, Northwest Division. Since the 1991–92 season, ...

with the 23rd selection of the 2000 NBA draft. He was a member of the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The ...

team that won an NBA championship in 2011. In 2017, Stevenson joined Power, one of the eight

BIG3 Big3 (stylized BIG3) is a 3-on-3 basketball league founded by hip hop musician and actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. The league consists of 12 teams whose rosters include both former NBA players and international pl ...

basketball league teams.

Early life

Stevenson was born in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

. 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. Due to the absence of his father, DeShawn lived with his

godparent In infant baptism and denominations of Christianity, a godparent (also known as a sponsor, or '' gossiprede'') is someone who bears witness to a child's christening and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelo ...

s in Easton,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. 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 The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a mem ...

in the fall of his senior year. Jayhawks head coach Roy Williams called him his "most gifted recruit ever". 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 McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburge ...

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, Stevenson did indeed enter the league straight out of high school.

NBA career

Utah Jazz (2000–2004)

Stevenson was picked by the

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 minpg. 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 The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime inventio ...

. Later that year, Stevenson pleaded no contest to having sex with a 14-year-old girl. On March 16, 2003, Stevenson received widespread attention for shoving Ricky Davis of the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

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. On November 1, 2003, Stevenson scored a then-career-high 24 points in a loss against the Mavericks. On February 19, 2004, Stevenson and a future second round draft pick were acquired by the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was estab ...

from the

in exchange for guard–forward

Gordan Giricek Gordan () is a Slavic name derived Proto-Slavic ''*gъrdъ'' (gȏrd) meaning proud: Given name * Gordan Golik, Croatian football midfielder * Gordan Giriček, Croatian basketball player * Gordan Jandroković, Croatian diplomat and politician ...

Orlando Magic (2004–2006)

Stevenson played with the

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 The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

Washington Wizards (2006–2010)

Stevenson in December 2007 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. 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 Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures r ...

. Circumstances of the incident remain unclear. 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." 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 Juan Dixon (born October 9, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player and the current head coach for Coppin State University in Baltimore. Dixon led the University of Maryland Terrapins to their first NCAA championship in 2002 a ...

Dallas Mavericks (2010–2011)

DeShawn Stevenson at the Championship parade

On February 13, 2010, Stevenson was traded to the

along with Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood for

Josh Howard Joshua Jay Howard (born April 28, 1980) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the UNT Dallas Trailblazers men's basketball team. He played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. ...

Drew Gooden Andrew Melvin Gooden III (born September 24, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently a broadcaster for NBC Sports Washington. The power forward played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ...

, James Singleton and

Quinton Ross Quinton Lenord Ross (born April 30, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. High school and college Ross led Dallas's Justin F. Kimball High School to the state finals, but they lost in the championship game. He went undraft ...

. 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. He used his player option and made $4.15 million during the 2010–11 NBA season. On June 12, 2011, the Mavericks won the NBA championship, defeating the

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

-led

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

105-95 in Game 6 of the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is aw ...

. In that game, Stevenson made three of five three-point shots, scoring nine points.

New Jersey Nets (2011–2012)

On December 23, 2011, Stevenson signed one-year $2.5 million contract with the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

Atlanta Hawks (2012–2013)

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 The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

for Joe Johnson. On August 2, 2013, he was waived by the Hawks. Stevenson's played his final game on May 1st, 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.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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, 54 , , 54 , , 28.0 , , .445 , , .233 , , .669 , , 3.3 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , .3 , , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 24 , , 35.9 , , .404 , , .293 , , .690 , , 4.6 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .0 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 55 , , 27 , , 19.8 , , .408 , , .373 , , .554 , , 1.9 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .2 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 32.3 , , .460 , , .133 , , .744 , , 2.9 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , .2 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 82 , , 82 , , 29.5 , , .461 , , .404 , , .704 , , 2.6 , , 2.7 , , .8 , , .2 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 82 , , 82 , , 31.3 , , .386 , , .383 , , .797 , , 2.9 , , 3.1 , , .8 , , .2 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 32 , , 25 , , 27.7 , , .312 , , .271 , , .533 , , 2.4 , , 3.1 , , .7 , , .1 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 40 , , 13 , , 15.4 , , .282 , , .177 , , .720 , , 1.6 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

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New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, 51 , , 30 , , 18.8 , , .285 , , .283 , , .563 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .4 , , .1 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, 56 , , 31 , , 20.7 , , .374 , , .364 , , .522 , , 2.2 , , .9 , , .5 , , .1 , , 5.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 824 , , 542 , , 22.3 , , .406 , , .340 , , .698 , , 2.2 , , 1.6 , , .5 , , .2 , , 7.2

Playoffs

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, 4 , , 0 , , 9.3 , , .400 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .0 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 4 , , 4 , , 30.5 , , .196 , , .158 , , .429 , , 2.5 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .8 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 6 , , 6 , , 32.7 , , .367 , , .389 , , .889 , , 2.2 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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References

External links

*
NBA Draft Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Deshawn 1981 births Living people American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from California Big3 players Dallas Mavericks players McDonald's High School All-Americans National Basketball Association high school draftees New Jersey Nets players Orlando Magic players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Fresno, California Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players Washington Wizards players American men's 3x3 basketball players

Early life

NBA career

Utah Jazz (2000–2004)

Orlando Magic (2004–2006)

Washington Wizards (2006–2010)

Dallas Mavericks (2010–2011)

New Jersey Nets (2011–2012)

Atlanta Hawks (2012–2013)

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links