Former second-round draft pick has one regret from the 2014-15 NBA season.
Playing in the NBA is a dream come true for most basketball players in the world. But there are a few things that can make the experience even better.
One of them is being close to the consensus GOAT, Michael Jordan. While MJ retired for the final time in 2003, players had a 13-year window to still be close to him.
How? Well, Jordan was the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets from 2010 to 2023. Former NBA player Lance Stephenson had that opportunity but he squandered it terribly.
Why Lance Stephenson regrets playing for the Charlotte Hornets
Looking back at Stephenson’s career, he had a one-year stint with the Hornets during the 2014-15 NBA season which essentially made him a journeyman in the league.
Stephenson recently spoke about his one-year stint in Charlotte and how he destroyed his relationship with Jordan.
“I got paid and I got comfortable. That hunger… kind of dumped down a little bit. That’s the only year I regret,” Stephenson said on the 7 PM in Brooklyn podcast.
He added: “I feel like I didn’t use all the tools that I had around me at that moment to be the best player I could be. I had Michael Jordan right there, and I didn’t go to him.”
For context, Stephenson’s numbers dropped from 13.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game in the 2013-14 season to 8.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game in the 2014-15 season.
Lance Stephenson was never the same after Charlotte Hornets stint
After a terrible stint with the Hornets, Stephenson then went on to play for seven different NBA teams in the next five seasons. That excludes his brief two-year exit from the NBA.
Speaking of his journey post the Hornets, Stephenson also played for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2018-19 NBA season.
It was a terrific moment as Stephenson shared the court with his longtime rival, LeBron James, albeit it didn’t end up in a fairy tale ending due to the Lakers missing the playoffs.
While Stephenson hasn’t retired from the league, he hasn’t been in the NBA since the 2021-22 season.
