D.J. Stephens opens up about life as a basketball nomad and his NBA dream
By Ian Pierno
D.J. Stephens, who played collegiately at the University of Memphis, became a Twitter sensation during the NBA preseason for his emphatic dunks and blocks as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. After surprisingly being cut in October, Stephens is back in the European basketball circuit with something to prove.
KIEV, UKRAINE – D.J. Stephens didn’t spend Thanksgiving the way he expected.
Rather than celebrating the holiday with family and friends back in the United States, Stephens was on a 10-hour flight to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, to join B.C. Budivelnyk, regularly one of the top teams in the Ukrainian SuperLeague.
The airline he flew on lost his luggage, but blips in traveling are nothing new for Stephens, who has played in Greece, Russia and Turkey in his young career.
However, that doesn’t mean he has grown content with the inconsistent lifestyle. Despite having far more air miles than the average 25-year-old, he’s not an entirely uncommon case of an American chasing the domestic dream of playing in the NBA from abroad.
SLIPPING THROUGH HIS FINGERTIPS
A month ago, Stephens was on the opposite side of the world, vying for a spot on the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies roster in the city he calls his “second home.”
After coming back stateside from Russia to play in the NBA D-League – where he ended up on the Grizzlies’ affiliate team in Iowa – Stephens caught the eye of the Grizzlies’ front office and earned a spot on Memphis’ Summer League and preseason squads after signing a partially-guaranteed, two-year deal.
It wasn’t his first stop in the NBA circuit, having previously played in the Summer League for Dallas and Miami and in the preseason for Cleveland and New Orleans. He also played in three games for Milwaukee in 2014.
Stephens, a University of Memphis product, immediately earned the admiration of the local fanbase and national media alike with his high-flying dunks, hustle plays and emphatic blocks during the preseason.
The Grizzlies consistently promoted Stephens in marketing material, but as the preseason wound to a close, the team had only one open roster spot if it didn’t want to cut any players with guaranteed money on their contracts.
A decision had to be made.
Sitting next to Tony Allen in the locker room after practice on Oct. 22, having his knee wrapped and iced, Stephens’ iPhone suddenly wouldn’t stop buzzing.
“A story was already on the internet, and a bunch of my friends and close family were texting me like, ‘Are you OK? Are you OK?’ and I’m like ‘What do you mean am I OK?’ and they were like ‘You don’t know what’s going on?’” Stephens said. “Before I met with (the Grizzlies), I already knew they were going to cut me.”
There Stephens sat, in complete shock. Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune had tweeted that Stephens and Jordan Adams were going to be cut from the team.
Twenty minutes later, he was taken by assistant coach Nick Van Exel to head coach David Fizdale’s office.
“Coach Fizdale started off saying, ‘It was easily the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. This is the hardest it’s ever been to cut someone because you did such a phenomenal job’ and he was like, ‘You’re such a great kid and you did everything I asked you to do’ and said it was a numbers game and stuff like that,” Stephens said.
He continued: “I got comfortable being there and since I’d always wanted to be there anyway, it felt like the perfect fit, the perfect situation, the perfect everything … I was just like, ‘Wow, everything is coming together perfectly.’ Then, in the preseason, I got let go.”
A FINAL IMPRESSION GONE WRONG
In the Grizzlies’ final preseason game on Oct. 19 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Stephens noticed Troy Williams, a rookie out of Indiana, wasn’t getting his normal minutes through the first three quarters of the game.
“I could tell coach was letting everyone play … but I noticed Troy Williams wasn’t getting in the game and I was like, ‘Why is he not playing?’” Stephens said, “So while I’m playing, I’m thinking of all this stuff and I’m like ‘Please don’t tell me they’ve already decided this kid is going to make the team,’ so I’m thinking about it the whole game so I’m like, ‘Shit,’ and I’m missing shots and … and the more and more I’m thinking about it, the more things are spiraling out of control and I’m playing worse and worse and worse, I was just –wow.”
Stephens played 29 minutes, scored four points and turned the ball over four times while missing all five of his free throw attempts.
Asked if he wished he would’ve joined a team with more roster spots open, Stephens was adamant that he had no regrets.
“I mean, looking back at it, man, you can say ‘I could’ve done this’ but there’s no guarantee things would’ve panned out the way that they did for me,” he said. “For me being in Memphis, they were giving me playing time … they gave me the opportunity to showcase.
“It just sucks that ultimately I didn’t make the team and I still had to come overseas,” he softly added.
THE STRUGGLES OF BEING A BASKETBALL NOMAD
Going back to the NBA D-League, despite often being viewed as the most seamless transition for players wanting to go to the NBA, wasn’t an option for Stephens because of its low salary.
“Last year when I made that decision to go the the D-League, me and my agent talked about it and decided that was the year to bite the bullet financially,” he said, “but now I have two little girls to take care of and I only have a short window to play basketball and max out and make as much money … to set away for my future.”
In the D-League, players make between $13,000 to $25,000 for a six-month season. To compare, Stephens is making just under $20,000 per month playing for B.C. Budivelnyk.
Stephens likely could’ve earned an even heftier payday, but currently has a pending domestic violence charge.
(Note: I and the rest of the Beale Street Bears staff have zero tolerance for domestic violence. However, we also strongly believe in the court of law and not the court of public opinion. Therefore, D.J. Stephens is innocent until proven guilty and we won’t be making any assumptions nor further discussing the case)
Despite having a higher paycheck, playing in Europe has plenty of struggles off the court. Due to such a large time difference, Stephens often has to wait until 4 or 5 p.m. local time until his friends and family in the United States wake up.
The language barrier is there, too, which can make communication difficult. Though, there are some parallels between Russia and Ukraine, Stephens said some tasks he used to take for granted, like ordering food, are far more difficult now.
Nothing compares, though, to the struggle of being away from the people he cares about the most. Stephens has two daughters, Dallas, 3, and Lordis, 1, who both live in Memphis.
“That’s the hardest part, being away from my daughters and being away from my friends and family, like I didn’t even get to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. My birthday is next month, Christmas is next month, and I’ll be here, by myself.”
“That’s the hardest part,” he said, “being away from my daughters and being away from my friends and family, like I didn’t even get to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. My birthday is next month, Christmas is next month, and I’ll be here, by myself.”
It’s all a part of the long-term plan for Stephens, though, to acquire as much of a financial cushion as he can while he can still play the game he loves to provide for his daughters.
“It’s unfortunate that you have to do some of the things you have to do, but the tradeoff that I can still play basketball and still make a good amount of money while doing it,” Stephens said. “I mean, I can’t really complain too much.”
DUNKERS PASSING THE TORCH
At every basketball player’s origin, they were just a basketball fan with a dream.
No league capitalizes on the notoriety of its individual superstars quite like the NBA. For a young Stephens, it was watching Vince Carter that made him fall in love with the game and also gave him a model to emulate his own game around.
During the preseason, Stephens shared a team with his childhood hero.
Initially, Stephens thought the 39-year-old veteran might view him as competition. Rather, Carter immediately took him under his wing.
“In every game, every time (Carter) saw a situation where he could give me some insight for the future, or to correct this, to do that or to just give me comfort and make me feel more comfortable in the situation I was in, he did that,” Stephens said. “It’s crazy because he was my favorite player growing up. That meant a lot.”
Carter, often considered the bounciest player in basketball history with a 43-inch vertical recorded in 1998, actually had a vertical three inches lower than Stephens’ during his prime.
In an 11-minute video that Grizzlies.com made during the preseason, Carter and Stephens took turns breaking down each other’s most famous dunks.
After Stephens expressed his longtime admiration for Carter, Carter responded, saying, “You have to understand there’s going to be another generation watching you, emulating what you do.”
Stephens is grateful for his generational leaping ability – though, he admitted it scares him at times, as whatever goes up must also come down, and he gets seriously “up” – he calls it “50 percent God and 50 percent genetics.” He’s working on rounding out the rest of his game while he’s in Europe.
After only shooting 46 3-pointers during his time in college, critics said he’d struggle at the next level without a consistent jump shot.
Stephens locked himself in the gym and became a far more dynamic threat.
In 11 games with the Iowa Energy last year, Stephens hit 41.9 percent of his shots from behind the arc while taking 3.9 long-range attempts per game.
He still says he wants to improve by becoming more of an offensive threat, not only on the ball, but off the ball as well.
At only 25 years old, he’s entering his prime years as a hooper.
“During my time (in Ukraine), I just need to show I can continue to improve,” Stephens said.
THE CHASE CONTINUES
“When I was five years old, I told my parents I wanted to play in the NBA and I was serious,” Stephens said. “Every time I’ve pursued (playing in the NBA), I’ve come closer and closer. This past preseason with the Grizzlies was the closest I’ve ever been.
“To this day, I question ‘How am I not there?’ Like, I did everything that I needed to, proving that I’m capable of doing this and proving I’ve improved. In minutes I was given during preseason, I felt like I pretty much proved I’m an NBA player, but yet I’m in Ukraine laying in bed right now.”
For now, Stephens spends his time off the court watching movies, keeping up with family and friends in his hometown and Memphis, listening to music – “Anything new that comes out, I have to download,” he says, and he often discusses hip hop on Twitter – and tweeting about life overseas (apparently, you can park perpendicularly on the sidewalk in Ukraine without getting towed).
Donning No. 20 for B.C. Budivelnyk, his main focus is on leading his current team to wins. However, if an NBA general manager were to reach out to him to inquire about his availability, he already knows what he’ll say.
“To every NBA GM out there, if I could have a one-on-one conversation with them, I’d just say, ‘If you give me this opportunity, I promise you will not regret it,’” Stephens said. “’It will be one of the best decisions that you’ve ever made in your life.’ Any position that I’ve ever been put in basketball-wise, people have always expected a certain thing out of a situation and I’ve always made that situation into more than what they thought it was going to be. I’ve always overachieved in whatever it was.
“Man, I’ll do whatever it takes to stay. I need to get that one legit chance or opportunity.”
“To every NBA GM out there, if I could have a one-on-one conversation with them, I’d just say, ‘If you give me this opportunity, I promise you will not regret it. It will be one of the best decisions that you’ve ever made in your life.’”
Maybe that chance could come in Memphis – the Grizzlies set an NBA-record by playing 28 players last year because of a plethora of injuries – the city that he says makes him feel “comfortable and safe.”
It’s the same city where he knows, while it may not be the biggest of markets, it’s also home to one of the most passionate fan bases.
“It’s kind of crazy to me because I knew I had the support of Tiger Nation, but when I started playing for the Grizzlies I realized I had the support of the Grizzlies fans as well,” Stephens said.
Most of all, though, he just wants one more chance.
Until then, the lifestyle may not be glamorous and foreign airlines might continue to lose his bags, but it’s all a part of the process of trusting himself to achieve the goals he’s set.
After all, it’s right in his Twitter bio: “Doubt kills more dreams than alarm clocks.”