Age: 31
Years Pro: 10
Status: Unrestricted free agent.
Key Stats: Appeared in 40 games in third stint with Pacers, averaging 9.3 points and 3.9 assists. Set NBA record as first player in league history to score 20 points in the first quarter off the bench on Jan. 5 against Brooklyn.
Few could have predicted that Lance Stephenson would return to the Pacers in 2022, but when it comes to Lance and the Pacers, unpredictable has long been an operative word.
Stephenson tipped off an improbable third chapter in Indiana this season, joining the team on a 10-day hardship contract on Jan. 1 and playing so remarkably well that he wound up sticking around for the entire season.
As scores of players entered the NBA's health and safety protocols in December and January, the door was opened for several players who had been out of the league or playing in the G League to latch on with NBA clubs on a short-term basis. Perhaps no one took greater advantage of that unique situation than Stephenson.
PHOTO GALLERY: Lance Stephenson's 2021-22 Season in Photos »
He first signed a 10-day hardship deal with Atlanta, playing six games under his last coach in Indiana, Nate McMillan. When that deal expired, he immediately joined the Pacers. Stephenson was provided serviceable minutes with the Hawks and over his first two games with the Blue & Gold, road contests in Cleveland and New York.
But nothing over those first eight games could have portended what would happen when he made his return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Jan. 5 against Brooklyn. Arguably the most popular player to don a Pacers uniform in the past decade, Stephenson received a standing ovation from the Fieldhouse crowd just for checking in to the game at the 6:23 mark in the first quarter (Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis, the only Pacers who had played with Stephenson in his last stint with the team, made a point to join in the applause).
What happened next will be the stuff of lore for Pacers fans for many years to come. Stephenson drilled his first shot, a pull-up three with 5:11 remaining, doing his patented air guitar strum in celebration. He added jumpers on the next two Indiana possessions, then drove to the rim and scored with his left hand the next trip down the floor.
He knocked down another three at 2:16, drove and scored over LaMarcus Aldridge a minute later, then buried his third trey - this one in front of the Pacers' bench. He closed out the quarter in style, dribbling down the clock before rising up for a buzzer-beating triple over James Johnson, then celebrating with a vintage shimmy as his teammates and the fans erupted.
All told, Stephenson scored 20 straight Pacers points to close the first quarter, setting NBA history as the first player ever to score 20 points in the opening quarter while coming off the bench. He also set a new franchise record for points in the first quarter.
It's worth noting how good Stephenson had been over parts of six seasons in Indiana. He started on two teams that made the Eastern Conference Finals, leading the NBA in triple-doubles and nearly making the All-Star team in 2013-14. In his second stint, he was a valuable bench contributor on two playoff teams.
But Stephenson did things in a Pacers uniform this year he'd never done before. He finished the Brooklyn game with 30 points, more than he'd ever scored previously in Indiana. Three nights later, he dished out a career-high 14 assists (and also scored 16 points) in a win over Utah.
With performances like that, Stephenson parlayed a hardship contract into a series of 10-day deals and ultimately a guaranteed deal through the remainder of the season.
That Stephenson played in the NBA at all this season is a testament to his hard work and perseverance. Prior to December, he had not been on an NBA roster since 2018-19, spending a year in China before the COVID-19 pandemic and going unsigned in 2020-21. At 31 years old and with nine NBA seasons under his belt, Stephenson made the humbling decision to go to the NBA G League, where he signed with the Grand Rapids Gold, and played for nearly two months before signing with Atlanta.
"I love this game," Stephenson said of his motivation to keep going. "I just felt like my time wasn't up. Just continued to work on my body, continued to make myself better every day, continued to try to find ways that when I come back I could help an organization win and have fun doing it."
The combination of Stephenson's relentless drive and his knack for having fun on the court has long endeared him to Pacers fans. There is truly no relationship like that between "Born Ready" and the Indiana faithful.
The fans continued to serenade Stephenson with standing ovations each and every game when he first reported to the scorer's table. Stephenson returned the love, like when he stayed an hour late at an appearance at Kroger the final week of the season to ensure all of the hundreds of fans who had lined up across the store to meet him got the chance to get his autograph and take a picture with him.
"We have that relationship where it can't be broken," Stephenson said. "That passion that I bring and just that connection that I have with the fans, it's something (special)."
Stephenson wound up averaging 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. It was his third-highest scoring average in a season, trailing only two of his previous years in Indiana (2013-14 and 2017-18). He reached double figures 15 times and had three double-doubles, dishing out 10 or more assists on four occasions.
It is perhaps no surprise that Stephenson was involved in the play of the year on March 20 against Portland, when he reeled in a Tyrese Haliburton pass then quickly dished behind the back to set up Oshae Brissett for a reverse slam, accentuating the dish in typical Lance fashion.
"I'm a giving person," Stephenson said of his penchant for making the big pass. "I love to find my teammates and make them happy. I feel like when you share the ball and you create a situation where you make your teammates better, that brings joy to the whole team."
Stephenson made it clear after the season that he doesn't think he's done. It's 12 years since the Pacers first drafted him in the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft, but Stephenson proved he was still an NBA-caliber player this season.
Whether he continues playing in Indiana remains to be seen. The Pacers are getting younger and have already stockpiled several young guards even before the upcoming draft. Will there still be a place for Stephenson, who will turn 32 in September, on next year's roster?
But if this was the last time Stephenson put on a Pacers uniform, what a glorious final chapter it was. In a season marred by injuries and losses, Stephenson injected so much life and energy into the fanbase, adding several more memories to his all-time highlight reel.
And no matter where Stephenson goes or what happens over the remainder of his career, Indiana will always be his home.
2022 Pacers.com Player Review Schedule
April 18: Tyrese Haliburton
April 19: Buddy Hield
April 20: Chris Duarte
April 21: Isaiah Jackson
April 22: Oshae Brissett
April 23: Malcolm Brogdon
April 24: Goga Bitadze
April 25: Myles Turner
April 26: Duane Washington Jr.
April 27: T.J. McConnell
April 28: Jalen Smith
April 29: Lance Stephenson
April 30: Terry Taylor