Watch Lance Stephenson React to Stunning Kevin Durant Rockets Trade
Watch Lance Stephenson React to Stunning Kevin Durant Rockets Trade originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Longtime NBA standout guard Lance Stephenson is now plying his trade in Ice Cube's BIG3 3-on-3 league with the Miami 305.
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The 6-foot-6 swingman out of the University of Cincinnati enjoyed a 10-year (non-consecutive) NBA career.
Stephenson, now 34, spent parts of seven seasons with the Indiana Pacers and otherwise hopping around between the Charlotte Hornets, L.A. Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks between 2010-22, interrupted by a stint abroad with the CBA's Liaoning Flying Leopards and a run with the Denver Nuggets' G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold.
The shooting guard/swingman carved out a niche on several talented Indiana squads, alongside All-Stars Paul George and Roy Hibbert, plus former two-time All-Star All-Star David West and talented point guard George Hill. At their best, those Pacers pushed the LeBron James/Dwyane Wade/Chris Bosh-era Miami Heat in three hotly contested East playoff series between 2012-14, including a pair of hotly contested Eastern Conference Finals clashes in 2013 and '14.
Across 554 career regular season contests, Stephenson averaged 8.6 points on .445/.314/.694 shooting splits, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists a night.
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Despite his litany of pro accomplishments, Stephenson was just like any of us on Sunday when the Houston Rockets (briefly) stole the spotlight from his own ex-team, the Pacers, on the cusp of their ill-fated Game 7 NBA Finals matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Video has surfaced of Stephenson conferring NBA insider Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson, and being told that Houston had traded a fairly light package to acquire 14-time All-Star Kevin Durant.
Understandably, Stephenson is stunned to hear the news.
As, indeed, were we all.
Houston managed to hold on to most of its best young assets — including forwards Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason, All-Star center Alperen Sengun, swingman Amen Thompson, and even guard Cam Whitmore and last year's lottery pick Reed Sheppard — in the deal, only offloading inconsistent guard Jalen Green, small forward Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in this week's 2025 NBA Draft, and five future second rounders in the deal.
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Now, one of the NBA's best scorers will be joining a Houston team that won 53 games last year, adding a veteran bucket-getter to guide a group of high-upside young athletes.
Related: Lance Stephenson Makes Major Career Announcement
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 23, 2025, where it first appeared.
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