DJ Stephens names EuroLeague Dunk Contest opponents, shares similarities with Vince Carter / News - Basketnews.com

DJ Stephens recalls a "random" dunk over Frederic Weis, reveals his toughest slams, comments on the EuroLeague All-Star Weekend idea, explains the decline of the NBA Dunk Contest, and shares first impressions of Giannis Antetokounmpo in his rookie season.

Credit: BC Prometey, FIBA, SportsNation/Twitter Credit BC Prometey, FIBA, SportsNation/Twitter

Ability to kiss the rim, the recreation of the iconic Olympic slam over Frederic Weis, the highest vertical leap (46 inches, 117 cm) ever measured by the NBA, and in-game slams that you could rarely see in the dunk contests.

3-pointers this season

31%9,4Points made:9,4Accuracy:31,5%Place in standings:10Record max:15Record min:2Most made 3FGs:Gian ClavellTeamEuroCupStatisticsSchedule

That's a short bio of Prometey Slobozhanske dunk machine DJ Stephens.

The 6-foot-5 (1.98 m) forward is so athletic even his teammates are setting non-regular standards for him.

"Every time I do a dunk, or I do anything, everybody, especially my team, they do not like when I just do one-handed or two-handed dunks. They always want me to do like a windmill, between the legs, or something like that," Stephens told BasketNews after the EuroCup Round 14 game in Kaunas, Zalgirio Arena.

"Of course, if I get an opportunity before the season is over, I will try to go between the legs in a game," he delivered a promising statement. "We will see if that happens."

Fans pay for tickets, they deserve to be entertained. Probably that's a motto Stephens is using to hype himself up and perform on the highest level.

No surprise the 32-year-old player gets triggered by missing dunks.

"Oh yeah, for sure, because for me, as high as I jump, a dunk should be automatic," he said. "Of course, there are times or situations where you are trying to dunk on somebody, you catch a really high pass, and you trying to finish it, it's tough. But just to miss dunks, it frustrates me a little bit."

Stephens is arguably the major entertainer in the EuroCup competition, but just imagine if we could see him gracing the EuroLeague floor. Another flavor to the top-notch product.

Just imagine if EuroLeague would have an All-Star Weekend, with Slam Dunk Contest being the icing on the cake...

Mike James, Donatas Motiejunas, Errick McCollum, and James Gist say a confident 'yes', and Stephens has the same approach to the discussion but, at the same, a probable and very intriguing idea.

D.J. Stephens

MIN:26.82PTS:12.07 (54.11%)REB:6.29As:0.86ST:1.07BL:1TO:1GM:14ProfileEuroCup2022/2023

"I think it would be really special," Stephens pointed out. "Just because the EuroLeague is the second-best league in the world. There is a lot of great talent there.

It would just be interesting to see something like that, and, of course, you have all these great players and all these great athletes. It would be a good thing for European basketball to have an All-Star Game and other events at the EuroLeague level."

Combining EuroLeague and EuroCup high-flyers and having DJStephens on board sounds like a real deal. Who would he want to test in a dunk showdown?

"Of course, he is not as athletic as me, but Will Clyburn. He is kinda athletic, a really good all-around player," Stephens picked Anadolu Efes star. "Then you have Donta Hall, who plays for Monaco, he is a freak. Zalgiris guy Kevarrius Hayes is also really athletic.

I mean, there are a bunch of really athletic guys that would probably make the contest really interesting. It's just a matter if they decide to have it and bring the event to the EuroLeague as well," he noted.

Stephens has already shown off his insane hops during the NBA D-League and LNB Pro A dunk contests, becoming the slam dunk king in the latter.

He capped off his 2017 performance with the remixed 'Dunk of Death' over the 7-foot-2 (2.18 m) Weis, paying respect to his idol, Vince Carter.

"That was kind of random, though. Because I don't like jumping over people or things for dunk contests because it scares me a little bit," he revealed for BasketNews. "Unless this is in the game, then it's just in the moment. It's not much time to think about it."

Surprisingly, it was not Stephens' most challenging slam, as he admits.

"The toughest dunk that I probably did was either the between-the-legs dunk out the side off the backboard or the between-the-leg dunk off vert," he disclosed.

Any of these impressive series of dunks would give him the NBA Slam Dunk Contest crown, as the event has made a steep fall in quality in recent years since the famous head-to-head matchup between aerial artists Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon in 2016.

"It's just tough because it's an event that has been going on for so long. And so many people have dunked so many different dunks, so it's tough to keep reinventing new dunks or breaking out things that people have not seen before," Stephens explained the decline.

"And with NBA players playing games, having practices, and doing all this stuff all the time, they don't have much time to prepare for a dunk contest. So it's not always easy to come up with new content, to come up with new material, and be able to give a great show," Prometey forward kept giving reasons.

"Even though you are really good or athletic, sometimes when you get out there and try new things, the dunks don't always go in, or things don't always go your way. It's always tough to try to bring something new and fresh to the table."

The paragraph above suits DJStephens too. Except for the part about dunks.

NBA business is his biggest disappointment. Wrong place, wrong time over and over again. His Twitter caption says it all: "Been counted out so many times I can't even count it."

Stephens entered the strongest basketball league in 2013 as an undrafted prospect.

The University of Memphis product went in and out of the NBA, signing deals and being waived before the regular season. During his 10-year professional career, Stephens appeared in just four NBA games with the Milwaukee Bucks (2014) and Memphis Grizzlies (2018), averaging 2.3 points and 1.3 rebounds over 5.5 minutes.

Despite being written off by several teams, Stephens had some wholesome NBA moments with particular individuals.

He was one of the first people to witness another freak Giannis Antetokounmpo in close when the two-time NBA MVP was in his first year with Milwaukee.

"What's interesting he was really young then. I think that was his rookie year, he was nowhere close to the player he is now," Stephens shared his first impressions of Giannis.

"To see him when he first got into the NBA and to see him now, it's two totally different players. I am happy for him that he has been able to evolve and grow into an amazing player. But it's just interesting because when I was there, and I saw him, I did not think he will become the player that he is now," Stephens added.

Later, Frankfurt-born American leaper met legendary Vince Carter in Memphis, a player he used to watch and admire growing up.

In retrospect, Stephens sees the similarities between himself and 'Air Canada'.

"Now it's just seeing somebody like that and just being this freak athlete, but early on, we were similar because everybody tried to put him in the box, and just because he was really athletic, that was all that everybody wanted to focus on.

But Carter wanted everybody to know, like, 'I can score, I can shoot the ball from three, and I am a complete basketball player. It's a lot more to me than just my athleticism.' So I feel that's why we are related a lot," Stephens said.

Since closing NCAA doors, DJStephens bounced between multiple NBA and G League teams and also had stints overseas in Greece, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Puerto Rico, and France, among others.

A well-traveled player landed at EuroCup squad Prometey in the summer of 2022. It's his third time and fourth year in Ukraine, or at least in the Ukrainian club, because Prometey is now based in Riga, Latvia, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Prometey were also scheduled to play two EuroCup games in Kaunas, so they visited Lithuania mid-last week and achieved a crushing 94-68 win over Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana.

"It's a pity that we're not in Ukraine. Our performances deserve a full arena," coach Ronen Ginzburg argued in the post-game presser.

Indeed, the Ukrainian powerhouse is playing a terrific season so far. Prometey has not lost a single game since December 6. Yes, you have read it right. That's more than two months without any defeats.

They have an active seven-game winning streak in the EuroCup, leading Group A with a 10-4 record, and possess a victorious 12-game stretch in the Latvian-Estonian league.

"We are just a team that likes to be very aggressive on defense," Stephens said about the reasons behind a successful campaign. "We try to focus on being a pretty solid defensive team. And then a really fast team on offense. For a lot of teams, it is tough to keep up with this style of play because when we are really aggressive and playing well on defense, it leads to a lot of easier transition points and a lot of faster possession for us, which is the style we want to play in."

"When we are down, we losing, or certain things not going in our way, we have been in that situation this season, so we just stay witted, we keep fighting, we push through it, and try to push out and get a win."

Meanwhile, DJStephens played his best game of the 2022-23 season in Round 14, posting 28 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 29 PIR. He knocked down six three-pointers in nine attempts and tied his career-high.

That's the quality that made NBA teams question his game on the biggest club basketball stage. It seems his shooting woes are no longer here, as Stephens converts 37.5% and 48.1% of his long-range shots in the EuroCup and regional league, respectively.

As always, the perfect 3-and-D guy did not leave the Zalgirio Arena hardcourt without a pair of ferocious dunks. And he did so with bruised ribs, an injury he has been suffering from lately.

"It doesn't bother me too much. It's just with certain movements – if I get bumped or get hit, I feel a lot of pain in my side and chest area," Stephens commented on his discomfort.

"In the end, I just have to wait for my pain to calm down and just keep playing through it. It has been something interesting because I have never had an injury with my ribs or anything like that, so it's been day-to-day.

I am waiting, and hopefully, it gets better and better to where I do not feel any pain or anything anymore, but we have all these big games that we are playing now. But we have a break in the EuroCup because the national team break is about to come up, so it should give me some time to rest and heal fully," he said.

100% ready DJ Stephens and in-form Prometey emerge as a deadly combo to pursue a ticket to the EuroLeague. The Ukrainian team has to have luck on its side, as Prometey have already been heavily impacted by circumstances out of their control.

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