There was a time when Lance Stephenson looked like more than just a role player in the making. With the Indiana Pacers, he built a reputation as a high-energy, do-it-all player. And if you caught him on the right night, he could even look like the guy taking over ahead of Paul George.
That 2013–14 season was his breakout. Stephenson averaged 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists on 49.1% shooting and led league in triple-doubles. Indiana rode that production to the top seed in the East and another deep playoff run. He wasn’t an All-Star, but his name stayed in headlines all season.
His breakout season caught the attention of several teams, and the Charlotte Hornets moved quickly in the 2014 offseason to bring him in. Charlotte bet on that momentum continuing, but things didn’t work out as planned. Stephenson never found a rhythm in Charlotte, his numbers declined, and from there, he started bouncing from team to team.
Looking back now, Stephenson has been honest about that transition from Pacers to the Hornets. He got paid, but the shift in focus may have done more harm than good to his game.
“I think I did great. I don’t regret none of everything I did in my career. But one year, the year that I left the Pacers to go to the Hornets, once I got paid, I didn’t keep the hunger. Like, I kinda slowed, you know, once you get paid, I got a car, I got houses, I was hyped like all my friends, I’m on top like this. I go to my hood, doing music videos. I felt like at that moment right there, I should have just went started going harder, and harder, and harder, and that’s the only part of my career I feel like, damn, I should have changed that right there,” he admitted.
