What are the most bizarre moments of Lance Stephenson’s career? Kevin Kaspar ranks the best and worst of them.
Lance Stephenson is an enigma, unlike anything the NBA has seen before. He’s brash, unfiltered, and plays a unique brand of basketball that often gets the internet buzzing. But which Born Ready moment is Stephenson’s crowning jewel? Here’s the official power ranking of Lance Stephenson’s most absurd moments with the Indiana Pacers, as well as his other NBA stops.
Lance Stephenson flew under the radar for the first year two years of his NBA career. He rarely saw the court except in garbage time and spent most of his time riding the pine.
That all changed on May 17th, 2012.
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It was Game 3 of the Pacers’ Eastern Conference Semi-Finals versus the Miami Heat. LeBron James heads to the line to the shoot a free throw after a Danny Granger technical foul. James shoots; the ball kisses the front of the rim, swirls around the cylinder, and final pops out of the bucket. This would have been the end of it, but ESPN’s cameras caught Lance Stephenson taunting LeBron with the choke sign from the end of the bench.
The Pacers won that game to take a 2-1 series lead. When reporters asked James if he saw the taunting from Indiana’s bench, he only had this to say:
"“Lance Stephenson? You want a quote about Lance Stephenson?” James said after practice. “I’m not even going to give him the time. Knock it off.”"
Little did we know that day that the legend of Lance Stephenson was born. Stephenson would go on to become a fan favorite in Indiana for his aggressive play and outspoken personality. There have been countless times Lance makes waves on the internet for his game, (Sometimes good, sometimes bad), or for his antics. But which Lance moment is the all-time best? These are the unofficial official power ranking of Lance Stephenson’s greatest moments.
We’re ranking them on the stakes involved, absurdity factor, disrespect factor, reaction, and meme-ability for an overall score. For a breakdown of the methodology, as well as some footnotes, click here.
Honorable mention: Sir Lancelot
Stephenson had a career year during the 2013-14 season. He averaged13.8 points-per-game, 4.6 assists-per-game, and 7.2 rebounds-per-game. He was poised for his first all-star game and made a video making his claim. What could possibly make this better? He’s parodying himself in the video using an alter-ego; Sir Lancelot.
It’s a phenomenal video that we’ll be showing our children for years to come. However, I can’t include Born Ready’s YouTube debut in the power rankings in good conscience. Every other entry is a moment that happened on the court. Off-court submissions are ineligible.