Lance Stephenson

Lance Stephenson Jr. (born September 5, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League. He attended Lincoln High School in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, where he was named Mr. New York Basketball after his senior year and appeared in the 2009 McDonald's All-American Game. He later played college basketball for the Cincinnati Bearcats and was selected in the second round of the 2010 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers. He is widely known for his wily and unique playstyle, which includes flashy passing, quick drives to the rim, and humorous celebrations.

Stephenson first caught the attention of scouts at age 12, when Clark Francis, a talent evaluator, saw him play at Rumble in the Bronx AAU tournament. Before his first year of high school, he attended the Adidas ABCD Camp, where he challenged O. J. Mayo to a one-on-one game.

In the summer of 2005, Stephenson enrolled at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, but he only attended the school for three days. The school lost in the championship game. The following week, Stephenson did not return to classes at Bishop Loughlin, and was attending Abraham Lincoln High School near his home in Coney Island. National Basketball Association players Stephon Marbury, Sebastian Telfair, and future Seton Hall University star Isaiah Whitehead had also attended and played basketball at Lincoln High. Head coach Dwayne Morton said, "[Stephenson] always talked about outdoing Sebastian, outdoing Stephon," and called him "The best I've ever had at Lincoln." Stephenson went on to lead the Railsplitters to the city title that year.