Before Lance, there was another infamous basketball-playing Stevenson who made his mark on the NBA by being a general nuisance to LeBron James and engaging and all sorts of other quirky off-court behavior (and yes, we understand that Lance’s last name is spelled “Stephenson”).
During a playoff battle between the Cavs and Wizards in 2007, DeShawn Stevenson hilariously and precociously called LeBron overrated. Jay Z and Soulja Boy were then inexplicably brought into the mix and diss tracks inevitably ensued. The Cavs, of course, would go on to beat the Wizards for the third year in a row. Stevenson, however, would get his revenge when the Mavs stunned the Big 3 Heat in the 2011 Finals during their first season together.
After that, the beef was pretty much over, and Stevenson even said at the time that he’d consider joining LeBron in Miami, although that never ended up happening. But as alluded to before, Stevenson was also known for being a little on the eccentric side, and there was no better example of that than when the world discovered that he had an actual functioning ATM in his home.
Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype asked him about it in a recent interview, but his explanation might bring up more questions than answers.
I have to ask about this: You had an ATM machine installed in your house a few years back. Do you still have it and use it?
DS: I still have the ATM machine! Do I still use it? Nah. I don’t use it, but it’s still in my house. I didn’t even buy the ATM machine! It was something that my financial advisor and best friend bought for me on my birthday as a joke, but it really worked. It was something given to me that I didn’t even ask for and it got a lot of publicity and spread on social media (laughs). It had my name on it and everything, so I kept it!
Given that professional athletes have historically been prone to excessive spending, enabling a surrealist fantasy in which a machine inside your house freely dispenses cash might not be the best idea. It’s almost sounds like something a financial advisor would caution against rather than facilitate.
But who knows, maybe Stevenson was really good at saving his money. At least now we have our origin story, even if it’s more confounding than ever.
And, of course, Kennedy wasn’t going to let him skate by without mentioning the LeBron beef, and though Stevenson hinted at a potential cause for his animosity toward the King, he wasn’t exactly forthcoming about the details.
You mentioned guys not being friends, so I want to ask about your public beef with LeBron James a while back. Have you guys talked since then and was that real beef or you trying to get into LeBron’s head? Take me through what went down with that.
DS: There was something personal that was said in the locker room that got back to me, but that’s neither here nor there. I’m older now. And it wasn’t a beef where I wanted him to be harmed in any way or involve his family or anything like that obviously. Honestly, I feel that because we both came to the NBA straight out of high school, we share something. When you’re in the league, a lot of things are said and we were all young then. At that moment, I was a young guy and I wasn’t standing for it. Now, it’s just about peace and love.
It’s nice to know that Stevenson didn’t want to harm LeBron or his family in any way. That’s very civil of him, but it still leaves a lot of lingering questions about what LeBron may or may not have said that set him off. For now, Stevenson has bigger fish to fry, like getting ready for the inaugural Big 3 tournament this summer.
