Lance Stephenson has been forced to take his basketball talents to Puerto Rico after a 10-year NBA career — and says he misses playing in the spotlight.
“I definitely miss the NBA now that I am playing in Puerto Rico. I did not want to leave. So my goal right now is to get back in there and show them that I am born ready,” he told The Post.
The Brooklyn native played for the Pacers and the Hawks in 2021-22 but then failed to find a roster spot with any NBA team last season.
He played four games with Puerto Rico’s Leones de Ponce this past spring.
“I don’t feel like it was a personal jab towards me to no longer be in the NBA,” he said. “There is a lot of great players. So for me not to be in the NBA right now it is OK because I know it is just another chance. There are guys coming up so I am always able to get back in there as long as I work hard.”
The 32-year-old Lincoln High School product made headlines when he blew in the ear of LeBron James — Stephenson’s future Lakers teammate in 2018-19 — during Game 5 of the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals between the Pacers and Heat.
Lance Stephenson says he is ready to return to the states and play in the NBA.
Now the Coney Island native has two teams in mind when it comes to returning to the NBA.
“I think it is time for a New York team. I want to play for the [Brooklyn] Nets or the Knicks, either one would do,” Stephenson said.
The father of five was drafted out of Cincinnati by the Pacers in the second round in 2010.
The shooting guard currently plays for a Puerto Rico basketball team.
He went on to play for the Hornets, Clippers, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Timberwolves, Lakers and Hawks, with two more stops in Indiana and a season in China along the way.
“I feel like I did enough for people to remember me and know me as one of the top players that played in New York,” he said. “I feel like I am just New York.”
The shooting guard showed support by attending the AND1 30th anniversary for NYC Open Run Tour on Sunday at Kingdome in Harlem and he was sure to clarify the difference between street-ballers and NBA players.
“It is a different type of game when it comes to street ball and playing in the NBA,” Stephenson said. “You have to know the game. Playing in the NBA you can’t use a lot of the street-ball stuff. You got to know how to do it. It is just a difference between playing super organized and playing street ball.”
While so many kids dream of making it into the NBA, the 6-foot-6 wing says despite the odds of making it, there are other ways to make the game work for you.
“You can use basketball to get into college, get four years in college and from there you will be able to do other things besides basketball,” he said. “So I tell kids whatever it is you do just go as hard as you can to make it into college and get a scholarship.
“Once you get that scholarship whatever you do after college you will have a game plan.”
Harlem’s own “Mikey Likes It” served ice cream to all attending patrons.
