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Lance Stephenson Names LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Shaq to His All-Time NBA Top 5

Julia Stumbaugh

Former 10-year NBA veteran Lance Stephenson didn't worry about positions when naming his top five NBA players of all time.

In no particular order, Stephenson selected Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal as his top five in an interview with HoopsHype's Sam Yip.

"That's my starting five right there," Stephenson said. "I know there gonna be a lot of argument of who gonna shoot the ball, but I think they'll figure it out and actually beat everybody that everyone else picks."

Stephenson entered the NBA in 2020 as a second-round selection by the Indiana Pacers.

During the Pacers' run to the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals, Stephenson had a run-in with one of the members of his top-five list. He infamously blew in James' ear during Game 5 of the series.

"That guy is a tough guy to guard, so you got to bring your all, and that's what I did," Stephenson said in 2021 about that moment, per Dionysis Aravantinos for Yahoo Sports.

In addition to 338 games with the Pacers, Stephenson played for the Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks.

After playing as teammates with James during his 2018-19 season with the Lakers, Stephenson last played in the NBA in 2022. He amassed 4,738 points in 554 total games.

Stephenson currently competes for the G League's Iowa Wolves, where is he averaging 15.0 points in 29.0 minutes per game this season. He told Yip his goal in Iowa "is to get back up there with NBA teams."

   

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