The Indiana Pacers are trying to find out if Brooklyn’s Lance Stephenson can run the point for them.

So far, so good.

The 6-foot-5 rookie out of Cincinnati scored 21 points, adding four rebounds and three assists, to spark the Pacers to an 86-77 victory over the host Magic Monday in the Orlando Pro Summer League.

Indiana faces the Nets and No. 3 overall pick Derrick Favors at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

“We were very pleased with what Lance did at both ends of the court,” said assistant coach Frank Vogel. “We know he can score the basketball but he had a lot of very nice passes. He only had three assists but he probably set up his teammates seven or eight times. And defensively he did a nice job.” (more…)

NEW YORK – If Lance Stephenson is ‘Born Ready’ for the NBA, he’ll have to prove it in Indiana, not New York.

The Knicks opted not to select the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Stephenson with the No. 38 and 39 picks in the second round of the NBA Draft, and the Pacers then grabbed him at No. 40.

New York selected Syracuse shooting guard Andy Rautins and Stanford forward Landry Fields with their two picks, opting to skip the Brooklyn native known as “Born Ready.” Stephenson held a draft party at the Paramount Hotel in Manhattan did not attend the draft.

“This is a night I’ve dreamed of since I was a little boy and I got my family here to support me,” Stephenson told ESPNNewYork.com. “I am just happy. This day came fast. There is a lot of relief. I’ve wanted to be in the NBA since I was a little boy. I’m very motivated. Can’t even explain how motivated I am.” (more…)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Derrick Favors and DeMarcus Cousins have been facing off against one another since the 10th grade.

“To be honest,” Cousins said after their joint workout Monday with the Nets, “me and Derrick have been in competition our whole career. I mean it was always who was better, me or Derrick, me or Derrick? And after we went to college, I pretty much thought those days were over. But we’re right back at stage one.”

Four years after they first faced off at at event in Atlanta, the two big men have shared workouts in Sacramento, Philadelphia and, now New Jersey.

The Nets hold the No. 3 pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, while the 76ers pick at No. 2 and the Kings at No. 5.

“I think we all walked out of here going, ‘These are going to be two really fine NBA players going down the road,’” said Gregg Polinsky, the Nets’ Director of Player Personal. (more…)

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Wearing a gray Knicks warmup jersey and his “Born Ready” tattoo on his right arm, Lance Stephenson pronounced himself ready to play in the NBA.

“That name is the definition of me. I’m ‘Born Ready’ for any competition, anything on the next-level stage, or any stage. So I like that name and I’m going to live up to it,” the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Stephenson said Saturday after working out at the Knicks’ Westchester campus.

Asked if he was ‘Born Ready’ to step into the NBA,” Stephenson added, “Of course.”

Read the full story at SNY.

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Lance Stephenson has won more championships in Madison Square Garden in the last five years than the Knicks have in their entire history.

Yes, those were PSAL high school titles at Lincoln High School, but there is no denying Stephenson’s comfort factor in the World’s Most Famous Arena.

The Brooklyn native nicknamed “Born Ready” could end up playing professionally in the Garden if things fall a certain way.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Stephenson will work out Saturday for the Knicks at their Westchester Campus. (more…)

LeBron James may not have decided where he will play his ball beginning next year, but he has apparently decided to endorse Tom Izzo as the next coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Citing “a high-level source,” the Cleveland Plain-Dealer said James would endorse the hiring of the Michigan State coach “100 percent.”

According to the story, Izzo told several Michigan-based reporters via text messages Sunday that he was “still gathering” information about the Cavs’ offer. (more…)

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Jonathan Givony of DraftExpess.com talks with Brooklyn native Lance Stephenson during the recent Chicago Draft Combine.

And here’s my recent story on him training under Joe Abunassar at Impact Basketball.

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Andrew Moore has been working with Lance Stephenson every day for five weeks at the Impact Basketball Academy in Las Vegas.

And Moore says Stephenson is making great strides toward playing in the NBA.

“I think somebody’s going to like him. He’s an ultimate competitor,” Moore, a coach at Impact Basketball who has worked with Kevin Garnett, Danny Granger, Corey Maggette, Baron Davis and Al Harrington, said Monday by phone.

Read the full story at SNY.

(Photo courtesy Cincinnati Enquirer)

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NEW YORK — After initially saying he would remain at Cincinnati for his sophomore season, Brooklyn’s Lance Stephenson has decided to go the one-and-done route, SNY.tv has exclusively learned.

The 6-foot-5 guard will submit his paperwork to the NBA and plans to enter the June NBA Draft.

“I have decided to withdraw from the University of Cincinnati and  enter my name into this year’s NBA draft,” Stephenson said. “After carefully reviewing my options, it is now clear to me that the need to emotionally and financially support my family, especially my young daughter, along with my long-standing and burning passion to play in the NBA, outweighs my desire to return to the University of Cincinnati.

Read the full story exclusively at SNY.tv.

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