Duke Basketball Product Perseveres, Finally Lands NBA Contract
![Duke basketball guard DJ Steward Duke basketball guard DJ Steward](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4759,h_2676,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/blue_devil_country/01j3atcrkcbfwh79kp1r.jpg)
He's undersized for his position. He left school too early. All in all, he's just a dime-a-dozen two-guard. That's what the critics have said about former five-star recruit DJ Steward ever since he bolted from Durham following his one-and-done Duke basketball campaign.
What those naysayers may have failed to consider is sheer determination. Never giving up.
In that department, Steward's score is off the charts.
So, roughly 36 hours after posting 37 points in an NBA 2K25 Summer League game for the Chicago Bulls in Las Vegas, all the hard work paid off to the tune of an official regular season contract in the league. Better yet, it's with Chicago, DJ Steward's hometown.
On Sunday morning, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Steward "has agreed on a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls."
Free agent guard DJ Steward has agreed on a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls, sources tell ESPN. Steward, 22, has averaged 19.3 points for the Bulls in Las Vegas Summer League — including 37 points on Friday night. pic.twitter.com/AHfUk3UO25
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 21, 2024
Steward, undrafted in 2021 after averaging 13.0 points per game for the lackluster 2020-21 Duke basketball team, spent the past three seasons improving from one year to the next in the G League.
Now, keep in mind that the 6-foot-2, 165-pound sharpshooter will likely spend much of his time in the G League again next season. This go-round, though, the 22-year-old DJ Steward appears almost certain to get a call-up to the big show from time to time and log his first career appearance in an NBA regular season game.
A dream come true, indeed.