Inside The Huskies

Ex-Husky Guard Erik Stevenson Gets an NBA Call-Up

He joins the Washington Wizards on a 10-day contract, replacing Jaylen Nowell on the roster.

Dan Raley

Former Husky Erik Stevenson takes a shot for West Virginia in 2023.
Former Husky Erik Stevenson takes a shot for West Virginia in 2023. / Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

With maybe one too many Washington basketball connections involved, the NBA's Wizards signed former Husky guard Erik Stevenson to a 10-day contract on Monday, releasing ex-UW guard Jaylen Nowell from in the process.

The 6-foot-4 Stevenson from Lacey, Washington, was promoted from the G League's Capitol City Go-Go after averaging 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in 32 games, scoring 20 or more ponts in 15 outings.

Meantime, the 6-foot-4 Nowell from Seattle was let go after signing a 10-day deal with the Wizards on on Feb. 8, but didn't appear in any games. Earlier in the season, he played in eight games for the New Orleans Pelicans in November before getting released, too.

Erik Stevenson drops in a 3-point shot for the Huskies against Arizona State in 2021.
Erik Stevenson drops in a 3-point shot for the Huskies against Arizona State in 2021. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

A well-traveled player even before the transfer portal was fully established, Stevenson played for four college teams, spending the COVID-interrupted 2020-21 season at the University of Washington.

With the Mike Hopkins-coached Huskies finishing a dismal 5-21 while playing in empty arenas because of the pandemic, this was probably the basketball experience Stevenson would most like to distance himself from.

The UW team was full of guys who didn't mesh at all and played selfishly all season, firing up bad shots unabated, with Stevenson one of the guilty parties, and Hopkins unable to rein those guys in and right things.

Stevenson started 23 of those 26 games for the UW, averaging 9.3 points and 3.6 rebounds while playing 26.4 minutes per game and was the first of several players to transfer once the season ended.

He spent his first two seasons of college ball at Wichita State before coming home and afterward played a season each for South Carolina and West Virginia.

An undrafted player, Stevenson went to training camp with the San Antonio Spurs in 2023 and the Wizards last fall. He was waived in October and joined he G League club, and now he's ready to make his NBA debut.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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