Chicago Bulls Sign Ex-Duke Star For NBA Summer League

The Chicago Bulls have announced their 2025 NBA Summer League roster.

Mar 10, 2021; Greensboro, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard DJ Steward (2) celebrates in the final minute as the Duke Blue Devils defeat the Louisville Cardinals 70-56 in the second round of the 2021 ACC tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports / Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports

DJ Steward is coming off a year where he played for the Maine Celtics (G League affiliate of the Boston Celtics).

He finished the regular season with averages of 19.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per contest while shooting 47.6% from the field and 35.8% from the three-point range in 32 games (five starts).

Big-time players step up in BIG games!

DJ Steward finished with a game-high 27 PTS, including 19 in the 4Q alone, to help lead the @MaineCeltics to their first-ever trip to the #NBAGLeagueFinals. ☘️ pic.twitter.com/gtT0bjF4gJ

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) April 8, 2024

On July 5, the Chicago Bulls announced their NBA Summer League roster (and Steward is on the team).

Your 2024 Summer League Bulls 🫡

More ➡️ https://t.co/sBWCPjmxP9 pic.twitter.com/GuMc0JtsI6

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) July 5, 2024

Coming out of high school, Steward was ranked (by ESPN) as the 25th-best player in the country.

He played one season of college basketball for Duke and finished that year with averages of 13.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per contest while shooting 42.6% from the field and 34.1% from the three-point range in 24 games.

34 PTS ☘️ 10 AST ☘️ 7 REB

DJ Steward tied his CAREER-HIGH in scoring and dished out a season-high in assists to lead the @MaineCeltics to an OT victory over the Blue Coats! This was his third 30+ point game of the season. pic.twitter.com/gpJzw99Jep

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) March 14, 2024

While Steward has yet to play in the NBA, he has been a productive G League player and is only 22.

If he plays well in Summer League, he could get an opportunity with an NBA team for training camp in September.

His career averages (in the G League) are 15.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per contest while shooting 46.7% from the field and 36.3% from the three-point range in 90 regular season games (26 starts).

DJ Steward, JD Davison, and Joe Wieskamp combined for 7️⃣8️⃣ points and 14 3PM as the @MaineCeltics snapped the Magic’s seven-game winning streak! ☘️ pic.twitter.com/f3kLcLVnsM

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) March 6, 2024

As for the Bulls, they finished the 2023-24 season as the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 39-43 record.

They lost to the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament, so they missed the NBA playoffs for the second straight season.