Lamar Stevens: The Cavaliers’ Junkyard Underdog

The birth of a basketball bond

About a year ago, roughly aligning with the birth of Cleveland’s junkyard dog identity, Henry Woo Jr. began training with Lamar Stevens, in an effort to finetune his game for success in the NBA. I had the opportunity to ask Woo some questions about what it was like working with the OG junkyard dog and what he sees in him.

Woo currently works with some other NBA players as well, such as Mohamed Bamba, Khem Birch, and Grant Riller. He’s relatively new to the training landscape and is on his way towards proving himself at the NBA level. He had no shortage of glowing words to say about his trainee, Lamar Stevens, who has since become his friend.

"“I respect the hell out of Lamar … Just as a human being he has helped me become not only a better trainer, but an overall better person and man … I love this dude. He will be my brother for life.” – Henry Woo Jr."

Coorelating with all the buzzing reviews Lamar has accumulated from his teammates and coaches, Woo’s impression of the Cavalier goes along the same lines. His infectious personality makes him such an easy person to root for.

"“I think that’s why he gets that dog mentality label, because he wants to always work… both on his game and in the game as well.” – Henry Woo Jr."

On his left ankle, Lamar dons a tattoo with the late Kobe Bryant’s famous quote: “Everything negative is all an opportunity for me to rise.” You can see how he takes inspiration from Kobe in several aspects. His jersey number. His shoes. His insatiable work ethic and defense, as well as his offensive mentality.

Last season, Stevens began to take noticeable strides in his development as a player at the NBA level. Having always been an offensive focal point in his basketball career, he’s had to take a step back and reconfigure his game to fit alongside the players that Cleveland has run the show on that end.

As the year went on, #8 demonstrated a much improved ability to operate with the right combination of pace and patience, choosing the right moments to flex his high skill level and athleticism for a wing. Along with his creation flashes, he’s investing more in cutting and rebounding plenty and often.

Lamar’s commitment to rounding out his game is an obvious testament to his work ethic, but both him and Woo know all the progress he makes as a player means little, unless he can take strides in one specific area of his game. His 3-pt shot. He sports a shot that has so far been wonky and ineffective.

"“Lamar understands that is his biggest area he must show growth in to play. And wow his jump has been tremendous … I do believe he can be a mid 33-35% 3-point shooter right now!” – Henry Woo Jr."

Placing a strong and continued emphasis on his jump shot, Woo is very encouraged about the progression Stevens has made as a shooting threat. This is big news if it proves to translate to the court. In the scenario where defenses start to respect his shot from beyond the arc, his value skyrockets, considering what else he brings to the table.

His stellar touch in the mid-range on pull-ups, fadeaways, and floaters should be a positive sign that he can find a footing from 3-point range, similar to a guy like Evan Mobley. Whereas with players in the mold of Isaac Okoro, who sport no in-betwen game, display much less encouraging indicators towards being a volume threat from deep.