DeWayne "D.J." Stewart Jr. (born July 28, 1999) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for

Cedevita Olimpija Košarkarski klub Cedevita Olimpija (), commonly referred to as KK Cedevita Olimpija or simply Olimpija, is a men's professional basketball club based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The club competes in the ABA League and the Premier A Slovenian Bask ...

of the

Premier A Slovenian Basketball League The Slovenian Basketball League (), abbreviated as 1. SKL and known as the Liga OTP banka due to sponsorship reasons, is the top-level professional men's basketball league in Slovenia. The league is operated by the Basketball Federation of Sloven ...

(1. SKL) and the

Adriatic League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State Bulldogs is the name given to the college athletics, athletic teams of Mississippi State University, in Mississippi State, Mississippi. The university is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA D ...

High school career

Stewart attended Riverside High School in Avon, Mississippi. As a freshman, Stewart averaged 15.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. In his sophomore season, he averaged 17.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Entering his junior season, he did not receive any

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

offers. As a junior, Stewart averaged 18.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He averaged 25.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game and was named All-State by ''

The Clarion-Ledger ''The Clarion Ledger'' is an American daily newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi. It is the second-oldest company in the state of Mississippi, and is one of the few newspapers in the nation that continues to circulate statewide. It is an operating ...

'' in his senior season. He committed to playing college basketball for

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

over offers from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

. He was rated a four-star recruit by

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

College career

Stewart

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his first season at Mississippi State because head coach

Ben Howland Benjamin Clark Howland (born May 28, 1957) is an American college basketball coach who most recently served as the men's head coach at Mississippi State University from to 2015 to 2022. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Northern Ar ...

did not expect him to receive significant playing time. As a freshman, he averaged 8.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. On December 12, 2020, Stewart scored a career-high 32 points in an 85–82 double overtime loss to

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. As a sophomore, he averaged 16 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He earned Second Team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) honors from the league's coaches. Stewart was one of three finalists for the

Howell Trophy The Howell Trophy or Cellular South Howell Trophy or C Spire Howell Trophy is an award given annually to the best men's college basketball player in the state of Mississippi by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. It is open to players from all fo ...

. On April 1, 2021, he declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. The NBA draft returned to Brooklyn after 2020 NBA draft, the pre ...

while maintaining his college eligibility. He later signed with an

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuran ...

, forgoing his remaining eligibility.

Professional career

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2021–2022)

After going undrafted in the

, Stewart joined the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

for the

2021 NBA Summer League The 2021 NBA Summer League was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The summer league c ...

. On August 17, 2021, he signed with the Heat. Stewart was waived before the start of the season and joined the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 ...

as an affiliate player.

Austin Spurs (2022)

On March 4, 2022, Stewart signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. However, Stewart did not appear in any one of the games for the

but only played for there affiliated team

Austin Spurs The Austin Spurs are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cedar Park, Texas, and are affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs. The team plays their home games at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The team has made the po ...

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2022–2023)

On September 21, 2022, the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

announced that they had signed Stewart. He was waived before the start of the season on October 13, 2022. and on October 24, 2022, rejoined the

roster.

Marineros de Puerto Plata (2023)

On May 1, 2023, Stewart signed with the

Marineros de Puerto Plata Marineros de Puerto Plata is a professional basketball team based in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. The team currently plays in Dominican top division Liga Nacional de Baloncesto The Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (LNB) is the top men's profess ...

of the

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto The Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (LNB) is the top men's professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic. Established in 2005, six teams compete annually between September and October. History The league was founded on September 6, 2004 ...

until the end of the season.

Cedevita Olimpija (2023–present)

On September 22, 2023, Stewart signed a one-year deal with

. On June 15, 2024, he signed a new contract for two more years.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:center;" colspan=11,

Redshirt , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 17 , , 29.6 , , .456 , , .329 , , .700 , , 2.5 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 33* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 33* , , 35.0 , , .410 , , .344 , , .806 , , 3.4 , , 3.1 , , 1.4 , , .2 , , 16.0 , - class=sortbottom , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 64 , , 50 , , 32.4 , , .425 , , .339 , , .772 , , 3.0 , , 2.4 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 12.4

References

External links

Mississippi State Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, D.J. Jr. 1999 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in the Dominican Republic American men's basketball players Austin Spurs players Basketball players from Mississippi Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball players Shooting guards Sioux Falls Skyforce players Marineros de Puerto Plata players 21st-century American sportsmen Suke Lions players