The Chicago Bulls announced the team has signed former Whitney Young guard DJ Steward to a two-way contract on Sunday, July 21.
According to the Bulls, Steward, 6-2, 162 pounds, appeared in 32 games (five starts) with the Maine Celtics, the Boston Celtics G League Affiliate, in 2023-24 – averaging 19.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 0.8 steals in 29.7 minutes.
The Bulls said Steward tallied 18 games with 20-plus points and scored 30 or more points on two occasions a season ago, alongside three double-doubles. He was one of six G League players in 2023-24 to average at least 19.0 points per game across 30 or more games played.
The Chicago native was named G League Player of the Week for games played from March 11-17, 2024 – posting averages of 27.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game during that span, which was a part of a nine-game, 20-plus point scoring streak (2/25/24-3/21/24). This marked the longest such streak of his G League career.
Prior to joining the Chicago Bulls, Steward held career G League averages of 15.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 0.9 steals in 27.2 minutes through 90 games (26 starts), between tenures with the Maine Celtics (2023-24) and Stockton Kings (2021-22).
Steward appeared in 24 games (22 starts) during his college career at Duke, averaging 13.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals across 30.8 minutes in his lone season with the team (2020-21).
He was named to the 2020-21 ACC All-Freshman Team after leading all ACC freshmen in scoring averages (13.0).
Steward attended high school at Whitney Young in Chicago and was named a 2020 McDonald’s All-American, said the Bulls.
Chicago’s roster count now stands at 19, including three players under two-way contracts (Andrew Funk, Adama Sanogo and DJ Steward).
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
