Isaiah Stevens impresses at NBA Summer League, fuels momentum for 2-way contract

Damon Cook, Sports Editor

July 24, 2024

Colorado State University guard Isaiah Stevens drives the ball in a CSU men’s basketball game against San Jose State University during the Mountain West championships March 13. CSU won 72-62.

Isaiah Stevens is privy on what it takes to achieve the spectacular inside Thomas & Mack Center.

While no longer in a Colorado State uniform, Stevens continued to impress the basketball world as he helped lead the Miami Heat to the NBA 2k25 Summer League Championship Game, where the Heat won 120-118 in overtime. Stevens fouled out late in the fourth quarter but put up a respectable four points and six assists to help lead the Heat to victory.

After his legendary collegiate career for the Rams, Stevens went undrafted before signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Heat.

Stevens boasts an array of accolades coming out of CSU, including Mountain West Freshman of the Year, being named to the First-Team All-MW three times, becoming a top-10 finalist for the 2022 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year award and leading CSU in both all-time points and assists.

Despite all of his hardware, Stevens initially flew under the radar. But with poise and maturity, he has taken the summer league by storm, coming out with scorching hot numbers.

He’s shot splits of 59-64-89 and averaged nine points, three rebounds and eight assists. Of all players who have played multiple games in the summer league, Stevens ranks No. 3 in assists.

While Stevens has put up some good-looking numbers, the value he’s brought to Miami doesn’t lie within the box score, but instead with how he’s been able to unlock first-round pick Kel’el Ware.

The big out of Indiana has had his fair share of eye-popping lobs coming off of a Stevens’ feed. The Stevens-to-Ware pick-and-roll has been an effective play the Heat have utilized throughout their championship run.

While Stevens has yet to sign a contract to play at the next level, his run this summer makes that an unlikely outcome for the upcoming season. Because Stevens signed an Exhibit 10 contract, the Heat reserve the right to convert his contract to a two-way up until the day before the NBA season, which commences on Oct. 22.

The Heat already have all three of their two-way slots filled, meaning they will either need to waive one, sign Stevens to a full NBA contract or let Stevens take his talents elsewhere.

Reach Damon Cook at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @dwcook2001.

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About the Contributors

Damon Cook, Sports Editor

Damon Cook is returning as one of the sports editors for fall 2024 at the The Collegian. He's been at the paper since August 2022. After starting as a construction management major at Colorado State University, Cook quickly found out he didn't have a passion for it. After taking a year off, he realized he could work in sports — something he has always been passionate about. So with newfound aspirations, he switched his major to journalism and media communication to chase those dreams. After a year of working as a beat writer covering volleyball and women's basketball, Cook took over as sports editor in summer 2023. Since then, he has become established in reporting on football and men's basketball and looks forward to providing that coverage this upcoming season. Cook will begin his third semester as the sports editor before graduating in December, having borne witness to some of CSU's historic feats. His passion for bringing readers the best coverage has only grown. Having started in the wake of a complete overhaul of The Collegian sports desk, Cook has watched the desk grow considerably, thanks to the efforts of so many amazing people he gets the pleasure of working alongside. Having learned so many things from so many people, including to never wear a tie, Cook looks forward to helping The Collegian sports desk reach heights never imagined before. With a much greater understanding of the power of words, one of Cook's inspirational quotes for this upcoming year has been from Eric Cartman in South Park: "Respect my authoritah."

Emma Askren, Sports Editor

Emma Askren, alongside Damon Cook, is the fall 2023 sports editor for The Collegian. She began working at The Collegian during her first year in the fall of 2022, when she covered the swim and dive team as well as anything sports-related. She is currently a sophomore at Colorado State University, where she is majoring in journalism and media communication and double minoring in Spanish and sports management. During her first year, she joined the rowing team, began working as a reporter for The Collegian and working at the Student Recreation Center. Askren applied to CSU as a journalism major, knowing she wanted to combine her passion for sports and writing to create a fulfilling career. Upon realizing that Rocky Mountain Student Media was hiring for first-years, she jumped at the opportunity to become a writer for The Collegian. While working for the sports desk, Askren has had the opportunity to write about hockey, logging, whitewater rafting and the importance of women in sports. As a woman in a male-dominated industry, she seeks to break the status quo and become a successful sports journalist following graduation. Following a year as a sports reporter, Askren became a co-editor for the sports desk alongside Cook. Together the duo seeks to create a new and improved sports desk that caters to all readers of The Collegian and beyond.

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