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"A danger to himself and others" - When an ex-Mav got arrested celebrating the 2011 championship
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- "A danger to himself and others" - When an ex-Mav got arrested celebrating the 2011 championship
NBA players celebrate winning the championship with champagne and beer in the locker room. Some party the night away, but then lie low after because the real party happens during the championship parade.
However, DeShawn Stevenson took celebrating to the next level when two nights after the Dallas Mavericks won the 2011 NBA championship, Stevenson was still celebrating the win with friends. Still, there's no problem with overcelebrating.
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However, police said Stevenson drank too much that a concerned citizen called to report an intoxicated man wandering aimlessly around the Grand Venetian apartment complex in Irving, Texas.
"They felt he was a danger to himself and others," Irving public information officer John Argumaniz said. "Basically, he was intoxicated to a point where police didn't feel comfortable letting him walk away or leave. They didn't have any other options at that point."
Stevenson said he wasn't wandering but looking for his phone
According to Arumaniz, responding officers administered a field sobriety test on the Mavericks guard. Based on the results, his statement to the police, and the officers' observation, he was arrested due to intoxication without incident on a Class C misdemeanor charge and taken into custody. However, DeShawn disputed the police's story.
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Stevenson admitted wandering the apartment complex's parking lot because he was looking for his mobile phone, which he had misplaced while celebrating becoming an NBA champion with a friend who lived in the complex. DeShawn also denied that he was drunk and said he only had a "couple" of drinks.
"I always knew where I was at. ... If it was that bad, if it was that wasted, I wouldn't have been out of jail in three hours on a $400 fine," he said . "I just think people, they take things out of proportion, and when you're a champion, everything is under a microscope."
Related: Kendrick Perkins demands investigation into Lakers medical staff after Luka Doncic injury
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No champions' privilege in jail
Stevenson was a key player for the Mavs in the 2011 NBA championship, averaging 7.0 points per game in just 17.2 minutes off the bench during the Finals. DeShawn led Dallas in the Finals with 13 3-pointers made while shooting at a very high .565 3-point shooting clip.
In the championship-clinching Game 6, he made 3 of 4 3-point baskets in the first half as the Mavs kept the Heat's Big 3 at bay. Dallas ended up winning 105-95 to clinch the first title in franchise history. But while Stevenson became an NBA champion, there was no winners' privilege at the Irving police station.
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"I slept in a one-room cell for almost five hours, until my wife came and picked me up, and to me it hurts because that's not a way a champion should celebrate on his way home in Dallas, sleeping in a cell over a $400 fine," he added.
A day later, Stevenson was drinking again, this time, though, it was with the team, as they paraded the Larry O'Brien trophy through the streets of Dallas before holding a rally at the American Airlines Center. However, that turned out to be his last ride with the team as the Mavs did not offer DeShawn a new contract during the offseason. He ended up accepting an offer from the New Jersey Nets .
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Apr 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
