Jason Kidd. Shareef Abdur-Raheem. Lamond Murray. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. LeBron James. Vince Carter. Tracy McGrady. Undoubtedly a list of great NBA players, but what else do they all have in common?

Don’t worry, I’ll let you off the hook. Each of them shared a locker room with Michael “Yogi” Stewart.

The nickname stems from his love of the titular cartoon bear as a kid – a name that sticks to this day.

“If I met you before I was 21 years old,” he said, “all of those people call me Yogi. If I met you after that, then it’s a mix. There’s still a lot of people that use my nickname, which I’m 100% okay with.”

The 6-foot-10-inch defensive stalwart was born in Cucq-Trepied-Stella-Plage, France – about two-and-a-half hours north of Paris. Stewart’s father, Mike, was a two-time All-American player at the University of Santa Clara.

Stewart credits his father for his passion for basketball. Though drafted twice into the NBA in 1972 and 1973, he spent most of his professional career in France and Italy.

“That’s kind of all we did,” Stewart said. “We went to watch him play, and we’d be the kids running out at halfcourt during timeouts, shaggin’ balls, trying to sneak in a free throw, all that kind of stuff.”

Stewart lived overseas for seven years before moving to Sacramento, California. The move to the United States meant his father’s playing career was done, but Stewart’s own interest in the sport only grew.

Living in Sacramento in the mid-80s had its perks, particularly for Stewart. In 1985, a couple years after his family moved to the United States, the Kings franchise relocated there from Kansas City. During pregame routines, Stewart continued to chase down basketballs on the court, but this time as a ball boy for the newly minted Sacramento Kings.

Living in California also awarded him the opportunity to watch his (and America’s) favorite player – Magic Johnson.

“Back then, you couldn’t watch any game that you wanted to watch,” Stewart said. “So, on the West Coast, Laker games and Sacramento Kings games are what came on TV. I think back then, unless you rooted for a team wherever you were from, I think most people would say they were Laker fans or Celtics fans, until MJ came along.”

As Stewart grew up and continued developing his game, local and national universities began to notice.

 He says he was a “pretty good player” in high school. Most “pretty good players” aren’t invited to the Nike All-American Camp.

The camp, hosted in Indianapolis, was the premier camp for potential college recruits to display their talents. The top high school players from across the country flew in to participate in front of scouts. At the end of the camp, Stewart was invited to participate in the All-American Top 20 game. The event, featuring the best 20 players, was broadcasted live on ESPN.

“After that game,” Stewart said, “everything changed a little bit.”

Stewart’s performance in high school and on national television resulted in multiple Division One offers. At the end of the process, he narrowed his decision down to four schools: California, UCLA, Arizona, and Kansas.

“Really came down to Cal and UCLA, those two. I ended up staying home so my mom and dad could see me play.”

Of course, given his nickname, it was only right for ‘Yogi’ Stewart to attend the home of the Golden Bears, the University of California. The deciding factor boiled down to proximity – the campus is just 90 minutes south of Sacramento.

Unlike many current draft prospects, Stewart spent all four years at California. Though his teams had loads of NBA talent, including Jason Kidd, Shareef Abdur-Raheem, Ed Gray, Lamond Murray, and even Tony Gonzalez (yes, that Tony Gonzalez), the Golden Bears never made it past the Sweet Sixteen.

Stewart’s best shot at tournament glory came in his senior year. California finished the season with a 23-9 record, earning a #5 seed in the Big Dance. Despite losing leading scorer Ed Gray, the team still made the Sweet Sixteen in an outstanding upset of #4 Villanova.

“That was our senior year,” he said. “A lot of us had been together for a long time. All the guys who had been considered NBA guys were gone. Ed Gray, who was our leading scorer that year, PAC-10 Player of the Year, he broke his foot in the last regular season PAC-10 game, so he didn’t play in that tournament. He was our best player and was the 19th pick in the draft that year.”

“So, it was just kind of the leftover guys,” Stewart continued. “People who everybody didn’t believe in, you know. Nobody had us rated very highly, and we ended up having the best run out of any class while I was at Cal. We beat Princeton that year, which was a tough game. We beat them, then we went on to play Villanova. We upset Villanova, who had a really good team that year, maybe three NBA guys. We almost, we should have beaten North Carolina. They ended up going to the Final Four that year.”

In the ’97 tournament, North Carolina was the #1 seed in the East division, eventually losing to Arizona in the Final Four. NBA talent among the Tar Heels included Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Shammond Williams, and Makhtar N’Diaye.

Stewart graduated with his name etched in California men’s basketball history. To this day, he holds the record for blocks per game (1.8) and ranks second in total blocks (202).

This is the point of the story where Stewart’s career rolls off the proverbial tracks. Though a few players slip through the cracks of the draft, most have their names called either by the commissioner or deputy commissioner. Stewart’s process, however, wound in a different direction.

Curtis Townsend, an assistant coach at California, believed in the senior’s skills. Using his network, he was able to secure a pre-draft workout with the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings for Stewart.

Neither team drafted him, but the next day, Scotty Stirling, an executive and scout for the Kings, reached out.

“A guy named Scotty Stirling from the Sacramento Kings called me the day after the draft and said, ‘Obviously, we couldn’t draft you, but we loved your work ethic. You’re from Sacramento; if you’re not doing anything, move back home and come work out with us, come spend the summer working out with us, and we’ll see what it turns into. We have a guy that we drafted last year. His name is Peja Stojakovic. We’re gonna bring him over from Greece. He’s gonna spend the summer working out as well. You guys can just work out together.’”

After the call, Stewart promptly returned to Sacramento and moved back in with his mom. He and Stojakovic spent “6-7 hours” each day working out, hoping to secure a spot in the Summer League roster.

Stewart’s improvement, both physically and on the court, resulted in an invitation to play for the Kings’ Summer League team. His consistency with the summer workouts did not go unnoticed, and neither did his play in Las Vegas.

In a series of invitations, after the Summer League, the Kings offered Stewart a spot in training camp. In normal circumstances, any player, especially an undrafted rookie would immediately accept the offer. However, there was one issue: Stewart was broke.

“My agent came to me and said, ‘We have a couple overseas offers for you. I got an offer for $210,000 in Italy.’ And then the Kings came to me and said, ‘We want you to come to vet camp.’ I said, ‘Look, I appreciate the offer, but I don’t have any money. I’m going overseas.’”

After a couple weeks, Stewart went to Italy to prepare for the season. He then went on to explain the most bizarre contract situation I’ve ever heard.

“When you signed a Summer League deal back in those days, you were actually signing a contract. At the end of the Summer League, they normally just release everybody from those contracts. At the time, the general manager of the Sacramento Kings really wanted me to come to vet camp, so he wouldn’t release me from that contract.”

“So,” Stewart continued, “I ended up with two contracts: an Italian contract, and an NBA contract. FIBA, the international body, said, ‘You have two contracts, you can’t play for anybody.’ My agent called me, I was on a pay phone in Italy, and he said, ‘Look, if the Kings are willing to go through all of this, it means they’re probably interested in giving you a real shot. If you come back, go to vet camp and it doesn’t work out, I’ll get you another job overseas.’ I said okay, I came home, went to vet camp, and 30 games later I was the starting center.”

On Nov. 1, the Kings played at the Vancouver Grizzlies for their first game of the season. Starting at center for the Kings was the 8th pick of the 1987 NBA draft, Olden Polynice. The Haitian big man had just finished one of his best seasons the year prior, averaging 12.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and played in all 82 games.

Despite the steep competition for playing time, Michael Stewart still made his way onto the court. In his 15 minutes of action, the California graduate corralled five rebounds, dished out four assists, grabbed a steal, and rejected two shots. Stewart posted a positive plus/minus rating of 12, despite missing his only shot attempt, a stat that Grizzly forward Shareef Abdur-Raheem chided him for.

“Reef was rooting for me,” he said of his fellow Golden Bear. “He wanted me to do well, he wanted me to make the team, so if I passed up a shot, Reef would come down the court and yell at me. He’d say, ‘Man, shoot the ball! C’mon Yogi!’ So I was guarding him, and at the same time he was cheering me on… It was good to get some encouragement from a place I didn’t expect.”

Stewart’s first basket would come in the Kings’ next game – a dunk set up by former Dukie Bobby Hurley.

Stewart would go on to have an outstanding rookie campaign and, statistically, the best season of his career. He averaged 4.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks (tied with Shaquille O’Neale for blocks per game that season). Most importantly, Stewart played in the Rising Stars game during All-Star Weekend in New York.

“I was one of two undrafted rookies in the game. I didn’t think I’d be in the league, let alone participating in that game.”

Of the many stories Stewart recounted of his All-Star break experience, none were more relatable than his interactions with Kobe Bryant and Seattle Supersonics All-Star, Dale Ellis:

“I got to the hotel, and when I got on the elevator, Kobe Bryant was already in there. When I got in, he introduced himself to me, which I thought was weird, because it was Kobe – everybody already knew him.”

“Then, I get to my room,” he continued, “and maybe 10 minutes after I get in, I get a knock on my door from Dale Ellis, who was one of my favorite players growing up. Ricky Pierce, Tom Chambers, and Dale Ellis, that’s the trio I liked to play with when I played NBA Live… I remember calling my friends and telling them that Dale Ellis just knocked on my door.”

After his successful rookie campaign, Stewart became a free agent. The 1998 offseason was an odd one in the NBA because of the lockout, delaying the start of the season until early February. In the meantime, Stewart discussed his contract with his new team, the Toronto Raptors.

With the 5th pick in the 1998 draft, the Raptors selected Vince Carter. Enticed by the potential of Carter, a developing Tracy McGrady, the addition of old Knicks enforcer Charles Oakley, and an intense recruitment period from Raptors’ coach Butch Carter, Stewart left his hometown – and his home country – for Toronto, Canada.

“I thought it was a great opportunity,” he said, “to start over with a young team and some veterans I could learn from. Toronto is probably still my favorite city in the NBA.”

Stewart inked a lucrative six-year, $24 million deal with the Raptors. He spent four seasons there before being traded to Cleveland – ironically for his former college teammate Lamond Murray. The story, however, was a cruel reminder of how cutthroat the NBA business can be.

“I had just gotten married. We came home from our honeymoon, and I had just bought a house up there. At the time, I was playing pickup games with a couple of the coaches on the staff because I wasn’t playing that much, so it was a good way to stay in shape. I was calling one of my guys to tell them I was coming to town. He paused for a little bit and he said, ‘Wait a minute. Nobody’s told you yet?’ Ten or fifteen minutes later, I got a call from Glenn Grunwald, the general manager, telling me I got traded to Cleveland.”

Stewart spent a season and a half on the Cavaliers, eventually being traded to Boston. He was traded again in his final year in the league to a young Atlanta Hawks team. After that season, Stewart put some consideration into playing overseas like his father.

He played for only a couple months before tearing his MCL (a knee ligament). The injury, coupled with the distance from his home and family, resulted in Stewart’s retirement.

“I just had another baby,” he said, “my youngest son. I had two kids, I was over there, they were over here, my wife’s taking care of them. She was doing a lot of stuff alone. I knew I didn’t want to bring them overseas. I grew up like that, but I didn’t necessarily want my kids traveling around Europe while I was chasing another couple years of my career.”

Following retirement, Stewart took a year off, electing to play golf and connect with his family. Eventually, he and a couple business partners founded Unison, a “minority owned, medical supply company.”

Stewart’s venture in the healthcare industry does not, however, mean that he has turned away from basketball. Recently, he’s paid more attention to the college game. His oldest son plays at Howard, while his youngest, Sean, is currently ranked 16th on ESPN’s top 100 high school prospects for 2023 and is already committed to Duke University.

Stewart also still follows the NBA, preferring to root for some of the younger players like Ja Morant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jaren Jackson Jr. He and his sons also spend time watching the elite players to dissect their games and figuring out what makes them great.

“Success is not a straight line.” That old adage rings especially true for Michael Stewart. He’s traveled across Europe, then to the American West Coast, had a brief sojourn in Canada, and then finished his career with multiple stints in the Midwest and East Coast. Considering how he even entered the NBA, his journey is the furthest thing from a straight line.

Despite Stewart’s unconventional expedition, there is one obvious takeaway: he’s smarter than your average bear.