Back surgery ends Stevenson's season

WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) -- Surgery on Friday to repair a herniated disc in his back ended the 2008-09 season of Washington Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson.

The 6-foot-5 inch Fresno, Calif. native had missed Washington's past 29 games with lower back pain, and finishes the season with per-game averages of 6.6 points and 3.1 assists per game in 32 contests.

Late Friday, the Washington Post reported that the procedure was performed by Dr. John Starr at Washington's Sibley Memorial Hospital.

Stevenson, 27, the 23rd overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft by Utah and a free agent straight out of high school, will begin rehabilitation in two weeks, but won't be able to resume basketball activity for three-to-four months.

He had played in all 82 games in each of the previous three seasons, and in 581 career games, has per-game averages of 8.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and nearly two assists.