The Detroit Pistons are off to an 0-1 start in the Summer League but that result should not reflect on the performance of rookie point guard Ebuka Okorie
To kick off Detroit’s Summer League slate, the Pistons squared off with a Philadelphia 76ers team that never relinquished their lead for even a moment in the squad’s 101-93 victory over last season’s No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Now, the Summer League roster for Detroit is obviously far different from the one that found victory in 60 regular season games last season, but that variance also allowed for rookie Ebuka Okorie to showcase why he was a highly-coveted first-round pick.
In the eight-point loss, Okorie was Detroit’s second-leading scorer with 20 points (8/16 FGs), one rebound and four assists in the contest, and the Stanford product looked up to the task of leading the team as a floor general in both the first and second half. Okorie lived up to his billing as a masterful self-creator, and the No. 17 overall pick looked speedy, agile and determined as he got to whichever spot he wanted to on the court.
With the ball in his hands, Okorie broke down his defender on multiple occasions, made quality decisions with just one turnover to four helpers and hit a pair of three-pointers in his first game as a pro. In 30 minutes of action, Okorie did not look out of place for even a second as he directed traffic to find proper offensive mismatches and did so with style.
“The main goal is always just to win,” Okorie said after the game. “That’s what we tried to do. We came up a little short, so just little things we can work on like just coming out stronger, being more prepared to play and we’ll work on that and be better next game.”
Though Okorie was not able to give the Pistons their first victory in the Summer League just yet, it was a strong debut for a player that’s expected to factor into Detroit’s regular season rotation once October arrives, and he had a ton of support in the crowd from members of the organization. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, assistant coach Jarrett Jack, star point guard Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland and Javonte Green were all in attendance for the Eastern Conference tilt, so it’s more than likely that Okorie felt a strong sense of support from the Pistons on the whole.
During a break in play, Thompson took part in a sideline interview and was asked to share his thoughts on what he saw from Okorie up to that point.
“Oh, he’s different,” Thompson said. “He’s nice. He can finish at the rim really well. He controls the game. He’s a great point guard.”
Based on that response, it’s safe to say that the lockdown defender was encouraged by Okorie’s Detroit debut even though the Pistons came out on the losing side of Thursday night’s contest.
In addition to Okorie’s effort, rookie center Ogunna Onyenso also earned his first taste of playing time in the Summer League, and the big man finished with two points and four rebounds to his credit as well.
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