Detroit Pistons rookie point guard Ebuka Okorie averaged nearly 20 points per game during his five Summer League appearances earlier this month
Entering the offseason, the Detroit Pistons had several important landmarks where they saw an opportunity to improve upon their 60-win squad that flamed out of the playoffs in the second round. In that seven-game battle with the Cleveland Cavaliers, All-NBA point guard Cade Cunningham did his best to lift the Pistons to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but the fifth-year floor general was unable to properly compensate for Jalen Duren’s unexpected drop-off in production, which ultimately led to Detroit’s demise.
So, the first opportunity for the Pistons to take a step forward occurred in the NBA Draft, and that’s where Detroit made an aggressive move to trade up for former Stanford point guard Ebuka Okorie at No. 17 overall. Heading into the draft, the Pistons did a lot of homework on the ACC’s leading scorer from the 2025-26 season, and Stanford head coach Kyle Smith believes that his star freshman is walking into a positive situation in the Motor City.
”They were kind of one of the first NBA organizations and I think Trajan Langdon’s son kind of knows Ebuka,” Smith told Scott Reiss of Sports Night Live. “So, there’s some things they kind of had. They know a lot about his character, and they kind of need some scoring and someone to offset some ball handling with Cade Cunningham. They are really good. I know J.B. Bickerstaff, so I think that would be an awesome landing spot.”
Now that Okorie is officially a Piston, the dynamic guard had a chance to test his skills in a five-game Summer League schedule in Las Vegas, and the early returns are overwhelmingly positive regarding his performance. Okorie started every game for Detroit and finished with nearly 20 points per game in the exhibition format, and that tracks with the scouting report provided by his former coach.
“Unbelievable scorer obviously, and a comparison player, like I think his floor, I think he’s Dennis Schroder,” Smith said. “At the lowest, I think he comes in and does a lot of the same things— similar size. It’s somewhere between that and maybe a Tyrese Maxey.”
Now, those player comps are a bit lofty for an athlete who is yet to step onto the court during the regular season, but Smith had a closer look at Okorie than anyone else for the last 12 months. Then once the Cardinal coach sat down to watch the NBA postseason, it officially clicked that Okorie had the talent, composition and mental makeup to succeed at the next level.
“I was watching the [2026] playoffs, and I was like gosh, I think Ebuka can do some of these things. I looked and said how tall is Tyrese Maxey? I said 6-2. I said okay, and he’s like 200 pounds. Well, Ebuka is 185, he’s just turned 19. So, whatever is in between there, like a De’Aaron Fox type. Like, he has such electric speed and ability to put the ball in the basket, and he’s still growing and emerging. I think you would take those careers for sure. Those are great. So, I feel confident more so because of who he is, his mindset and he is so coachable and just kept getting better and better.”
Given that ringing endorsement, Okorie has all the tools necessary to succeed in Detroit moving forward, and he should have the opportunity to earn a regular spot in the Pistons rotation after the squad traded Marcus Sasser to the Dallas Mavericks within the last month. Though Detroit did use Daniss Jenkins as their de facto backup point guard for most of last season, Bickerstaff opted to utilize both Cunningham and Jenkins on the floor at the same time side-by-side during the playoffs, so that lends credence to the possibility that DJ could step into more of an off-ball role with spot point guard duties for the 2026-27 campaign, thereby opening up an opportunity for Okorie at the one.
Next up, Okorie will take part in the Pistons’ training camp before playing a prominent role in the pre-season during early October, and his performance during that setting will ultimately determine how often the first-rounder will be entrusted to set up Detroit’s offense in relief of Cunningham when the regular season arrives. But if his Summer League effort is any indication, expect to see a lot of Okorie early and often in Motown for the coming season.
For more information on the latest Detroit Pistons team or player news, follow @EricJRutter on X for continued basketball coverage, but while you’re here, join Pistons Roundtable for FREE and become a contributing member to our community today. Also be sure to look up Roundtable - Michigan Men Media on Facebook for continued social media coverage of all the sporting teams in the Mitten.
