The Detroit Pistons heavily scouted Ebuka Okorie during the pre-draft process to make sure the Stanford point guard would be a good fit in the Motor City
A year ago, the Detroit Pistons had a roster that was constructed to prioritize high-percentage looks in the paint offensively while sprinkling in various instances of the three-ball, and the team stayed true to their interior identity all season long. That recipe produced 60 wins and the top seed in the Eastern Conference before transitioning to the playoffs, but the Pistons were exposed for their lack of perimeter scoring once the postseason arrived.
With only Duncan Robinson and Cade Cunningham posing much of a long-range threat, the Pistons were outmatched by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and Detroit was promptly dismissed after a seven-game second round battle. After such rampant regular season success, the Pistons’ playoff defeat was relatively deflating and brought the team’s composition into question.
Given how that postseason failure hung in the rear view mirror, the Pistons quickly turned the page to the offseason in an attempt to build a more balanced inside-outside squad with the 2026 NBA Draft serving as their first opportunity to add to the team. For the past several months, the Pistons had thoroughly scouted Stanford point guard Ebuka Okorie during the pre-draft process, and the freshman who led the ACC in scoring as a freshman turned a lot of heads leading into the June 23rd event.
Instead of waiting at No. 21 overall, the Pistons made a deal to move up four slots in order to land Okorie in the first round by sending multiple draft picks to the Memphis Grizzlies. Okorie, who averaged over 22 points per game during his AP All-America honorable mention campaign as a Cardinal, is a crafty playmaker who has ample self-creation ability, but the Pistons also believe that he can help the team from beyond the arc as well.
In college, Okorie finished his lone season with a 35% mark from three-point range, although the All-ACC performer was frequently weighed down by his responsibility to bail Stanford out at the end of the shot clock. From the charity stripe, Okorie converted over 83% of his attempts, so the new Piston clearly has the mechanics and shooting rhythm required to knock down shots from long-range as well.
”Obviously as a shooter, I’m really confident in my shooting ability,” Okorie said at the NBA Draft Combine. “I put in a lot of work to be able to shoot the ball pretty well and to be able to take the attempts that I do. I’m going to keep working on my game, all aspects of my game including my shooting, and hopefully I can continue to take it to a new level.”
Shortly after finding out Detroit would be his new home, Okorie participated in the Summer League with the Pistons as his first exposure to the NBA level. During that five-game stint, Okorie looked up to the task and shouldered a heavy workload with five starts and just under 20 points per game to his credit. Okorie flashes his defensive awareness with a seven-steal outing against the Cleveland Cavaliers and otherwise initiated offense for the Pistons in transition and half court sets, so the Summer League was a productive introduction to the league for the first-rounder.
Once training camp opens up later this month, Okorie will have a chance to showcase his three-point shot against a new crop of established NBA players. Since the Pistons learned how important it is to have shooters on the floor at all times, Okorie’s ability to offer a reliable outside jumper would go a long way in his battle with Daniss Jenkins for the second-string point guard role, but training camp and the pre-season will be informative as to that competition.
