Former Tiger Jalen Duren was named to the NBA All-Star game as an Eastern Conference reserve Sunday evening. Duren, who is in his fourth season with the Detroit Pistons, played one year with Memphis during the 2021-22 season.
The big man played 29 games for the Tigers and averaged 12 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and shot 59.7 percent from the field. He was named the American Conference Freshman of the Year and was named to the All-Conference first team.
Duren declared for the 2022 NBA Draft, and Charlotte selected him with the 13th pick before trading him the same night to Detroit in a three-team trade involving the Knicks. Duren became the 16th first-round pick in program history and the third first-rounder under Penny Hardaway.
As a rookie, Duren appeared in 67 games, but he only made 31 starts. He finished his first season averaging only 9.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.
In his second season, he made a significant jump in both points and rebounds, averaging 13.8 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, and he has averaged a double-double over the last three seasons.
Duren went from having questions about whether he could be a full-time starter early in his career to becoming one of the key players for the Pistons. This season, he’s averaging 18 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.8 blocks per game, while shooting 63.5 percent from the field in 41 starts.
Prior to being named an All-Star reserve, the big man had back-to-back 20+-point double-doubles, and he recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds shortly after he was named to the All-Star Game last night.
Duren joins Cade Cunningham as the only two Pistons to be named to the All-Star game, and the news also came just a week after David Jones-Garcia was named to the Rising Stars game.
Duren became the fourth player in program history to make an NBA All-Star game, joining Derrick Rose, Larry Kenon, and his former coach, Penny Hardaway.