Chaz Lanier, the No. 37 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, didn’t get many minutes for the Pistons last season. But, as coach J.B. Bickerstaff often noted, that lack of minutes wasn’t due to lack of ability, but opportunity. It’s unclear if Lanier will move up the depth chart last season, but his Summer League performance on Sunday, July 12, gave a glimpse into why the Pistons believed he was NBA-ready when they drafted him out of Tennessee in the second round.
The 24-year-old wing started Sunday on fire, scoring 17 of the Pistons’ first 20 points. He knocked down five of his seven made 3-pointers within the first six minutes, helping the Pistons build an early lead en route to a 103-94 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lanier finished with 25 points, his highest single-game total in two trips to Las Vegas.
That microwave scoring ability, which he showed in flashes when given the chance as a rookie, could make him a factor on a team that needs spacing around its core trio of Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson.
“I just wanted to come out and be aggressive, do what I had to do for the team,” Lanier said after the win, which improved Detroit’s record in Las Vegas to 1-1. “Those are shots I work on every day so it’s good to come out there and see them go in.”
His instant offense was key in a game Cunningham, Duren and Tobias Harris all missed with injuries.
“He’s just caught in a numbers situation, but he’s an NBA player and we expect him to be a part of what we’re doing long term,” Bickerstaff said March 1. "His shot-making, creating shots, he’s ahead of the game as a rookie understanding offenses. He’s only going to get better when he continues to play with better players because he understands where to be always relative to the ball, so when you have an elite playmaker like Cade for example, he’s always gonna be open and Cade is gonna come to trust him.
“And I’ve told guys this before, there’s gonna come a night, whether it’s this year or next year, where Chaz has 30 something points and he’s dribbled the ball three times, because he’s that good at finding his area and then the ability to knock down those shots.”
Outside shooting was the Pistons’ main offensive weakness last season. They knocked down a mere 35.7% of their looks, tied for 20th according to Cleaning The Glass. And 3-pointers accounted for 31.3% of their overall shot diet – the second-lowest in the league, ahead of only the Sacramento Kings. By comparison, the Golden State Warriors led the league with 46.5% of their attempts coming beyond the arc.
The additions of Joe and Prince should help both of those percentages rise. Joe is among the NBA’s best shooters, taking the majority of his shots from 3, and making them at a 40.6% clip for his career.
