The Detroit Pistons traded three future second-round picks to move up four spots from No. 21, and selected Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie with the 17th overall pick during the first round of the NBA Draft on Tuesday, June 23. Beat writer Omari Sankofa II grades the pick.
Okorie adds speed, dynamism to Pistons’ backcourt
Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said the team planned to take the best player on its draft board, regardless of position or need. He ended up pouncing to select a high-scoring guard who, while on the smaller side, can provide a needed dynamic to their guard rotation.
Okorie averaged 23.2 points, 3.6 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals while shooting 46.5% overall and 35.4% from 3. His best attribute is his speed, which he used to relentlessly pressure the rim. He took nearly two-thirds of his shots inside the arc and slithered between defenders when getting into the paint. And though he wasn’t an elite shooter during his lone college season, he could knock them down with range.
They passed on several players who would’ve more directly addressed their needs at power forward and shooting, such as Baylor wing Cameron Carr or Santa Clara forward Allen Graves. And at 6-foot-1, Okorie is now the smallest player on a roster that’s skewed toward having size at all five positions on the floor. But he’s an interesting complement to Cade Cunningham’s deliberate approach to basketball and gives the team a ball-handler, another need, with upside if his shooting develops.
Grade: B
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons 2026 NBA Draft grade: Ebuka Okorie provides contrast
Reporting by Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
