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The former Tennessee Vols standout has made a name for himself this summer.
The NBA Summer League doesn’t last very long, but it does offer a glimpse to those who are paying attention to the action. It gives NBA evaluators, as well as die-hard fans, a chance to see who among the incoming rookies and younger veterans is making an early impact.
While eyes have been on Tennessee forward Nate Ament with the Milwaukee Bucks, another former Vol has been making a name for himself this month. Detroit Pistons guard Chaz Lanier had a solid run in the NBA summer league in Las Vegas. And ESPN senior NBA writer Ben Golliver took notice.
Golliver handed out superlatives to the rookies and second-year players from the summer league, and Lanier earned the nod for best second-round sophomores.
ESPN NBA writer names former Tennessee Vols G Chaz Lanier is best second-round sophomore of NBA Las Vegas summer league
“Blink and you missed Lanier’s rookie season: He played more minutes in the G League than he did for the Pistons, and he barely saw the court in the playoffs,” Golliver wrote. “That’s often how life goes for second-round picks on aspiring contenders.
“Lanier, 24, had no intention of laying low in Las Vegas. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 17.4 points and shot 51.1% from deep in nine attempts per game in his four appearances. In his best effort, Lanier scored 17 of his game-high 24 points in the first quarter of a runaway win over the New York Knicks.”
Lanier, of course, was drafted in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Pistons with the No. 37 overall pick. He appeared in 36 games last year for the Pistons, who finished as the top seed in the Eastern Conference. He posted 2.4 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 7.7 minutes per game last year.
But more importantly, Lanier, whose specialty at Tennessee was his shot from beyond the arc, shot only 31.5 % last year from three for the Pistons. The Vols’ single-season three point king improved upon that in the summer, shooting 51.1% from three across four summer appearances with nine attempts per game on average.
And as Golliver noted, that is something the Pistons need.
“The Pistons ranked 29th in 3-point attempts last season, so Lanier’s high-volume, high-efficiency shooting in Las Vegas should get their attention. Remarkably, he made more 3-pointers during summer league (23) than he did in his entire rookie season (19). All small sample size disclaimers do apply.”
It’s certainly a small sample size, but if Lanier has turned a corner, he could certainly answer a major question the Pistons have for 2026-27 after bowing out far too early in last year’s playoffs.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: ESPN slaps label on Chaz Lanier that the Detroit Pistons should pay attention to
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