After a tough season, the Detroit Pistons shared the best odds of landing the top pick in the 2024 NBA Draft with the Washington Wizards. Many expected the lottery to wrap up with both teams securing the top picks.
The Wizards got their wish, landing the second-overall selection. The Pistons lacked luck and ended up going on the clock at fifth-overall.
It’s unclear how the draft would’ve panned out for the Pistons had they landed a higher pick. But they certainly went in an unexpected direction with their fifth pick, as they took on NBA G League Ignite’s Ron Holland.
Unlike most top prospects, Holland opted against taking the NCAA route. Following his high school run, Holland joined the NBA G League Ignite squad for its final season. Midway through his first run as a professional, Holland suffered an injury, which ended his campaign prematurely.
In 15 games, Holland averaged 19 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. He drained 47 percent of his shots from the field and averaged 68 percent from the charity stripe.
Defensively, Holland came up with two steals per game and also averaged one block.
His short run with the Ignite showed promise, but the sample size was small. Yet, Holland still landed in the NBA’s top five for this year’s incoming rookies. Recently, Pistons President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon explained the thought process behind the selection during an in-game interview at the NBA Summer League.
“I think, for us, it was about bringing his competitive nature to this team,” said Langdon. “I think he’s a guy that is extremely competitve. He’s high character, works his butt off, and from everything we’ve heard about him going into this draft process, he’s a team player—organization first. I think that athletically and basketball-wise, he just has a huge upside.”
The Pistons are quite familiar with passing on NCAA prospects and going with a player who went to a post-high school developmental program. Just last year, Detroit took on Overtime Elite’s Ausar Thompson. While there is a lot of progress left to be made for Thompson, he’s primed for a full-time role in year two.
A young and rebuilding Pistons team will likely find a spot for Holland in the rotation right away. With Holland being a top selection, coming from a G League program, he has an idea of what to expect. After a run in Las Vegas for Summer League, Holland should anticipate a busy rookie season.
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