Ron Holland Could Star for Pistons This Year

At last year’s draft, the Detroit Pistons took a gamble on hybrid Ron Holland, who was previously thought of to be a potential slide.

Detroit stopped his slide at No. 5, instead hoping to make him an important piece to the soon-to-be surging squad’s future. While he didn’t see the opportunity in Year 1, he very well could be a potential star for the Pistons sooner rather than later.

This year’s Summer League slate has especially highlighted that. While Holland will be a second-year, and is playing against mostly lesser competition, he’s been outright one of the best players in Las Vegas — a great for his development.

Holland’s most recent escapade featured a 22-point outing against the Timberwolves. He shot 50% from the field, hitting on nine of his 10 free throw attempts. Even more, he was able to add six rebounds, two assists and a whopping six steals.

The only mar on Holland’s outing was his 1-for-4 3-point shooting — not a major deal given his improvement already from beyond the line — and his seven turnovers.

Holland has excelled in each of his other games, too, going for 15 points and three steals against the Rockets, and a blistering 28 points, 11 rebounds and four stocks in his opener against the Knicks.

The Pistons were a much-improved team last season, and expect to be again this year. Holland could be a large part of that, potentially coming into his own as a co-star for Cade Cunningham with athleticism and two-way play.

There will certainly be other candidates — Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thomson and more — but Holland, with previously No. 1 stock in the 2024 NBA Draft, could have the highest upside of the bunch.

It remains to be seen whether Holland will continue to play Summer League, but he’s certainly got what he needed out of it.