Pistons to acquire No. 17 pick Ebuka Okorie from Grizzlies

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link) first reported that Detroit was trading up, while Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) revealed that the Pistons are surrendering three second-round picks to go from No. 21 to No. 17 for Okorie.

A member of the All-ACC first team as a freshman in 2025/26, Okorie was the full-time starting point guard for Stanford, pouring in a conference-high 23.2 points per game on .465/.354/.832 shooting in 31 outings (35.1 MPG). He also contributed 3.6 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per contest, rising up NBA draft boards on the strength of his strong season.

Okorie is somewhat undersized for a lead guard at 6’2″, but Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports considers him the best driving guard in the 2026 draft class, noting that he’s adept at eluding defenders with his excellent handle and abrupt changes of speed. As O’Connor writes, NBA teams were assessing ahead of the draft whether Okorie’s success at the NCAA level would translate against bigger, longer defenders in the NBA.

Okorie didn’t turn 19 until April, making him one of the younger players in the class. Although he indicated at the time he declared that he intended to stay in the draft as an early entrant, he wasn’t considered a lock by some outlets to be a first-round pick, but steadily worked his way up draft boards as some other players opted not to declare or withdrew.

The Pistons have reportedly been aggressive in searching for ball-handling, shooting and complementary scoring to help Cade Cunningham, who carried an enormous workload in the playoffs. Detroit went 60-22 last season, the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The team barely eked past Orlando in the first round of the playoffs then lost to Cleveland in a seven-game second-round series.

Okorie puts enormous pressure on a defense with his quickness and ability to touch the paint. He averaged 7.3 free throws per game and was one of the top scorers in the country. There are defensive concerns due to his size, but Okorie could become a valuable secondary scorer and play-maker in Detroit if he can hold up on the other end.

Okorie, who wasn’t a top prospect entering college, will join a growing Pistons backcourt that also features Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Daniss Jenkins, Caris LeVert, Marcus Sasser, and Chaz Lanier.

The Grizzlies, meanwhile, will essentially add five second-round picks to move down from No. 16 to No. 21.