Exclusive: Pistons’ Chaz Lanier reveals ‘biggest’ learning curve heading into 2nd NBA season

The Detroit Pistons are coming off one of their best seasons in recent memory, winning 60+ games for the first time in 20 years and reaching the Eastern Conference Semifinals. But with other teams in the East getting better this offseason, the Pistons are going to need to keep up and one way they can potentially do so is with internal improvement, in particular, from second-year wing Chaz Lanier.

During NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Chaz Lanier was one of the bright spots for a Pistons’ squad that went 1-4. The No. 37 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Lanier did not see much playing time as a rookie. He got plenty of on-court reps in the G League with the team’s affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, where he showed flashes of the player the Pistons believed they were getting when they drafted him.

Aside from his G League stint, this summer was a prime opportunity for him to show the organization that he is ready for an expanded role this upcoming season. For him, it’s all about taking what he learned during his first year in the NBA and applying it moving forward.

“It’s hard to pinpoint just one thing. The whole season I was soaking things up, but I feel like the biggest thing I picked up from my team was that it’s going to be a long season,” Lanier told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “It’s just remembering where your feet are planted and having fun and just continuing to grow each and every day. There’s gonna be some days that are tough, some really great days, but continue to have fun through it all.”

Chaz Lanier’s development for Pistons

As a rookie, Lanier saw action in only 34 games and at just a little over seven minutes per game. During the playoffs, he appeared in just three games at a little over two minutes per. But the pathway to Lanier cracking the rotation, as he heads into his second season in the NBA, was on full display during Summer League.

The Pistons shot 35.6 percent as a team from the 3-point line last year. That was near the middle of the pack in the 17-20 range alongside the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors, three teams that did not make the playoffs last season. Out of all the teams that made the postseason, the Pistons were the fourth-worst 3-point shooting team ahead of only the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic.

In college, Lanier was a prolific 3-point shooter with a career shooting average of 40.2 percent across five seasons. Last year in the G League, he shot 40.1 percent from distance. And during Summer League, he knocked down a scorching 51.1 percent of his attempts from deep.

Last year, only two players on the team shot 40 percent or better from 3-point range, and one of them, Marcus Sasser, was traded to the Dallas Mavericks this offseason. Of the remaining players that shot at least 35 percent or better from three, two of them, Tobias Harris and Jaden Ivey, are also no longer on the team.

If Lanier can be a consistent threat from beyond the arc, it might be tough to keep him off the court. Especially if he makes strides on the defensive end as well as he wanted to show during Summer League.

“It’s really just coming out here and taking my shots and being really aggressive. I feel like I did a pretty good job of that. And really showcasing my defense. I’ve been working on defense a lot, just trying to be a solid defender for the Pistons,” Lanier said. “It’s just hours and hours of work. I’ve been doing it since I was young, so just hours and hours of work. I’m going to continue to do the same thing.”

During Summer League, Lanier averaged 17.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 46.8 percent from the field across five games. Those numbers were on par with his Motor City averages this past season. He appeared in 20 games for the Pistons’ affiliate, putting up 18.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 46.2 percent overall.

If playing time isn’t readily available again, it’s a good bet that Lanier gets more time to develop with Motor City. With the growth of the G League over the past few years, it’s truly become a place where young players can gain valuable reps that aren’t there yet for their NBA club. If next season brings a little more of the same, that’s a pathway that Lanier is completely on board with.

“The G League is a great place to get game reps and continue to grow your game,” Lanier said. “Especially if you go into it with the mentality of really being intentional about what you want to get better at and what you really want to work on.”

There’s a good bet that at least from the get-go, the minutes just aren’t there yet even with the strong Summer League showing. Obviously things can change once training camp and preseason roll around, but the Pistons currently have quite a bit of wing depth.

The team brought in a couple of veteran options on the wing this offseason in Isaiah Joe, Gary Harris and Taurean Prince who figure to be key contributors off the bench. Lanier knows that nothing is promised in the NBA. And rather than keeping looking ahead on the horizon for something that may or may not materialize, he’s just going to keep putting in the necessary work and let things play out as they may.

“It’s just taking it day by day really,” Lanier said. “I just want to continue to get better in every aspect of my game and just continue trying to be the best player that the Pistons need me to be for this team.”