Ugonna Onyenso didn’t hide the shock.
When NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum called his name at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 24, the 7-footer’s face told the story before he ever got to the stage. Onyenso had gone from bracing for a slide to No. 60 to hearing his name at No. 53 in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft, with the Detroit Pistons later landing the pick from the New York Knicks for cash.
Now Onyenso is in Detroit, and the message from the rookie big man is clear: he wants to make his mark the same way he always has - by defending the rim.
“My strengths on the court is my defense,” Onyenso said Monday. “Being able to block shots.
The timing in the league is different from what it is in college, with defensive three seconds and everything. It’s something that I’ve gotta learn, something that I’ve gotta get used to.
Being able to block shots, get a couple of steals on defense, that’s what I bring to the table.”
Onyenso signed a two-way contract with the Pistons last week and will split his rookie season between Detroit and the G League’s Motor City Cruise. He was introduced Monday, July 6, at the Pistons’ practice facility in Midtown, still smiling through the whole thing after a draft night that clearly caught him off guard.
The Pistons didn’t just add another second-rounder. They added one of college basketball’s better shot-blockers, a 21-year-old from Owerri, Nigeria, who averaged 6.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in 18.6 minutes per game last season at Virginia. He played in 36 games for a 30-6 team that earned a No. 3 seed in March Madness.
That skill set fits a Detroit team that values defense as much as Onyenso does. The Pistons moved on from Isaiah Stewart at the draft, trading away their best defensive center, and Onyenso arrives with a chance to help fill that gap.
He spent 2024-25 at Kansas State and his first two college seasons at Kentucky, and over four years in college he averaged 2.1 blocks in just 15 minutes per game. Onyenso said he sees a kindred fit in Dallas Mavericks big man Dereck Lively, whose role has been built around protecting the paint and finishing around the rim.
“I’m very into defense, I’m mostly a defensive-minded person,” Onyenso said. “When I block shots, I get fun from doing stuff like that.
Being in a situation where it’s a defensive-minded program, it’s a lot easier for me because I take pride in playing defense. I love a team that also takes pride in their defense and I feel like that’s how I built trust with one another.”
There’s no easy road for a second-round pick, but Onyenso’s calling card gives him a real opening. Rim protection is always in demand, and Detroit is looking to keep its paint defense elite after finishing second in the league there last season. Jalen Duren and Paul Reed were part of that effort, and former two-way center Tolu Smith also held his own in limited minutes.
Onyenso’s first chance to show what he can do comes in summer league, when Detroit opens against the Philadelphia 76ers in Las Vegas on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern on Prime Video.
He admitted he didn’t block a shot in the team’s first summer league practice before his press conference, which only reinforced the adjustment ahead. The NBA game is faster, the timing is different, and Onyenso knows he’s still learning.
“It’s been an amazing process,” he said. “I learn from everything that happens around me, so I learned a lot from this process in general because it’s a once in a lifetime thing and everybody, especially where I’m from, wants to be in this situation. It’s a learning process for me, and I’ve learned a lot especially from different teams.
“The NBA Draft, probably most of you saw my facial expression when I was drafted here. It was one of the funniest things that has happened to me.
Everything has been really amazing up until now. I’m enjoying everything that’s been going around me.
It’s my first time being a pro, everything is new to me. I’m taking everything in, learning from the people that’s been here, learning from the coaches.
It’s a gradual process and I’m loving the grind.”
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