Jaden Akins is getting another crack at the NBA, and this one comes with the reigning world champs.
After a strong Summer League run with the Knicks, Akins reportedly agreed to a two-way deal with New York on Wednesday. The move comes after he turned heads with the Motor City Cruise in the G-League, where his breakout rookie season was strong enough to put him back on the radar even though the Pistons’ affiliate didn’t bring him back.
Akins averaged 11.3 points and 2.0 assists in Summer League for the Knicks, following a G-League All-Star season with the Cruise. During the 2025-26 campaign, he put up 14.7 points and 4.4 assists and even had a career game against the Westchester Knicks, the team he’ll now join for the upcoming year.
The change of scenery makes sense for a player who found real momentum after shifting to point guard in the G-League. With the ball in his hands more often, Akins looked far more comfortable, ran the offense with purpose and consistently got teammates involved. That lone season with the Cruise showed a version of him that was steadier, sharper and better equipped to handle bigger responsibility.
It’s a little surprising the Cruise didn’t try harder to keep him after that kind of year, but Akins clearly saw New York as his best path to an NBA opportunity.
Akins’ route to this point has always been about untapped potential. Coming out of East Lansing, he wasn’t viewed as a top draft prospect, not because the talent wasn’t there, but because he wasn’t in the right role and his offense came too streaky for teams to trust.
At Michigan State, he improved every season and played at least 27 minutes per game in each of his final three years, but the consistency never fully clicked. He was either scorching or cold, with not much in between.
That changed with the Cruise, where the point guard role brought out a more reliable version of his game. He earned a G-League All-Star nod, and now he has a new shot to show that growth on a bigger stage.
With the two-way deal in hand, Akins could get some run with the Knicks this season. It’s a reminder of how quickly a player’s outlook can change once the confidence starts to match the talent.
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