Chaz Lanier is making plenty of noise in Las Vegas.
The former Tennessee guard has caught fire for the Detroit Pistons in NBA Summer League play, and after a quiet start, he has turned his last two games into a scoring showcase. Lanier has piled up 49 points across those two outings, flashing the kind of shooting stroke that made him such an intriguing second-round pick.
His opener against the 76ers was solid enough, even if the three-ball wasn’t falling the way he wanted. Lanier finished with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting and went just 1-of-6 from beyond the arc.
He didn’t stay down for long. Against the Cavaliers, he responded with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting while knocking down 7-of-12 from three.
Then came Monday’s explosion against the Knicks. Lanier poured in 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting and was nearly automatic from deep, burying 8-of-12 from three-point range.
Through three games in Las Vegas, Lanier is averaging 31.6 minutes, 20.3 points, two rebounds, two assists, and 1.6 turnovers per game. He’s shooting 51.2% from the floor and 53.3% from three. Over his last two games, those numbers have climbed even higher: 24.5 points per contest, 56.6% shooting overall, and 58.3% from long range.
The Pistons have already taken notice. After one of his hot stretches, Detroit posted: “Six threes in the first half 🔥” and later followed with: “17 POINTS.
5 THREES. 7 MINUTES.
Chaz Lanier is in the zone. 👌”
This is Lanier’s second Summer League run with Detroit after the Pistons selected him in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft. His rookie season didn’t give him much room to breathe. He appeared in 34 games and averaged 2.4 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.5 assists, while logging just 7.7 minutes per game.
Even so, there were flashes. Lanier spent two games with Detroit’s G-League team and absolutely lit it up, averaging 33.5 points in 36.2 minutes while shooting 63.9% from the field and 58.3% from three. In his first G-League game, he dropped 40 points and hit nine threes.
That kind of shooting wasn’t exactly new for Tennessee fans. During his lone season in Knoxville, Lanier had his share of big nights, with the Baylor game in the Baha Mar tournament and the Texas A&M game in College Station standing out.
Detroit’s crowded young rotation made it hard for Lanier to earn real minutes as a rookie, but his shooting touch has shown up again in both the G-League and Summer League. For now, he’s doing exactly what he needs to do: keep filling it up and make the Pistons think twice.
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For Tennessee fans keeping an eye on the wider portal landscape, the more interesting wrinkle is how many names around Colorado still did not crack ESPNs Top 100, including Boo Carter, Danny Scudero and Gideon Lampron. Deion Sanders has been pushing the idea that preseason lists do not decide anything, and Moores fit under Brennan Marion only adds to the sense that Colorado is betting on role and leadership as much as rankings. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Just Sent A Loud Message About Its Quarterback Situation
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Heupel left the competition unresolved coming out of the spring, and the battle is set to carry into preseason work before the Vols make any final call. For a program trying to build momentum entering the fall, the absence of a quarterback at media days only sharpens the focus on how Tennessee plans to sort out its most important position. [Read more 🡒]
Heupels Biggest Five-Star Wins Just Got A Reality Check
Josh Heupels run of five-star recruiting at Tennessee has already produced a mix of instant impact, slow-burn promise and a few names still waiting for their first real chance. Mike Matthews has been the clearest win so far, while David Sanders Jr. has also flashed the kind of early play that makes NFL evaluators take notice. At the same time, a few of the classs biggest names have either been hard to judge or simply have not matched the hype yet, which is part of what makes any ranking of Heupels best blue-chip additions such a tricky exercise.
Jordan Ross is the reminder that recruiting stars do not always translate cleanly, and Nico Iamaleavas Tennessee tenure landed in a more complicated middle ground than the five-star billing suggested. Even with that mixed track record, the Vols are still working on adding to the group, and there is a real chance another elite prospect could be folded into the mix in the coming days, which would give Heupel yet another chance to reshape how this class is remembered. [Read more 🡒]