BROOKLYN, N.Y. (WXYZ) — With the No. 5 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons have selected NBA G League Ignite Forward Ron Holland.
Last season in the NBA G League, Holland averaged 19.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. The 6-foot-7 forward, who turns 19 next month, made 44.3 percent of his shots, 24 percent of his threes and 75 percent of his free throws last season. He appeared in just 14 games in 2023-24, after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in his right thumb in late February.
Holland was a consensus top-three prospect in the 2023 class, being ranked No. 1 by 247. He also won two gold medals in the USA basketball youth system before he turned 18, including being the leading scorer for the U-16 team in the2021 FIBA Americas Championship and the second-leading scorer for the U-17 team in the 2022 FIBA U-17 World Cup.
“I’m going to keep doing what it takes to win games, diving on the floor for loose balls and making 50/50 plays. I can defend every position and (I’ve) improved as a facilitator quite a bit playing with other great players,” Holland told ESPN when asked what he provides to the team that drafts him.
This is the third season in a row that Detroit has selected fifth in the NBA draft, with the Pistons drafting guard Jaden Ivey in 2022 and guard Ausar Thompson in 2023.
Holland is the first player drafted by President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon, who joined the Pistons earlier this month after serving as general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans for five years. He was formally introduced to local media last week.
WATCH: Detroit Pistons officially introduce Trajan Langdon as president of Basketball Operations
Detroit Pistons officially introduce Trajan Langdon as president of Basketball Operations
The Pistons have yet to hire a head coach ahead of the 2024-25, after firing Monty Williams, who led the Pistons to a team-worst 14-68 record last season. Langdon has not yetprovided a firm timeline as to when he plans to hire a head coach.
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