It was always going to be a difficult rookie season for the Detroit Pistons' 17th-overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Ebuka Okorie was coming into a deep roster that had just won 60 games and had championship aspirations. Any 19-year-old rookie point guard was going to struggle to make a positive impact on a title hopeful.
One hope Okorie had was the fact that the Pistons desperately needed his skill set. The Pistons entered the season lacking ball-handling, shot creation, and scoring. Okorie has holes in his game, but one thing he can do is make plays, get to the basket, and score points. If the rest of the Pistons' backcourt were struggling, Okorie could have carved out a role for himself in the rotation.
That, fortunately for the Pistons but unfortunately for Okorie, hasn't been the case. If anything, the Pistons' backcourt, most notably Daniss Jenkins, has exceeded all expectations. This is making it very difficult for Okorie to crack the rotation.
Ebuka Okorie has an uphill battle for playing time after Daniss Jenkins' impresive start
Jenkins just had his two best games of the season. He went 8/15 from three for 31 points, five rebounds, and four assists against the Lakers on Sunday. He followed that up with a 22-point, six-rebound, eight-assist, four-steal showing against the Wizards on Monday.
For the season, Jenkins has been better across the board. He is more efficient from all over the floor, increasing his 40.8/37.4/83.2 shooting splits to 45.2/42.9/91.7 this season. Despite playing six more minutes per game and scoring and assisting more, Jenkins' turnovers haven't gone up. He was a very inefficient and inconsistent player last season. This year, he is significantly above league average in True Shooting and has been much more reliable.
As a result, the Pistons are 8.6 points per 100 possessions better when he is playing, per Cleaning the Glass. Detroit has a net rating of +12.8 when Jenkins is on the floor.
This means that Jenkins has been getting all the backup point guard minutes when Cade Cunningham is on the bench. He also spends a significant amount of time playing next to Cade as the shooting guard.
Naturally, Okorie has been an afterthought. He gets minutes here and there; he saw six minutes against the Wizards on Monday. He was fine in that stint. But finding enough minutes for him will be a challenge.
This will only get harder once Isaiah Joe is back. The Pistons are about to be even deeper in the backcourt, blocking Okorie's minutes. The former Stanford standout has to wait a little longer before seeing consistent minutes for JB Bickerstaff.
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