REPORT: Jerami Grant to Join U.S.A Olympic Basketball Team
The 2020-2021 NBA season was a big one for Jerami Grant. After betting on himself and leaving the Denver Nuggets for a starring role on the Pistons, Grant saw a nearly unprecedented spike in his offensive production, increasing his scoring from 12 to 22.3 points per game. While his output and efficiency wavered as the season went on, the campaign was undoubtedly a success for the former 2nd-round draft pick as he barely missed out on an All-Star berth and finished as the runner up to the Knicks Julius Randle for the NBA's Most Improved Player award.
Now he has another reason to feel good about his decision to join Troy Weaver's rebuilding project in Detroit, with Grant accepting an offer to join the US Olympic basketball team as they attempt to defend their gold medal in Tokyo this summer, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1407778084032442370?s=20
Of course, this was only possible due to a shortage of willing (and healthy) players for the US, but regardless of circumstance this is a well-deserved honor for Grant who clearly upped his game on offense this season to match his already excellent defensive abilities. With the Pistons winning the NBA's Draft Lottery last night, the franchise looks to be in fantastic form leading into 2021/22. Fans can only hope that Grant will take the opportunity in Japan to recruit fellow Olympic stars to Detroit for the following season, when the Pistons will have only $51 million on their payroll as the Blake Griffin contract comes off the books. The situation in Motown hasn't been this rosy since the Pistons went to six straight Eastern Conference Finals in the mid-2000's, and things seem to be looking better with every passing day.