Former Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler will play with former Vol teammate Chaz Lanier on the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Summer League, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported Thursday night.
Zeigler went undrafted in the 2025 draft this week before agreeing to a deal with the Pistons this summer. Detroit drafted Lanier with the No. 37 pick in the NBA Draft Thursday night general manager Trajan Langdon saying they considered trading back into the first round to make sure they landed the Tennessee sharpshooter.
A two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Zeigler heads to professional basketball after a storied four-year college career. Zeigler leaves Tennessee as the career steals and assists leader as well as the Tennessee and SEC single-season assists record.
The 5-foot-9 point guard is a two-time First Team All-SEC point guard and earned All-American honors from multiple outlets during his senior season. Zeigler averaged 13.6 points, 7.4 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 steals during his senior season.
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Over the course of his career, Zeigler totaled 1,556 points, 747 assists, 356 rebounds, 251 steals and 21 blocks.
Along with teammate Jahmai Mashack, Zeigler is the winningest player in program history. Tennessee ranked in the AP Top 25 every single week of Zeigler’s career, won a SEC Regular-Season and Tournament Championship while twice making it to the Elite Eight and another trip to the Sweet 16 during his storied four-year college career.
Zeigler pursued gaining an extra-year of eligibility earlier this offseason, suing the NCAA and arguing that the college sports’ governing body’s Four Seasons rule was illegal because it limited the potential earnings of student-athletes like himself.
A federal judge in East Tennessee denied Zeigler’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have allowed him to return to Tennessee for a fifth and final season in college basketball.
