Former Tennessee star Chaz Lanier officially inked his NBA rookie contract Monday, the Detroit Pistons announced on X (Twitter). Lanier signed a four-year, $8.79 million contract according to the USA Today’s Michael Scotto. The first two years of the contract are fully guaranteed, paying the former Tennessee flamethrower $3.52 million over his first two professional seasons.
The Pistons selected Lanier early in the second round with the No. 37 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft late last month. Lanier and the Pistons begin NBA Summer League play against the New York Knicks in Las Vegas on Friday. He will have a familiar face with him in the backcourt as former Vol point guard Zakai Zeigler is playing with Detroit in the NBA Summer League.
Lanier is the reigning Jerry West Award winner, an honor given annually to the nation’s top collegiate shooting guard. Lanier was the first ever Tennessee basketball player to win the award. The Nashville native spent just one season at Tennessee but made it count, averaging 18 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while helping lead the Vols to the Elite Eight for just the third time in program history.
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Lanier broke Tennessee’s single-season three-point record, leading the SEC with 123 made three-pointers. He did it an efficient rate too, making 39.5% of his attempts from deep. Program legend Chris Lofton previously held the top three spots in the rankings including the top-spot with 118 made three-pointers in the 2007-08 season.
The 6-foot-3 shooting guard ranked fourth nationally in made three-pointers and none of the players ahead of him were on teams that made the NCAA Tournament. Along with Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard and Florida’s Walter Clayton, Lanier was one of just three players in the SEC to make 100-plus three-pointers last season.
Lanier also earned Second Team All-SEC honors from the league’s coaches and First Team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press. The former North Florida standout scored 25-plus points in five games including a season-high 30 points in Tennessee’s win at No. 7 Texas A&M.
The former star college guard begins his professional career as a teammate of former Tennessee star and NBA veteran Tobias Harris.
