Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler have gone from Rocky Top to the Motor City.
Well, Sin City for now.
Lanier and Zeigler made their NBA Las Vegas Summer League debuts for the Detroit Pistons on Friday night in a massive 104-86 win over the New York Knicks. The former Tennessee teammates combined for 18 points in the win, with Lanier part of the starting five and Zeigler tallying the most minutes of the bench for Detroit.
Lanier recorded 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting, hitting 2-of-7 attempts from three-point range. The 37th overall draft pick also tallied two rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block, while only turning the ball over once.
Zeigler, meanwhile, had 18 minutes off the bench to lead all non-starters for either team. The scrappy guard put up eight points on 2-of-4 shooting, going a perfect 2-of-2 from the three-point arc. While still carrying over his stingy defensive ability, he also recorded one rebound and one assist on the night.
Stacey Lanier, Chaz’s mother, posted a picture of the two former college teammates in action. Former Tennessee assistant coach Rod Clark reposted the picture, saying, “Makes my heart full.”
Makes my heart full 🫶🏽 https://t.co/7cWR924Ysl
— Rod Clark (@CoachRodC_IU) July 12, 2025
More From RTI: Former Tennessee Guard Kennedy Chandler Shines in Return to Summer League Action
Here’s a look at some of the highlights from Friday night’s win:
Shooters shoot…
First bucket for @Swaggychaz pic.twitter.com/ck4RNpgJxu
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) July 11, 2025
Chaz Lanier makes the tough jumper over Tyler Kolek to beat the shot clock.
He had nowhere to go pic.twitter.com/UnjjHmz96h— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) July 12, 2025
Former Vol and Detroit forward Tobias Harris was also in attendance to watch his fellow Tennessee Basketball alums in action:
Deuce & Mikal repping the Knicks 🔶🔷
Tobias & Cade repping the Pistons 🏎️Supporting the squad at #NBA2KSummerLeague 🤝 pic.twitter.com/rKet9xkOex
— NBA (@NBA) July 11, 2025
While the Pistons still have three games left on the table in the summer league, the next one should be an exciting one for Tennessee fans.
Lanier and Zeigler’s Pistons will take on former Tennessee guard Kennedy Chandler and the Houston Rockets. Zeigler and Chandler spent one season as teammates as freshmen in 2021.
Chandler was dynamite in his first summer league for Houston on Friday night. In 22 minutes off the bench, he tallied 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting, getting to the free-throw line more than anyone else in the game. Chandler knocked down seven of his 11 attempts from the charity stripe en route to a big performance.
With all three former Vols playing 18 or more minutes in the opener, we’re expecting plenty of action on the court with the three of them on Sunday. It won’t be surprising to see some Zeigler vs Chandler action at the guard spot, either – something that Rick Barnes saw plenty of just a few years back.
Here’s a look at the remaining schedule for Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier after making their debuts with the Pistons on Friday night:
July 13: vs. Rockets (Las Vegas) – 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2/ESPN+
July 15: vs. Timberwolves (Las Vegas) – 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+/NBA TV
July 17: vs. Heat (Las Vegas) – 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+/NBA TV
