𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥: 𝗧𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗲’𝘀 𝗦𝗶𝘅𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁-𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗛𝗲’𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗼𝗿..

Chaz Lanier: Tennessee’s Sixth Man Turned NBA Draft Pick
Chaz Lanier, a key “sixth man” for the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team, received the news he was hoping for during the recent NBA Draft. He was selected No. 37 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. This makes him the seventh pick of the second round.
Lanier’s Journey to the Draft
Lanier’s path to the NBA Draft involved a transfer to Tennessee. He spent four years at North Florida before joining the Volunteers as a fifth-year transfer. In his lone season at Tennessee (2024-25), he had a standout year, earning the Jerry West Award as the nation’s premier shooting guard. His impressive stats included:
* Averaging 18.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game.
* Breaking Tennessee’s single-season 3-point record with 123 made threes in 38 games.
* Scoring 17-plus points in 25 of his 38 games, with 20-plus in 15 games and 25-plus in six.
* Being named a First Team All-SEC pick by the AP and the SEC Newcomer of the Year by the league’s coaches.
Before his time at Tennessee, in his senior year at North Florida (2023-24), he averaged 19.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game, shooting 44.0 percent from 3-point range, ranking fifth nationally.
Tennessee’s Recent NBA Draft Success
Lanier’s selection continues a strong trend for the Tennessee Volunteers basketball program under coach Rick Barnes. He is the 45th future NBA player Barnes has coached and the 34th draftee. This marks the fifth consecutive year a Tennessee player has been selected in the NBA Draft, and the sixth time in the last seven years that at least one Tennessee player has been picked.
Other recent notable Tennessee players in the NBA Draft include Dalton Knecht, who was selected No. 17 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2024 NBA Draft, and Zakai Zeigler and Igor Milicic Jr. who also received NBA opportunities in the 2025 draft cycle, with Zeigler heading to the NBA Summer League with the Detroit Pistons and Milicic signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The “draft-week message” for Chaz Lanier was undoubtedly the life-changing news of being selected by an NBA team, validating his impressive collegiate career and his decision to transfer to Tennessee.