Jaden Ivey landed at No. 21 on FanSided's 25-under-25 NBA Player Rankings this season, ranking the best young players in the NBA. Check out the rest of the list here.
The Detroit Pistons were on a joyride after the 2025 NBA playoffs. Sure, they lost to the New York Knicks in a competitive six-game series, but the glass-half-full approach was: wait until Jaden Ivey gets back.
Detroit took New York to the brink without its second-best scorer. The Pistons were going to find out if Ivey was their second-best player overall this year, but Ivey has met a setback.
Ivey will miss at least the next four weeks following right knee surgery. That sucks because he was returning from a fibula injury that capped his season at 30 games played. Injuries are the worst.
There were flashes of brilliance in those 30 games. Knockdown shooting is the name of the game, playing next to Cade Cunningham, and Ivey was showing his worth in that department. We still have lingering questions about the 23-year-old slasher because how much stock can be put into a half-season of inferno shooting?
There are still slashing areas Ivey needs to fine-tune. On the other side of the floor, Ivey has a ways to go, but it's not from a lack of effort. Returning to a Pistons team with home-court advantage hopes isn't the most ideal situation for development, but the investment in Ivey will lend him some opportunities upon his eventual return. Detroit still needs to see if he is their number two.
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Jaden Ivey's growth will be tested when he returns from injury
The Pistons haven't made the financial investment in Ivey rewarding him with a second contract yet. After his injury-riddled season last year, it makes sense that Detroit wanted to see how he bounced back before engaging in extension talks.
That said, Ivey was their lottery pick from a few years ago, so Detroit has an incentive to see his growth. He was growing at a rapid rate as a shooter before his season ended.
Ivey was known as a slithery slasher coming out of Purdue University. Many compared his game to Ja Morant's due to their top-tier speed and vertical pop. Ivey's jumper was a question mark. He made tough logo 3s at times, but the consistency was never there.
Drilling those types of long balls displays potential, though. Ivey shot about 34 percent, shooting five three-pointers a game over his first two NBA seasons. Last year was nothing like those less-than-league-average shooting years.
Ivey shot the leather off the Wilson, shooting 40 percent on five attempts in 2024-25. His uptick in efficiency while repeating the same volume is nothing to scoff at. Ivey nailing shots is a key component in the Cade-Ivey backcourt.
Cade is on a superstar trajectory; he needs players around him who can nail open shots when he's doubled and who can handle the ball in space. Ivey had the shotmaking portion down pact last year. Ivey was as steady as they come, shooting 45 percent on catch-and-shoot threes. That will work playing off Cade.
It was unfortunate that Detroit couldn't see how real this jumper leap was with high-stakes playoff basketball. Ivey was out during their run, so Detroit still doesn't have definitive answers on whether Ivey's shooting is real.
What Detroit does know is that Ivey needs to make better decisions with the ball. According to Cleaning the Glass, Ivey's 16.0 turnover percentage was in the 11th percentile among combo guards. He's been turnover-prone his whole career so far. That can be improved with better decision-making when he's slashing to the cup.
Ivey has been labeled a slasher, but his rim finishing doesn't reflect that. He's a pogo stick jumper who'll put anybody on a poster, but Detroit needs him to finish more than 60 percent of his rim shots. Tyler Herro shot 66 percent at the rim last year, and he isn't half the athlete Ivey is. That goes back to decision-making; sometimes, it's okay to second-guess challenging every behemoth in the paint.
On the flipside, the Pistons do need his aggressive, risky mentality because they aren't loaded with ball handlers. Ivey attempts to keep defenses honest by applying constant pressure on the hoop. We'll have to wait to see if he's a more controlled finisher when he returns this year.
Say all things go right: Ivey is a consistent shooter and a better decision maker. He still needs to become a stronger on-ball defender playing with Cade.
In theory, Ivey should be the one taking on the tough matchups. He doesn't spend as much energy as Cade does on offense, and Ivey has athleticism Cade does not. Luckily for Detroit, they employ one of the best perimeter defenders in Ausar Thomspon, so everything isn't on Ivey's shoulder, but he should still be better on that end.
Ivey should be a lockdown defender. He'll never be the first option on a team, he has an excellent physical profile, and his lateral quickness is clear as day on offense. It's not easy making the defensive shift, but that type of growth is the reason Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kris Dunn are still in the NBA getting new contracts.
On paper and practice, Ivey is much more talented than those players on offense, but adding that true defensive attribute to his game will make him even more valuable. If he can knock down 3s, slash, and finish, while locking up other teams' guards, there's no doubt he'll remain one of the Pistons' most essential prospects.