Another HBCU product is getting a real look from an NBA team. Langston University guard Orlando Thomas has been added to the Detroit Pistons’ Summer League roster, according to a report from Andscape’s Mia Barry.
Barry posted on X that Thomas, a Second Team NAIA All-American, is headed to the Pistons after averaging 15.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals this past season. He shot 42.3 percent from three-point range. And he led Langston to the 2026 NAIA National Championship game.
That’s not nothing. Langston isn’t a Division I program, but Thomas put up numbers that translate. Efficiency from deep, defensive activity, and the ability to carry an offense through a playoff run. That kind of production gets noticed, even if the school name isn’t Kentucky or Duke.
More HBCU Prospects Getting Their Shot
Thomas isn’t the only one. Howard guard Bryce Harris signed a Summer League deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder after leading the Bison to three NCAA Tournament appearances over five seasons. Tennessee State’s Aaron Nkrumah joined the Denver Nuggets on an Exhibit 10 contract.
All three are trying to do what few players from HBCU or NAIA programs manage: stick in the NBA. Summer League is the first real proving ground. It’s where undrafted guys and overlooked small-school prospects can catch a front office’s attention in a hurry.
Thomas’s path is especially unusual. Langston is an NAIA school in Oklahoma. The NAIA title game isn’t a national broadcast like the NCAA Tournament. But scouts still find guys who can shoot and defend. And Thomas did both at a high level when it mattered most.
Detroit’s Summer League schedule kicks off this week. The Pistons have been stockpiling young talent in recent drafts, and Summer League gives them a chance to evaluate players like Thomas who might fill out the back end of the roster or earn a two-way deal.
For Thomas, this is the opportunity he grinded for. A shot to prove that the level of competition doesn’t matter as much as the player himself.
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