The Detroit Pistons’ G League affiliate is giving aspiring players a chance to prove they can play on a professional team.
The Motor City Cruise announced it will host a one-day open tryout on Sept. 13 at the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center in Detroit, offering participants an opportunity to earn an invitation to the team’s 2026 training camp.
The cost to participate is $250, with registration closing at 5 p.m. ET on Sept. 12. Space is limited, and hopefuls can register through the team’s official website.
Players will participate in NBA-style drills and live scrimmages while being evaluated by Motor City Cruise and Detroit Pistons basketball operations personnel. Under NBA G League rules, the organization can invite up to three players from the tryout to training camp in October. Before workouts begin, attendees will also hear from a Detroit Pistons legend.
According to Cruise General Manager Max Unger, the annual tryout typically attracts between 60 and 90 players. Every participant will receive a reversible Cruise tryout jersey, along with two tickets to a home game during the upcoming 2026-27 G League season.
While making a professional roster remains a long shot, the program has already produced success stories.
Southfield native John Ukomadu paid the same $250 registration fee in 2024 after discovering the tryout through social media. He went on to become the first player in franchise history to make the Cruise’s training camp roster through an open tryout, appearing in all 50 games during the 2024-25 season before winning the 2026 NBA G League Slam Dunk Contest.
“I knew what I wanted out of basketball,” Ukomadu previously said. “Why not take the chance now?”
Other former tryout participants, including Malique Jacobs, Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, Symir Torrence, Brian Taylor and Ray Williams Jr., have also turned the opportunity into professional contracts.
The Motor City Cruise aren’t alone in using open tryouts to uncover overlooked talent. Former NBA champion Juan Toscano-Anderson earned his opportunity after attending a Santa Cruz Warriors tryout, while Jonathon Simmons famously paid for an Austin Spurs tryout before eventually landing a lucrative NBA contract.
“This is why our league exists: to give players opportunities and to give teams opportunities to identify players,” NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim previously said of the program.
