A year ago, Jerami Grant would have been an afterthought for Team USA. Four years ago, he was an afterthought for most teams in the NBA.
"I still remember his days in Philly and the scouting report saying, 'He’s downhill and Euro-stepping every time,' and playing off of him, giving him the shot,'" defensive stalwart Draymond Green said Thursday.
"To watch his journey, he's one of the guys in the NBA now."
He's also one of the 12 guys heading to Tokyo later this month to play for Team USA in the Olympics. This is all possible because Grant took a chance on the Pistons and the Pistons took a chance on Grant, and the NBA witnessed the birth of a new star.
Kevin Durant saw it when Grant put up 32 points against the Nets in February. Damian Lillard saw it when Grant hung 30 on the Trailblazers in March. So when Team USA head coach Greg Popovic was deciding how to use his final two roster spots last month, perhaps it's no surprise that Durant and Lillard lobbied him to take Grant. Not that Popovic needed much convincing. He witnessed Grant's rise, too.
“I wanted him on this team because of the size, length, flexibility and versatility that he will give us," Popovic said Thursday as the US conducts training camp in Las Vegas. "And the fact that he’s a competitor. He’s also willing to fill a role. I just told him today: he’s very coachable, aggressive, a good person – the right guy to have on a basketball team.”
Grant's role for the US won't be the one he filled this year for the Pistons. Durant, Lillard and others will handle the scoring. Grant will be asked to provide energy and defense, which is all he's ever done since he entered the NBA in 2014. Just don't be surprised if he knocks down a few shots in the process.
"My role, I’m playing a lot of defense, hitting open shots and being aggressive when I get the opportunity. But I think that’s going to be my role -- a lot of energy," said Grant. "Whatever I need to do to get this gold."
It's sort of the theme of Grant's career, fitting himself into a puzzle. He came into the league as a second-round pick with the Process 76ers where lottery picks were king. He played behind Paul George and Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City, then Nikola Jocic and Jamal Murray in Denver. It wasn't until he arrived in Detroit that Grant had a chance to shine.
Green saw it when Grant dropped 27 on the Warriors in Detroit's fourth game of the season, part of a streak in which he eclipsed 20 points in 14 straight games. Then he saw it again, and again, and again.
"I always watch the Pistons because I’m from Michigan. What he’s gone there and done is incredible," said Green. "One of the most improved players in this league, for sure."
And the way Green sees it, one of the most important players on Team USA:
"Coming out here, it’s very easy for a like Jerami who hasn’t been at this level for as long as Kevin Durant or Damian Lillard to just come in and take a backseat to those guys. But he’s come in and been aggressive, he’s playing with extreme energy and he’s going to play a huge role in us winning the gold."
Popovic wanted him here. So did Durant and Lillard, whose journeys to Tokyo were more or less linear. Grant's is via Detroit, despite a career that started in Philly.
"I had to trust the process, and seven years later I’m here on the USA team," he said. "It unfolded the way it should."