Former Mississippi State basketball star Tolu Smith is inching toward his NBA debut, signing another two-way contract with the Detroit Pistons on Monday.
Detroit announced in a social media post that it had re-inked Smith and signed former Rutgers standout Ron Harper, Jr. to similar deals in which each could split time between the G League and the active roster.
OFFICIAL – We have signed forward/center Tolu Smith and forward Ron Harper Jr. to two-way contracts. pic.twitter.com/kCUja1snjR
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) January 6, 2025
Tolu Smith is LEAGUE bound!
Congrats to the @motorcitycruise big man on signing a Two-Way contract with the @detroitpistons. Smith is our 22nd #NBACallUp of the season. pic.twitter.com/3Nttde4gr5
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) January 6, 2025
Smith, a 6-foot-10 rookie big, went undrafted this past offseason but was signed by the Pistons to a two-way contract going into the NBA Summer League. However, on Oct. 17, he was waived and eventually landed on the team’s affiliate Motor City Cruise.
Through nine games with the Cruise, Smith has been nothing short of dominant. He’s averaging 17.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.3 blocks – good enough to earn the Bay St. Louis native another shot at possibly playing on the big stage.
As for his college career, Smith became a household name for Mississippi State over four years. After transferring to Starkville from Western Kentucky, he scored over 1,500 points in 108 games for the Bulldogs and was twice named to the All-SEC first team.
Harper, on the other hand, is the son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper. The younger Harper went undrafted in 2022 and signed a two-way deal with the Toronto Raptors before landing on the G League’s Maine Celtics in October. In 10 games, he’s averaged 10.6 points and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 37.1% from three-point range.
To make room for Smith and Harper in their two-way rotation, the Pistons waived two-way wings Alondes Williams and Cole Swider.
