Motor City Cruise offers opportunity

John Ukomadu remembers the first time he walked into the Detroit Pistons’ old practice facility in Auburn Hills, Mich. He was 11. The Southfield native was on a summer camp field trip.
The Hall of Fame banners of former Detroit Pistons that hung from the rafters caught his eye. Little did he know that those same banners would drape the Pistons’ practice facility where he’d turn dreams into reality just over a decade later.
His hoop journey began as a junior at Roseville High School, about 20 miles from midtown Detroit, and took him from Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich., to Eastern Kentucky University, where he graduated in 2024. Ukomadu’s name was not atop any draft boards that summer.
Through social media, he found out that the G League’s Motor City Cruise were hosting local tryouts in the fall of 2024. Ukomadu paid his $250 registration fee and gave it a shot. He eventually made the 2024-25 Cruise roster and played for Detroit’s summer league team in July. Ukomadu agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Pistons on Wednesday but was waived Thursday and will be allocated to the Cruise for their upcoming season, according to team and league sources.
“I knew what I wanted out of basketball. I felt like (in) paying that $250, I’m going to end up making it back in my career,” Ukomadu said with a laugh. “So why not take the chance now?”
The Cruise’s goal with local tryouts is twofold: to spot local talent that might have gone unnoticed, and to have an alternative method of scouting. Ukomadu, 23, met the criteria in both facets and has so far flourished with the team. During his rookie season with the Cruise, Ukomadu averaged 9.6 points on 51.5 percent shooting, including 46.2 percent from 3 on 3.7 attempts, along with 3.5 rebounds. He started in eight of his 32 games played.
Ukomadu looked at his registration fee as an investment. He had some doubts about his chances to make the team given his path to that point, but those faded once he stepped onto the court. His story isn’t too dissimilar from other locals who have taken the same chance with a Cruise tryout.
“This is why our league exists: to give players opportunities and to give teams opportunities to identify players like (Ukomadu),” G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim said. “This is why we do the things we do.”
The Cruise will host their annual local tryouts again on Saturday. While the odds of another player with Ukomadu’s trajectory entering the tryouts are slim, they aren’t insurmountable.
It also helps that Detroit is a basketball hotbed. Abdur-Rahim, who played 12 seasons in the NBA, remembers Detroit as one of the “toughest places to play” because of the passion from Pistons fans and the city.
“Detroit has such a rich history of basketball in general,” the former NBA All-Star said. “People in Detroit take a lot of pride in basketball and the overall basketball landscape in the Pistons.”
Cruise general manager Max Unger said the team usually sees anywhere from 60 to 90 players in the open tryout. Unger, a native of Huntington Woods, Mich., is entering his second season as GM. Before his time with the Cruise, he served as the San Antonio Spurs’ basketball operations coordinator.
“There are always talented guys that sort of slip through the cracks,” Unger said. “And we do local tryouts as a means of getting our eyes in person on a lot of talented players that can potentially help our team.”
The G League has had a history of players like Ukomadu, who have found success after making teams via local tryouts.
Juan Toscano-Anderson went from a local tryout with the Santa Cruz Warriors to an NBA championship alongside Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in 2022. Toscano-Anderson played three seasons for the Warriors before signing a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. He spent a total of five seasons in the association with the Warriors, Lakers, Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings.
Jonathon Simmons paid a $150 registration fee in 2013 to try out for the Austin Spurs before eventually making the San Antonio Spurs’ roster. He spent two of his four NBA seasons in San Antonio and did well enough to ink a three-year deal with the Orlando Magic. The Magic later traded Simmons to the Philadelphia 76ers during his second season in Orlando.
“It just shows the opportunity, like it can happen,” Abdur-Rahim said. “I think a lot of times, like in everything, representation is important. So just to know that there’s a John (Ukomadu) … these stories (exist). It may not seem like it can happen, but it can happen. So do the right things, put yourself in a position to show what you can do. And go out and take your opportunities.”
One common denominator between Ukomadu, Toscano-Anderson, Simmons and others looking to forge a similar path is resilience. It’s something Unger said he’s looking for in his players, particularly if they’re trying to make the next step to the NBA.
“If you’re going to be an NBA player eventually, you better be able to deal with things not going your way at different points in your career,” Unger said. “We look for people who have been through things that are going to allow them to persevere when things get hard.”
Apart from just Ukomadu, Unger and the Cruise are eager to continue giving local hoopers a shot to prove they can become professionals as well.
“Yes, we are Detroit’s G League team,” Unger said. “But we want everybody from the city to have an opportunity to show who they are as players, and that’s the function of the local tryout. It’s a community thing, but there are a ton of talented players here who, for whatever reason, may be overlooked. This is (the time to) come show us what you can do.”
The opportunity afforded to Ukomadu has allowed him to live out what has been a goal of his since he began playing organized basketball during high school.
“That’s why I keep playing,” Ukomadu said. “I’d never fall out of love with basketball because it’s just so fun to me. I just enjoy being on a court, shooting the ball, just running around, talking to my teammates. I just enjoy it.”