In the 2020 free agency, Jerami Grant bet on himself. He called moving on from Denver Nuggets, where he had an established well-suited role for him, a 'no brainer'.
"I made the best decision for me and my career," Grant said about signing with the Detroit Pistons, as per the Denver Post. "My growth as a player is extremely important to me."
Early in the 2020-21 season, 24 games in, the Pistons might be struggling at the bottom of the East, but Grant's bet seems to be paying off.
In the Pistons' most recent game, a win over the James Harden and Kyrie Irving-led Brooklyn Nets, he went off for a career-high 32 points while also recording five rebounds and four assists on an efficient 11-of-19 shooting from the field.
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This is his fifth 30-point game this season, a lot more than he had previously in his career.
Jerami Grant career 30-point games
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 10, 2021
First 458 games: 0
Last 20 games: 5 pic.twitter.com/rzKVDd5aFL
He's not just scoring more, Grant's doing everything a lot better. He's nearly doubled up his averages from last season, especially in the major stat categories, while recording nearly the same shooting splits despite his shot attempts nearly doubling.
| PTS | REBS | AST | FGA/FG% | 3PA/3P% | |
| 2019-20 | 12.0 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 8.9/.478 | 3.5/.389 |
| 2020-21 (24 games) | 24.3 | 5.5 | 3.0 | 17.8/.453 | 6.5/.395 |
His 583 points so far this season are the most through the first 24 games of a player's career with the Pistons.
At 6-18, the team's record might be an issue but there's no double about the fact that Grant's averages, through 24 games, certainly have an All-Star case. If not All-Star, he certainly is among the frontrunners for the Most Improved Player of the Year Award with the noticeable leap in his numbers.
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