Ron Holland II wants an All-Defensive team spot and says the Pistons could have won the title last season

DETROIT — Oct. 14, 2026 — Ron Holland II is not setting small goals for his third NBA season. In an interview with Detroit Pistons beat writer Eric Vincent, the 21-year-old forward said he hopes to make an NBA All-Defensive team this year, and that he believes the Pistons had a real chance to win the championship last season.

Ron Holland said he has hopes of making an NBA All Defense team this year.

He also believes the #Pistons had a real chance to win a championship last season pic.twitter.com/PvGi8GlQcf

— Eric Vincent (@IAmEricVincent) October 14, 2026

Holland was one of the athletes picked to promote the Oct. 23 release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, and the conversation moved from his love of the game to the season ahead in Detroit.

The defense is already there

The All-Defensive talk is not coming out of nowhere. Holland’s on-ball pressure and length have been his calling card since the Pistons took him fifth overall in 2024, and he has carried it into this preseason. In Detroit’s win over the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 5, he played a team-high 23 minutes off the bench and finished with 14 points, four rebounds, five steals and two blocks.

Making one of the two All-Defensive teams would be a big jump for a player who has spent most of his first two years as a reserve, but it is the kind of honor that can come to a wing who guards the other team’s best perimeter player every night.

The other half of his game

The question for Holland has always been on offense. He is a 24.6 percent three-point shooter for his career, and on a roster built around non-shooters like Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson, his spacing has been the main reason his minutes go up and down. Holland knows it.

“If I’m making shots, I feel like it opens my game up. Everybody knows I’m fast, I like to play in transition, play off the catch. But if I’m making shots, defenders got to respect me, and I think I’ll be able to show my game from there.”

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said earlier this month that he takes responsibility for Holland’s uneven development and that he does not want to label him a defense-only player.

“I don’t want to put Ron in a box and say, ‘You can only play defense.’ That’s not who he is. He’s got an offensive game where he can get to the basket, he can finish at a high level. I expect him to be more aggressive. I expect him to find his spots more. He’s been working tirelessly on his shot and shooting it with more confidence and belief, so we expect him to have an impact for us this year.”

A big month for his contract

The timing matters. Detroit has until Oct. 31 to decide on Holland’s fourth-year team option, worth $11.5 million for 2027-28. If the Pistons pick it up, he becomes eligible for a rookie-scale extension next summer. A season that puts him on an All-Defensive ballot would make both decisions easy.

Holland was back on the floor Wednesday night as the Pistons visited the Minnesota Timberwolves in one of their final preseason games.