NBA playoffs 2026: How Daniss Jenkins helped save Detroit's 1-seed - ESPN

Even if you didn't know the name, the shot — and the sneer — were evident.

Daniss Jenkins, the generously listed 6-foot-4 guard who didn't sign a standard NBA contract with the Detroit Pistons until February, had just beaten the third-quarter horn with a 3-pointer to push the lead to 19 points in Sunday's Game 7 against the Orlando Magic.

It didn't matter who was in his eyesight — random fans in the crowd, his teammates, assistant coaches — they all caught his mouth twisted sideways, feeling the emotion of the moment as the Pistons were completing a comeback from being down 3-1 to win their first playoff series since 2008.

«There's two things about him,» a Pistons assistant coach told ESPN. «He works hard and he talks s---.»

But if Jenkins' play and passion throughout this postseason have been met with a collective «who's this guy?» response, it shouldn't. The 24-year-old former G League call-up has been a key figure all season during Detroit's rise to the Eastern Conference top seed.

In fact, the Pistons might not have held on without him.

When top scorer and MVP candidate Cade Cunningham missed three weeks in March and April with a punctured lung, Jenkins averaged 18.6 points and 7.6 assists with a 45% clip from 3 in a 12-game span. The Pistons went 9-3 and clinched the franchise's first No. 1 seed since 2007 with Jenkins running much of the offense.

«The stuff I've been doing here, I've always been doing it,» Jenkins told ESPN after dropping 16 points and 14 assists in an April 4 win over the Philadelphia 76ers that secured the conference's best record.

«It wasn't like waiting 'til I got here [and] 'till they let me shine.»

The Dallas native was a journeyman collegian, leaving the University of the Pacific when coach