SI

Za’Darius Smith Had Special Reason for Wearing Rasheed Wallace Jersey to Lions Debut

Detroit's deadline addition is already acclimating himself nicely to the city.

Liam McKeone

Za'Darius Smith in a Pistons jersey
Za'Darius Smith in a Pistons jersey / NFL X Accoun
In this story:

The Detroit Lions host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday for some Week 11 NFL action and will finally enjoy the fruits of their deadline labor. Defensive end Za'Darius Smith, acquired by the Lions on November 5, will make his debut in Honolulu blue— and he came dressed well for the occasion.

Smith arrived at Ford Field on Sunday proudly wearing a Rasheed Wallace Detroit Pistons jersey. Adopting the local basketball team is always a quick way to fans' hearts but Smith's decision is layered beyond that; basketball fans may recall the Pistons traded for Wallace mid-season before going on to win the 2004 NBA championship.

Smith is clearly very excited to finally get on the field after enjoying Week 10 as a quasi-bye at the direction of head coach Dan Campbell. And Lions fans can only dream he'd have the level of impact 'Sheed had on that year's Pistons team.

Smith and the Lions' quest to repeat the past begins at 1 p.m. ET.

More of the Latest Around the NFL

feed

Published
Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.

Home/NFL