The 2026 Detroit Pistons are the best in team history, per some analytics. According to Basketball Reference, the 2026 Pistons' 6.90 SRS, a team rating that takes into account average point differential and strength of schedule, is the best in franchise history.
Yup, you read that right. This metric says Cade Cunningham's Pistons are better than all of the Bad Boys teams and the Goin' to Work era squad. Numbers are fun, but they aren't the end-all, be-all. We are going to examine how close these rosters are relative to the era they play in. It's amazing how these squads were assembled more than three decades apart, yet the defensive fabric is ingrained in all the rosters.
How good is Cade and them?
The "Cade and them" meme stems from Cunningham's high school days, where he was the leader of one of the greatest high school teams ever. That team had seven future NBA players, and they're still referred to as "Cade and them. "That's how good he is.
His 2026 Pistons are off to the best start in franchise history per SRS. That's no small feat — Detroit might've been a laughing stock early this decade, but that's a franchise with three rings.
Only the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls, and San Antonio Spurs have more rings. Detroit is prestigious.
Just like the Bad Boys and early 2000s Pistons dominated defensively, these Pistons are built the same way. According to Cleaning the Glass, Detroit has the No. 1 defense since November 19th.
They've been better than the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. That's hard to do, but the Pistons have special defensive personnel.
Ausar Thompson is arguably the best perimeter defender in basketball. Isaiah Stewart might be the best rim protector in basketball on a pound-for-pound list. Ron Holland and Javonte Green are fearless ballhounds who relentlessly attack.
Jalen Duren has improved his defensive activity. Cunningham is a weakside send-that-back player. He's one of the best star guard defenders. Think about the number of stars who don't challenge themselves on that end. Cunningham isn't in that group.
Even with the enormous offensive load he carries, you can still find Cade sitting in a defensive stance, willing to take on all-comers. The offensive load is where these Pistons lose steam in this race.
Don't sleep on the old Pistons teams
Let's start with the Bad Boys. Isiah Thomas was the leader of those teams that made three straight NBA Finals and won back-to-back in 1989 and 1990. Thomas was the undisputed leader and one of the best point guards in basketball. He's one of the original elite ball handlers.
He was all that and a bag of chips, but the OG IT was not alone. He had Joe Dumars by his side, who was good enough to win Finals MVP in 1989. It's tough to imagine someone stepping up enough to win that type of award alongside Cunningham. Duren's All-Star season has been a breakthrough, but he doesn't currently have the offensive capabilities to flame on like Dumars did.
Thomas' brilliant playmaking and Dumars consistency led the Pistons to the sixth, seventh, and 11th offenses from 1988-1990. The 2026 Pistons are the 10th-ranked offense, but that seems noisy. They crush you on the glass, in the paint, and in transition. But that could change in the postseason.
These Pistons lack shooting in the space and pace era, and they don't have a go-to second option. That could crater the Pistons' offense in April/May.
The current Pistons have a ton of depth that's mostly defensively slanted. They don't play their Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson as much as the Bad Boys did. Johnson was that scoring punch off that bench that crushed second units.
Marcus Sasser has that microwave ability in his game, but he's not a staple on the roster like Johnson was for the Bad Boys Pistons.
Mark Aguirre was the third leading scorer on the 1989 team, but he'd easily be the second option next to Cunningham today. The Cunningham Pistons are one of the worst 3-point shooting teams today. Relative to their era, that's a big deal and could stop them from going on a deep run, even though Cunningham and their defense are super elite.
SRS scores aside, these current Pistons can't be compared to the Bad Boys yet. They haven't reached those heights, and the offense falls flat. It'd be a crime for me to end this segment without mentioning Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman. Those two don't make the Bad Boys better than these Pistons offensively, but boy, are those two's DNA all of the great Pistons teams. All of them make gritty defense their first priority.
All-time defense
It's no coincidence that all of these Detroit teams hung their hat on great defenses. The Bad Boys had good offenses, but their defense was always better.
The Goin' to Work era Pistons that featured Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Richard "Rip" Hamilton, and Tayshaun Prince were more than a great defense. These guys played the first to 70 game while they destroyed teams.
While en route to their 2004 championship, the Pistons held their opponents under 70 points 11 times and five games in a row in March. I get the early 2000s were the dead-ball era, but constantly holding opponents to less than 70 points is too impressive for words.
These 2004 Pistons went on to shellack the Kobe/Shaq/Malone/Payton Lakers in one of the biggest upsets in Finals History. This is a special group, and a hot pre All-Star Game start from the 2026 Pistons isn't enough to put them in this weight class.
Per PBP Stats, the 2004 Pistons have the fourth-best defense of all time relative to their era.
- Spurs in 2003-04: 8.5 points better than average
- Celtics in 2007-08: 8.2
- Bucks in 2019-20: 7.65
- Pistons in 2003-04: 7.49
The stats say fourth, but many of our eyes say that's the best we've seen. They shut down the Lakers, held teams to halftime scores, and had no weak links in the lineup.
These Pistons were only the 18th-ranked offense, but Rip would very easily be the second option next to Cunningham. Billups is a better offensive player than anybody on the '26 roster besides Cunningham.
Rasheed Wallace fit into a role in Detroit, but even he would resemble his Trail Blazers days if he were Cunningham's co-star today. Wallace was 19 points and eight rebounds at the peak of his powers.
Yes, the 2026 Pistons stack up with their predecessors in some analytics, but they aren't at their level yet. Cunningham and company could very easily go on a deep run and play the West winners tough as early as this season. The East isn't extremely strong, and the '26 Pistons have arguably the best defense in the NBA.
That's how all the other Pistons teams got rings, but they had better offensive threats or were one of the best defenses to grace the hardwood. Cade and them have potential, but that needs to materialize before they hang with the big dogs in Pistons lore.1