The Detroit Pistons aren’t just the top team in the Eastern Conference — they’re building a real case to be considered the best team in the NBA. If there was any season the Pistons needed to ascend to these heights, it was this one. The Indiana Pacers are down with Tyrese Haliburton recovering from an Achilles injury; the Cleveland Cavaliers have plateaued, while the New York Knicks are going through some dysfunction of their own.
The Orlando Magic tried to buy their way to the top of the East in a year they had every reason to contend for a top spot. But the Pistons did it the hard, grueling way: building through the draft. Now Cade Cunningham looks like an MVP, Jalen Duren looks like the steal of the 2023 NBA Draft and J.B. Bickerstaff looks like the Coach of the Year. These Pistons aren’t just contenders now. They’re a frontrunner.
How Pistons became one of the NBA’s best this season
It’s been a long time since a Detroit team had this type of win-loss record at this point in the season. These aren’t just wins against bad teams either: In their last five games, the Pistons have beaten three current playoff teams in the Knicks, Cavs and Oklahoma City Thunder. Their only loss during that stretch is to the San Antonio Spurs, currently the No. 2 team in the West.
Detroit is the only team in the NBA with fewer than 10 losses against teams with a winning record. The Pistons are also 4-2 against the top four teams in the West – they haven’t played the Minnesota Timberwolves yet this season – and 7-2 against the other top-four teams in the East. Detroit isn’t just winning the games they need to; they’re also winning the games they've struggled in for years.
Why Detroit isn’t just a one-year contender
It’s easy to have recency bias and point to the 2025-26 season as the turning point for the Detroit Pistons. But this team has been developed over several years, going back to when Cunningham was first drafted. Cunning had a bad run of injuries, but in the 2024-25 season, Detroit finally put it together, reaching the playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign and pushing the Knicks to six games.
This team has been a slow burn. Yet, in just two years, the Pistons went from five straight seasons without more than 25 wins to back-to-back seasons of at least 44 wins. They’ve already matched last year’s win total and we’re just a couple weeks removed from the All-Star break. This team isn’t just built to win now, they’re built to be a mainstay in the East – as long as they stay healthy.
The Pistons – much like the Thunder – have shown what building through the NBA Draft can do and why it’s still important.
Cunningham, who's averaging 25.4 points and 9.8 assists per game, was named an All-Star for the first time in his career. Fresh off a career high in an overtime win against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Duren showed young age doesn’t always translate to inexperience. He has quickly developed into one of the most dominant big men in the NBA.
It took Detroit a long time to get where they are. They had to sift through miserable draft picks, half a decade of losing seasons and sub-par coaching, all to get here. They built this over years; they didn’t try to cheat the system, no matter how tempting it was with the bad years of Detroit basketball.
Good teams aren’t built overnight, they’re built over time. This season is the culmination of what Detroit has been building. It didn’t feel like they’d ever get here, but it’s clear they’re here to stay.
The “Bad Boys Pistons” mentality is back in Detroit
Detroit ultimately lost big to the Spurs, but the final score wasn’t the point of that game. The Pistons reclaimed the Bad Boys attitude that reigned supreme during the Michael Jordan era of the NBA. They played physically against Area 51 – Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle.
They went back to their roots of playing with an edge and playing like a team that has a lot to prove. It’s what made them respectable back in the 90s, and why they’re a tough matchup in the 2020s. Cunningham and Duren each play with that aggressive mindset, neither getting bullied and both setting the tone.
Then you have Isaiah Stewart, who all but confirmed that he’s the enforcer on this team. This is a team that went back to its old roots to create a modern power. They’re one of the stingiest teams on defense, averaging 109.7 points against, fourth best in the NBA and second to Boston in the East. That’s the winning formula.