The NBA Playoffs are officially underway, and while a few teams enter as clear-cut favorites, one underdog is grabbing headlines fast: the Detroit Pistons. Led by breakout star Cade Cunningham, who’s averaging 26.1 points, 9.1 assists and 6.1 rebounds this season, Detroit is flipping the script on a franchise that won just 14 games last season.
One year later, they've stacked 44 wins, locked in the No. 6 seed and now head to Madison Square Garden for a high-stakes Game 1 showdown with the New York Knicks on Saturday night. They're not just hoping to compete — they're looking to prove that playoff pedigree isn’t a prerequisite for pulling off a first-round upset.
For Knicks fans, this might be the most dangerous first-round matchup they’ve had in recent memory — even more than last season’s battle-tested series with the Sixers. On one side: a seasoned team with playoff scars and postseason polish. On the other: a fearless, hungry squad trying to make its name.
When was the last time Detroit actually won a playoff game?
It’s been a long, painful drought. The Pistons have made the playoffs just three times in the past 16 years — 2009, 2016, and 2019 — and were swept each time, twice by the Cavaliers and once by the Bucks.
You’d have to rewind all the way to Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals to find the team's last playoff win. That night, Detroit tied the series 2-2 against the eventual champion Boston Celtics. That Pistons squad — Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton — went toe-to-toe with Boston’s Big Three. The hero? Antonio McDyess, dropping 21 points and 16 boards in a gritty win.
The high didn’t last. The Pistons lost the next two games, and soon after, Joe Dumars dismantled the roster. Allen Iverson came and went. Ben Gordon signed. And the team has been chasing relevance ever since.
Until now.
These Pistons are different. They’re not just trying to break a 16-year playoff win drought — they want the whole series. No one’s expecting a sweep. In fact, several analysts are calling for the upset. Detroit plays with edge. With hunger. With something to prove.
Now the question is simple: Do they have enough to shock the Knicks — and the world?