The Detroit Pistons real threat and the NBA community is taking notice

On January 17, 2025By Littum

The Detroit Pistons could only go up after suffering one of the worst seasons in sports history last year.

However, no one could have predicted the extent to which they have turned things around.

The Pistons are 10-2 overall since Dec. 21 and are two games over .500 (21-19) before the halfway point of the season, which is Thursday when they host the Indiana Pacers. Only four teams have compiled double-digit wins in that stretch, and the other three — the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets — are all championship contenders.

It has been a team effort, led by Cade Cunningham. The fourth-year guard and former no. 1 pick is performing like an All-Star, averaging 24.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game while shooting 38.2% from 3.

Cunningham joined “NBA Today” on ESPN on Wednesday, a sign that the NBA community is starting to notice the Pistons’ rise, and discussed his season and the Pistons’ improvement. He acknowledged that he had the most fun he’s had in his career “by far.”

“I’ve won more games this year than I probably have every other season already and we’re halfway through the year.

“It’s all about the details,” he said. “There were a lot of times last year where the ball just didn’t bounce our way because we didn’t do the little things. But this year I think there’s a different attention to detail, a different intention in how we go out and our mindset goes into every game.

“Obviously winning is what we play the game for, so every night we go out there to compete to win. But sticking to the game plan, more than anything else.”

Cunningham credited the team’s improved chemistry to the addition of veterans Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr., who have provided spacing on the floor while stabilizing the team in the locker room.

“It’s amazing,” Cunningham said. “We’ve had some great vets come in this year and the energy has just been different having guys with experience who know how to win games to come in and help the young core that we had that were just trying to figure it out.

“It’s been a lot of fun. I think we just have a natural blend and natural chemistry between each other, and it shows more and more on the court as we play together.”

He has moved to the forefront of the All-Star conversation as the Pistons have piled up wins. Cunningham is coming off two of his best performances, scoring 36 to lead the Pistons over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Monday and scoring a triple-double (23 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds) in a home win over the Toronto Raptors.

“I definitely feel like (an All-Star), for sure,” he said. “I’m going to get everything I want as long as we keep winning games, so it’s halfway through the year and I’m going to keep winning games, a playoff series, and I think everything else will show how it should be.”