The night in December 2023 felt like a championship in Detroit. After 28 straight losses that tied an infamous NBA record, the Detroit Pistons finally broke through with a 129-127 win over the Toronto Raptors.
Cade Cunningham carried them with 30 points and 12 assists, and when the buzzer sounded, more than 18,000 fans at Little Caesars Arena erupted as if the drought had ended for good. For a franchise drowning in futility, that first taste of victory was nothing short of cathartic and there was only one way up.
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Then came the 2024-2025 season. Under new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, the Pistons gave other teams reason not to take them lightly. Their hunger for victory turned them from cellar dwellers to contending teams.
Cunningham is bringing grit and confidence to the 2025-2026 NBA season. He said the Pistons have just begun their ascent, and teams better watch out.
“We’re on the way up,” Cunningham said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “We had a horrible year before they got here, so everybody, we all had a chip on our shoulder.”
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Repairing Motor City
Led by former head coach Monty Williams, the Pistons started the 2023-2024 regular season 2-1 before dropping 28 straight games. They replicated the Philadelphia 76ers’ record that stretched from the 2014-2015 season (last 10 games) to the 2015-2016 season (first 18 games). Detroit finished at the bottom of the league standings with a 14-68 record.
Detroit was in shambles, and nobody – not Williams, not Cunningham – knew how to fix it. Clearly, the team needed a change in leadership, so a rebuild came in the front office and coaching staff.
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Williams was sacked after one season, and General Manager Troy Weaver left the organization. Bickerstaff and Trajan Langdon, who was appointed President of Basketball Operations, replaced the two, leaving the GM position vacant.
Langdon immediately made crucial moves for the young team, including hiring Bickerstaff. The veteran coach brought in a wealth of playoff experience from his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Cunningham believed the two brought in order, something Detroit desperately needed at the time.
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“I think the start of that has to be Trajan Langdon and J.B. Bickerstaff first and foremost,” he said. “They came in and brought a structure to us, and just another hunger that helped us.”
NBA analyst predicts 47-win season for Detroit
The Pistons immediately felt the impact of Bickerstaff’s and Langdon’s additions. Cunningham, the 2021 No. 1 overall pick, shone with 26.1 points and 9.1 assists per game, leading a young pack composed of Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, and Isaiah Stewart. They had solid veteran help from Dennis Schroder, Malik Beasley, and Tim Hardaway Jr.
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With 44 wins, they secured the sixth seed in the East, clinching their first playoff berth since 2019. This was also their best record since 2016.
The team would lose to the surging New York Knicks in six games, recording its first playoff win since 2016. However, the success instilled a sense of optimism in Cunningham and the Pistons, combined with a strong belief that they do have a shot at becoming contenders. And others are beginning to see that, too.
With added roster depth after wise offseason moves, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps predicted that the Pistons would win 47 games in the 2025-2026 season. He added that they should “easily challenge” and vie for a top-6 playoff spot in a weakened Eastern Conference.
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However, a competitor like Cunningham would surely not let his team be limited by that ceiling. As he said, the Pistons are on the way up, and they’ll aim to keep rising and defy expectations.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 24, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.