Jalen Duren IMAGN 03272026
Pistons’ Jalen Duren just did something the NBA hasn’t seen since Dwight Howard originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
As Cade Cunningham continues to recover from a collapsed left lung, Jalen Duren has stepped up to drive the Detroit Pistons forward.
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Duren has enjoyed his best NBA season yet as a key contributor to the East’s top seed. But what he’s been doing lately has elevated him into another stratosphere of production.
MORE:Â How Jalen Duren, Cade Cunningham’s Pistons improved a lot before NBA Playoffs
Over his past 10 games, Duren has averaged 24.9 points and 10.1 rebounds on 72.4 percent shooting. The Pistons are 8-2 in that stretch, including 4-1 in the past five games without MVP candidate Cunningham.
The only other player to accrue similar figures in a 10-game span before turning 23 years old? Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Dwight Howard, one of his era’s most dominant players.
Duren is in line to sign a maximum contract extension in Detroit this summer, and judging on his recent form, Pistons GM Trajan Langdon probably can’t wait to get to the negotiating table.
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For the season, Duren — a first-time All-Star in February — is averaging 19.5 points and 10.6 rebounds. And at 22 years old, the chances that he only gets better from here are pretty high.
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