Between a 30-win improvement and a return to the NBA postseason for the first time since the 2018-19 season, the Detroit Pistons’ 2024-25 season was an unmitigated success.
Can it get better in 2025-26?
There’s still a lot to happen between now and the season opener in October, including this week’s NBA Draft and the start of free agency next week. But, with the Oklahoma City Thunder winning an NBA title Sunday night, league analysts are starting to look ahead.
ESPN and The Athletic are two such outlets offering up way-too-early power rankings Monday morning, and both slotted the Pistons in similar positions. ESPN has the Pistons at No. 11, one spot higher than the The Athletic’s rankings.
The Pistons finished the regular season with a 44-38 record (after logging just 14 victories the previous season), earning the No. 6 seed in the East before falling to the No. 3 seed New York Knicks in six games in the first round of the playoffs. Along the way, guard Cade Cunningham (26.1 points, 9.1 assists) emerged as a bona fide star, earning third-team All-NBA honors in fueling the Pistons’ resurgence. What’s more, the Pistons made their climb mostly without guard Jaden Ivey, the former No. 5 overall pick whose third NBA season was limited to 30 games because of a broken leg.
“The franchise will rely on its young players to keep taking steps forward,” ESPN’s Zach Kram writes. “Cunningham will need to reduce his turnovers and improve his scoring efficiency. Jaden Ivey should bounce back from a broken leg, Jalen Duren will improve his defense and Ausar Thompson should develop into more of an offensive force, like his twin brother (Amen) in Houston.”
The Pistons likely won’t get much immediate help in this week’s draft, owning (at the moment) one second-round pick (No. 37 overall). They’ll have some decisions to make, too, regarding their own free agents, including Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dennis Schröder, the latter a key piece acquired at the trade deadline. Pistons president Trajan Langdon has said he plans to remain patient in exploring ways to improve the roster.
“Detroit now has a bona fide All-NBA player to build around in Cade Cunningham,” The Athletic’s Law Murray writes. “There are major free-agency decisions with rotation players Tim Hardaway Jr., Malik Beasley and Dennis Schröder hitting the market. The Pistons also have to determine what the best role is for the returning Jaden Ivey (fibula). Cunningham and the Pistons need to reduce the turnovers. But those are good problems to have for Detroit compared to the start of the 2020s.”
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