DETROIT, MICHIGAN – SEPTEMBER 29: Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons poses for a portrait during Media Day at Little Caesars Arena on September 29, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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Last season, the Detroit Pistons won 30 more games (44) than they did in the previous season (14). That is good for the sixth-best single-season improvement in NBA history; an extraordinary accomplishment, and one that the whole organization should be proud of.
Since this has only happened six times in NBA history, this clearly is a unique occurrence. But what isn’t so rare is the concept of a team coming out of nowhere to take the league by shock.
In 2021-22, the Chicago Bulls won 46 games and made it to the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2017 – just one season after winning 31 games. The following season, the Sacramento Kings won 48 games – 18 more than they did the season before – and snapped their historic playoff drought.
Unfortunately, both of those teams failed to build off their success in the following season. In fact, neither of them has made the postseason since then.
The Pistons have a similar example in their recent history. In 2015-16, the Pistons went from a 32-win team to a 44-win one, made the playoffs, and looked like a future up-and-coming team in the Eastern Conference. But just like those other teams we referenced, that success was short-lived, and they didn’t make it back to the playoffs again until 2019.
No Longer The Hunters
All these tall tales represent a common theme in sports: it is hard to go from bad to good, but it is even harder to go from good to great. During their 2025 Media Day, the Pistons referred to this phenomenon as going from the hunter to the hunted.
Last season, when the Pistons faced teams, they were able to take them by surprise. For most of the year, no one knew that they would prove to be such a formidable foe. That will no longer be the case.
“By the end of the season, everyone understood what they were going to get from the Pistons,” president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon told reporters during media day. “This year, we won’t be able to surprise anyone.”
The Young Guys Need To Level Up
So, how does a team avoid peaking too early?
The issue with the Bulls and Kings is that they didn’t make a significant move to improve their cores. They thought they could bank on internal improvement and continuity and build from there.
The Pistons also chose this route. Their major additions were Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert – two veteran wings who will give them much-needed size and lineup versatility, but are also not considered to be All-Star caliber players.
Of course, this type of decision isn’t a death sentence. The Indiana Pacers were the new kids on the block in 2023-24 – winning 12 more games than the season prior and going from missing the playoffs to the Eastern Conference Finals. They followed up their introductory tour by coming just one win shy of the title this past season, despite not making any major offseason moves.
The reason they were able to grow while the Bulls and Kings stagnated is simple. They had a young core, and all those guys (Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Ben Sheppard, etc.) took positive strides as players. That is the formula the Pistons seem intent on emulating.
“We felt it was right to stay where we’re at and let our young core continue to develop,” Langdon said. “We want to see where these guys can go and what their potential and ceiling is, and right now we don’t know. Eventually we’ll understand what we need to complement this group.”
Like the Pacers, the Pistons have a wealth of young players on their roster. Cade Cunningham (24 years old), Jaden Ivey (23), Ausar Thompson (23), Ron Holland II (20), Jalen Duren (22), Marcus Sasser (25), and Isaiah Stewart (24) are all 25 years old or younger.
They have the resources to avoid repeating the mistakes that the Bulls and Kings made before them. But to truly go forward this season, they have to make sure they aren’t complacent. They need to embrace going from being the team out to get people to the one with the target on their back.
“We can’t just rest on our laurels and think that we’ve accomplished something,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff emphasized during his media availability.
Tobias Harris – a member of the 2015-16 team we mentioned earlier – also added that it was up to the group to recognize that just because they have potential doesn’t mean they can take this opportunity for granted.
To their credit, all the members of the organization did a great job of projecting their hunger. They aren’t content with just no longer being a bottom-feeder. In fact, they are upset about the way things ended (losing a highly-competitive first round series to the New York Knicks) and are eager to show how much they’ve grown these last few months.
The most telling illustration of this mindset came from the face of the franchise: Cunningham. This is what I wrote about the All-Star guard after last season’s media day:
To his credit, Cunningham didn’t seem like someone who was going to mail it in now that he secured the bag. In fact, on Monday, the soon-to-be fourth-year guard looked like a man on a mission.
His answers weren’t dismissive or arrogant so much as they were straightforward and ambitious. When asked what people they could expect from him in 2024-25, he responded with a simple one-word answer, “growth,” and a stoic gaze so powerful that it would have the Dark Knight himself trembling in his boots.
Cunningham also mentioned his admiration for the other Detroit sports teams (the Lions and Tigers) and their success and how he intends on being responsible for the Pistons’ joining their ranks in the near future.
This year, Cunningham took a different approach. He didn’t make any grand promises. He’s done with that now. To him, the time for talking is over. It’s time for the Pistons to level up.
“Not much to say, it’s just about action now. We’re all hungry and ready to get our shoes back on and play,” Cunningham said during media day.
“When you have a young team, sometimes you get into a mindset that you have plenty of time. But we don’t want to wait; we want to win now. We want to take it now.”