At 13-2, the Pistons have been the class of the East thanks to Cade Cunningham’s play.
The truest measure of a man is defined not when he’s at his highest, but when he is touching the floor with his palms and kneecaps and feeling dizzy in that desolate moment. In those situations, he can fold … or unfold himself, stand up, flick the pain and the scabs away and resume the journey.
Cade Cunningham found himself in that position countless times two years ago — well, 28 straight nights to be exact — but never surrendered hope, for himself or the Detroit Pistons.
In order to find comfort and encouragement, he looked within and reminded himself of his mission: “My whole goal from day one was to come in here and turn the Pistons organization around.”
An NBA-record 28 straight losses in a forgettable 2023-24 season turned into baby steps, then bountiful bounds, now this in just two years: 11 straight wins for the Pistons, a seat on top of the Eastern Conference standings in the infancy of the 2025-26 season, and a firm confirmation about Cunningham.
Ever since he was drafted No. 1 overall in 2021, the hints he dropped along the way, even and especially during the lowest moments for the Pistons, certified Cunningham as a franchise-changer, the rarest of species in the NBA.
Even more impressive is that Cunningham isn’t an outlier, as in a physical freak of nature or someone who was ticketed for greatness in middle school. Talent? Of course, he has that. But intangibles plus talent have him and the Pistons in a special place.
“It’s the position you’re put in when you’re the No. 1 pick,” said Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff, “the responsibility that comes with that, the hope that comes with that, the pressures and then the makeup of what’s going around you because typically a No. 1 is in a rebuild situation.
“He stuck through it all. He could’ve been, like, frustrated, blamed everyone else, but never once did you hear him do that. The only thing he did was put his head down and go to work and accept responsibility. I don’t know if I’ve ever coached a guy who apologizes and says `my bad’ more than Cade.”
Cade Cunningham bruises way to a 46-12-11 triple-double; adding 5 steals makes him 1st modern era player to record a 40-10-10-5.
What the 13-2 Pistons have with their 6-foot-6 point guard is someone who checks boxes. He can score (27.3 points per game), survey the floor, put the ball with the right teammate at the right time, make quick and correct decisions, rise defensively and gravitate to tense moments late in games that demand a savior.
You can see it on the court and in how he conducts himself off it — especially in the locker room among his teammates — because of his unselfishness and tendency to deflect. To a man, the Pistons rally around and ride with Cunningham, which is the fruit of his leadership and willingness to be on equal ground with them.
As Bickerstaff said: “He can eat without taking food off your plate.”
‘My goal is to help the Pistons win’
Cade Cunningham had a breakout season in 2024-25, averaging 26.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists for the Pistons.
What are the roots of his growth into a franchise player? The unlikely place was, yes, during the 2023-24 season, which was essentially his second because he missed virtually all of the previous one with a fractured shin.
Cunningham was a flicker in the darkness for Detroit. During that losing streak, he was often the best player on the floor regardless of who was on the other bench. He had 43 points, 41 points, 33 points twice, 31 points three times and averaged nearly eight assists in those 28 losses.
The Pistons were unsettled in many ways that season on the coaching staff and front office and the toll of losing didn’t help. Then-coach Monty Williams couldn’t survive that, as he was fired after just one season (with five years and $65 million on his contract). The roster was transitional and the core was young as Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart and Jaden Ivey hadn’t developed into solid players yet.
It was the growth of Cunningham from that experience, and the character he showed during it, that put the Pistons on the path to prosperity. At the very least, Detroit had a face for the franchise and a centerpiece player who would be easy to build around.
If last season was his breakout — All-Star, All-NBA selection and a playoff appearance — then this season could represent something even bolder.
The Pistons’ most recent game, a win last Tuesday in Atlanta, captured the essence of Cunningham’s season. He shot 6-for-16 in the first three quarters but no matter; the Pistons were up 12. Halfway through the fourth, that lead was one point.
Stewart said: “He had only 15 or so points going into the fourth quarter and I thought `we’re good, he’s about to take us home.’ Because that’s what he does.”
Cunningham scored nine points down the stretch, had zero turnovers and the Pistons won by eight.
“I just try to make the best play for us,” he said. “It always worked in my favor to make the right play. My team trusts me with the ball, and in moments like that I feel like it’s my job, my opportunity, whether it’s scoring, making the pass, whatever. It’s a responsibility.
“My goal is not to put myself out there. My goal is to help the Pistons win.”
Cunningham’s on-court flow is smooth, constant and unchanging. He makes plays for himself and teammates and only dominates the ball when necessary. It’s the nuances that separate Cunningham from most.
For example, he’s shooting just 27.5% on 3-pointers this season and he missed 31 shots last week against the Wizards.
Ordinarily, that game would reflect poorly on Cunningham, but it hardly put his night in the proper context. He had 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals, two blocks and made a handful of plays that won it, including a slick inbounds pass to Daniss Jenkins for the corner 3-pointer that forced overtime.
That proves Stewart’s point: there’s a sense of comfort for Detroit in these situations because the ball’s in the right hands.
“That’s what superstars do and Cade is in that class of superstars,” said Bickerstaff. “He rises in that moment. He wants to be great.”
Right pieces at the right time
The Association crew takes a deeper dive into what has fueled the Pistons' quick start to 2025-26.
These are optimistic times for the Pistons, as a result. The team hadn’t won a playoff game from 2009 until last spring, when they engaged in a suspenseful six-game series loss to the Knicks that could’ve flipped either way. They peeked into the future and liked what they saw.
“It’s a great atmosphere right now,” said Stewart. “We’re just in the moment. We know we worked hard for this and we know we deserve it, but we’re not satisfied.”
The Pistons stammered through the last few decades as the franchise suffered 15 non-winning seasons in 16 years. Victimized by poor Drafts, bad luck and unfulfilled free agent signings, the Pistons fell off the radar. But in a desperate stroke of good fortune, they landed the top pick in 2021.
Welcome, Cade Cunningham.
“It has been a lot of guys who helped with that,” he said, “not just me. Stew has been here longer than me, and we’ve been bringing in pieces, the right pieces.”
Stewart, their defensive-minded and tough power forward, beat Cunningham to Detroit by a year, although the two were aligned well before the Pistons.
“That’s someone I competed against in high school,” Stewart said, “so to be his teammate it feels good.”
And how were those high school matchups?
“We didn’t love each other,” Stewart said. “We had beef in high school. Junk talking back and forth. Now it’s different, of course. Once we got on the same side, we clicked right away. He’s such a dominant player who does it every single night.”
Cunningham has that level of galvanization with the Pistons.
“I think where you see his growth is that he’s open-minded about what’s in front if him and not just thinking about his own perspective,” Bickerstaff said. “I marvel at how a guy his age is able to handle his teammates the way he does, a guy who could very easily could separate himself form the group.
“But he never does. He’s always the one pulling people together. Never wants to be treated any differently. There’s nothing better than that from a superstar.”
So Cunningham and the Pistons are perhaps the NBA’s biggest revelation of the season’s first month. The lessons learned from those losing streaks of the past and the 2025 playoff loss to the New York Knicks haven’t been lost on this team.
“There’s a willingness to do whatever it takes to win, the ability not to fold and fragment when things get rough, a determination when things get the muddiest and stickiest,” said Bickerstaff. “They just know how to play through those moments and power through those moments.”
The schedule has been kind to the Pistons during this 11-game win streak. They’ve only beaten three teams currently with a winning record and none of them are from the Western Conference. On Saturday, they visit the Milwaukee Bucks (8 p.m. ET, NBA TV), who will be without star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
But that hardly matters to a franchise that was adrift just two short seasons ago.
While he’s no longer lying on the floor, Cunningham isn’t ready to coast now that he and the Pistons are on their feet and running.
“We don’t forget those days,” said Cunningham. “We’re still going into every game knowing where we came from and where we’re going.”
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at spowell@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
