Cade Cunningham’s rise has put him in the same tier as the NBA’s biggest names, and the Detroit Pistons’ 2026-27 schedule gives him a chance to prove it over and over again.
Detroit’s star guard, coming off a 60-win regular season, will see all four of the other First Team names from last season: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama and Luka Doncic.
The first heavyweight collision comes with Gilgeous-Alexander. The Pistons head to Oklahoma City just before Christmas, then the Thunder visit Detroit in February.
Even without an NBA Finals appearance last season, Oklahoma City is coming off a 64-win campaign and still looks like one of the league’s toughest outs. Cunningham and Gilgeous-Alexander bring similar offensive punch and, as two of the best defenders at their position, the matchup has plenty of intrigue baked in.
Jokic is next on the list. Denver comes to Detroit at the end of November, and the Pistons make the return trip in January.
The Serbian’s MVP run was interrupted by Gilgeous-Alexander’s surge, leaving Jokic second in back-to-back years, but he’s still one of the most daunting offensive assignments in basketball. His three-level scoring and elite passing make every possession a problem for the defense, and Cunningham gets two cracks at one of the league’s best teams and a future Hall of Famer.
Wembanyama’s schedule with Detroit comes a little later. The Pistons visit San Antonio in mid-November and then host the Spurs in March.
After a season that moved him from can’t-miss prospect to one of the league’s scariest players, the French star now has the Spurs aiming to go a step further after reaching the NBA Finals last season. Defensively, Wembanyama sits at the top of the sport; the next challenge is pushing his offense even higher.
Then there’s Doncic, who gives Detroit two more marquee dates. The Lakers come to Detroit on Nov. 8, and the Pistons head to Los Angeles for the second meeting on Jan.
- With LeBron James moving on to Philadelphia, Doncic has an even bigger opening in the MVP race, and it feels like a major season for the Slovenian.
He’s already one of the NBA’s premier offensive creators, and the way he controls games with the ball makes him one of the hardest players in the league to contain.
In Other News...
Jalen Duren's Pistons Standoff Just Became Impossible To Ignore
Mid-September is an uncomfortable place for a negotiation to be sitting, especially when it involves a 22-year-old who made both the All-Star and All-NBA teams last season. Jalen Duren remains without a new deal from Detroit, and the Pistons have been firm enough to believe they have already put forward a fair offer based on what they see as his current market value.
The hold-up has become notable because Duren is not just any restricted free agent lingering on the board. He is the most decorated player to still be unsigned this late, and the sides do not appear to be operating from the same place on what his resume should be worth. Detroit has plenty of reason to admire the ceiling, but enough questions around his playoff performance and the context of those honors to keep this from moving like a straightforward payday. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons May Need To Settle One Ausar Thompson Question Early
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Thompson still has the kind of appeal that could draw attention around the league, especially with several teams expected to have cap space next summer. But that market can shrink fast, and once it does, the player loses a lot of leverage. For Detroit, the question is whether it makes sense to move now and settle the framework early, or risk letting the process stretch into a tougher negotiation later. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Are Hearing The Same Doubts Again And Cade Changes It
The Pistons did not make the kind of splashy offseason moves that tend to quiet the national skeptics, and that has put them right back in the familiar spot of having to answer questions before the season even starts. Bleacher Report was among the outlets pointing to Detroit as a team that may have taken a step back, a familiar refrain for a franchise trying to turn continuity into momentum and expectations into something more durable.
Cade Cunningham is the reason the conversation around Detroit never stays entirely pessimistic for long. The East has a wide range of plausible outcomes behind the top tier, with several rosters still carrying obvious uncertainty, and that leaves room for the Pistons to press their case as a playoff team rather than another club lumped into the crowded middle. If Detroit is going to change the tone around it, Cunningham is still the player who makes that possible. [Read more 🡒]