Cade Cunningham’s rise has already taken him from top draft pick to one of the league’s most decorated young stars, and the case for another huge season is sitting right in front of him.
The Detroit Pistons guard finished fifth in MVP voting last year, trailing only Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, and back to back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It was the kind of season that forced a recalibration of what Detroit’s ceiling looked like, especially after Cunningham’s record breaking run helped wipe out a number of long-standing marks he’ll be chasing again this year.
His production backed up the buzz. Cunningham ended the season 16th in the league in points per game and second in assists per game, a rare combination that put him squarely among the NBA’s most productive engines.
He also made history for the franchise. Cunningham became the first Piston since Grant Hill to earn All-NBA First Team honors, even with an “extraordinary circumstances” exception attached to the selection. Still, the result stood, and the point was clear: he belonged alongside the other four players on that team.
Detroit’s breakout wasn’t just about one star, though. Jalen Duren’s spot on the All-NBA Third Team meant he and Cunningham became the first pair to make All-NBA teams in the same season since 2006, when Ben Wallace and Chauncey Billups both landed on the All-NBA Second Team.
The team accomplishments were just as loud. Cunningham led the Pistons through a season that gave a young Detroit roster plenty to celebrate: the franchise’s first 60+ win season since 2005/06, its first Eastern Conference No. 1 seed since 2006/07, its first trip to the second round of the playoffs since 2008, and a comeback from down 3-1 in a playoff series that made them the 15th team in NBA history to pull it off.
Now comes the harder part. The Pistons exceeded expectations in the 2025/26 season, but the Eastern Conference has gotten a lot tougher since then. Detroit is also still locked in late-offseason negotiations with Duren.
Even so, there’s a strong argument that Cunningham is positioned to keep climbing. He has improved every season in Detroit, and the roster around him has been tweaked with that in mind. John Collins and Isaiah Joe arrive to help cover the ground left by Tobias Harris, Isaiah Stewart, and Caris LeVert.
That matters because the fit should be cleaner. Cunningham did lean on Harris at times to help run the offense, but Harris also spent too much time in isolation and could pull Cunningham out of the action.
LeVert had the same issue. Collins brings a very different look as a spot up shooting threat and an elite lob target, while Joe gives Detroit one of the league’s better three point threats.
Both should benefit from the spacing Cunningham creates, and both should make life easier for him.
That’s why the early read on 2026/27 is straightforward: Cunningham is coming off an already MVP caliber season, and the pieces around him look better suited to his game. It’s still too early to call the race, but another top five finish in MVP voting feels well within reach.
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The Saddiq Bey deal still hangs around the Pistons like a decision worth revisiting, even two years later. Detroit moved the former first-round pick in a five-team trade in 2023, bringing James Wiseman back in the package, and at the time it was framed as part of a larger reset around the roster and the front offices idea of where the team was headed.
Beys path since then has only sharpened the debate. He missed an entire season after the move because of injury, then resurfaced in New Orleans and showed real scoring value as a wing who can do more than just stand in the corner. For Pistons fans, it is the kind of trade that invites the same uncomfortable question every time a former young player breaks through elsewhere: whether Detroit moved on too soon, or simply caught him before the best version of his game arrived. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Duren's Contract Standoff Is Taking A Risky Turn
Jalen Durens contract situation has moved into uncomfortable territory as the deadline to accept the Pistons qualifying offer draws near. The bigger issue is not just the negotiation itself, but the signal that has started to leak out around it, with reports suggesting the young center is giving serious thought to taking the one-year deal rather than settling the matter long term.
ESPNs Marc Spears also reported that Duren feels disrespected by Detroits offer, though that sentiment has not come directly from Duren himself. For the Pistons, the noise matters because this is the kind of standoff where public pressure can shape the next move, and the use of media leaks from the agent side has only added another layer of tension to a process that already felt risky. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons New Look Sparks The Identity Debate Fans Know Too Well
Nike has rolled out a new Specter Edition collection for eight of the NBAs oldest franchises, setting off the usual mix of curiosity and side-eye that comes anytime a team gets a fresh alternate look. The line will show up in warmups, practices and travel next season, with the jerseys set to be formally introduced later in the fall after a preview appeared at a recent Nike runway event.
For the Pistons, the new concept fits right into a franchise that has spent years juggling nostalgia, modern branding and the constant tug between looking forward and honoring what came before. Any new Detroit uniform always invites a bigger identity conversation than most, and this one should be no different once fans get a full look at the design and start debating whether it lands as a sharp refresh or another chapter in the never-ending style argument. [Read more 🡒]