The Detroit Pistons have made it a whole lot simpler to follow them in 2026-27, and for fans who have gotten used to juggling cable bills and streaming logins, that’s the real headline.
The team released its schedule this week, along with the full breakdown of where each game will air or stream. The biggest change: a lot more Pistons basketball is going to be available on free TV. That means more games on local broadcasts and NBC, with only some matchups requiring cable or streaming.
In all, as many as 68 games will be available for free on local television and NBC. That’s a massive shift from recent seasons, when watching Pistons games usually meant paying for cable and/or a streaming package.
For fans in the Detroit and Grand Rapids areas, the setup is especially friendly. Games will air locally in Grand Rapids on The Spot Grand Rapids 17 and Fox 17 WXMI-TV, and in Detroit on WYMD-TV channel 20. In other words, if you’ve still got rabbit ears lying around, this is the season to dust them off.
The Pistons also have seven games set for free over NBC:
- October 20 vs. Celtics
- October 27 @ Knicks
- November 17 @ Spurs
- December 22 @ OKC
- January 18 @ Cavaliers
- March 9 vs. Cavaliers
- March 16 @ Pacers
Cable still has a small place in the picture, though not nearly as much as before. The FanDuel Sports Network is gone, but five Pistons games will be shown on ESPN:
- November 4 vs. 76ers
- January 27 @ Cavaliers
- February 3 vs. Knicks
- February 17 vs. Knicks
- March 5 vs. Celtics
That means six of the Pistons’ nationally televised games will come against the Cavaliers and Knicks combined, a clear sign of which matchups the NBA is pushing in the East.
For fans outside the Detroit area - or outside the country - NBA League Pass is the cleanest streaming option. It includes every game, and viewers can watch whenever they want. There are also options to buy a single-team package or pick up games one at a time.
A separate group of games will stream on Amazon Prime or Peacock, and any game on NBC can also be streamed on Peacock:
- November 9 vs. Wizards (Peacock, NBC Sports Network)
- November 20 vs. Raptors (Prime Video)
- February 5 @ 76ers (Prime Video)
- February 27 vs.
OKC (Prime Video)
- March 22 @ Timberwolves (Peacock, NBC Sports Network)
- March 27 vs. Spurs (Prime Video)
- April 9 @ Knicks (Prime Video)
The Pistons open the season in the afternoon against the Celtics and face a tough first month. Still, with so many games landing on free local broadcasts and national TV, next season gives Detroit plenty of chances to put this team in front of a wider audience.
In Other News...
Pistons Are Still Cashing In On The Jerami Grant Trade
Detroit is still feeling the effects of the Jerami Grant trade years later, and not just in some abstract future-pick sense. The deal with Portland brought back the kind of draft capital that has helped reshape the roster, including the selection of Jalen Duren, as the Pistons turned a one-time veteran departure into a deeper, more promising core. It is the sort of transaction front offices hope works out in theory, and in this case it has already helped the franchise move beyond its postseason drought while giving the team more flexibility on both the floor and the ledger.
The latest dividend came in the 2026 draft, when the Pistons used another pick tied to that trade to add guard depth at a time when roster balance and finances both matter. Ebuka Okorie arrived as part of that continuing return, a reminder that the Grant deal keeps producing useful pieces even as Detroit works through ongoing contract negotiations with Duren. For a team trying to build something sustainable, the trade has become less about one player leaving and more about the steady stream of options it has created. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Face A Bigger Cade Cunningham Question Than Fans Wanted
The Pistons spent the summer trying to give Cade Cunningham more help by bringing in John Collins, but the bigger picture still points to a roster that needs another offensive push if it wants to climb in the Eastern Conference. Cunningham has become the focal point of everything Detroit does, and the front office now has to decide whether the current mix is enough or whether the trade deadline is the moment to add another real scoring threat around him.
Three names keep surfacing as possible answers in Norman Powell, Trey Murphy III and Tyler Herro, each offering a different kind of lift for a team that needs cleaner offense and more reliable perimeter production. None of those options comes cheaply, which is part of the dilemma for Detroit, but the Pistons are at the stage where standing still may be the riskier move if they want to turn Cunninghams growth into something more meaningful this season. [Read more 🡒]