The Detroit Pistons are making it a lot easier for local fans to actually watch them.
For years, plenty of people in Michigan have run into the same problem: they live in the state, want to follow the team, and still can’t get the games legally. The broadcasts weren’t on TV, and League Pass blacked them out locally, leaving a lot of fans with almost nowhere to go except illegal streams.
Now the Pistons are changing that. The team announced it will partner with local broadcasters next season to put most of its games in front of fans for free.
In the Grand Rapids area, games will air on The Spot Grand Rapids 17 and Fox 17 WXMI-TV. In the Detroit market, they’ll be shown on WYMD-TV, channel 20 locally.
It won’t be every game, but it will be most of them for fans in the Detroit area, and that’s a major shift for a franchise that is one of several teams taking back control of its broadcasts from the gambling mafia.
The timing lines up well with what’s happening on the court, too. The Pistons are coming off back-to-back playoff appearances, something that hasn’t happened since I had far fewer gray hairs in my beard.
They also have an exciting superstar and a roster built around the kind of work ethic and defense that fits Detroit basketball. For a lot of local fans, this will be their first real chance to get a close look at a team that’s starting to chase titles.
That matters because the Pistons are still second bananas, at best, behind the Lions in the local sports conversation.
With more games available free to watch, the team should have an easier time pulling in new fans and building even more momentum around a group that’s already on the rise.
In Other News...
More Pistons Games Just Got Easier For Detroit Fans To Watch
The Pistons newly released schedule comes with a welcome wrinkle for fans around Michigan: far more of the games should be easy to find on TV. Detroit laid out its viewing options along with the slate for the upcoming season, and up to 68 games are set to air on free local broadcasts and NBC, a notable boost for anyone who has grown tired of chasing matchups across cable and streaming.
For the rest of the schedule, the usual mix of national and platform-specific coverage fills in the gaps, with games landing on ESPN, NBA League Pass, Amazon Prime and Peacock. The team also spelled out which dates will be nationally televised and which local stations will carry games in the Grand Rapids and Detroit markets, giving fans a clearer road map before the season gets going. [Read more 🡒]
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 🡒]