Ron Holland isn’t easing into the 2026-27 season with modest goals. He’s aiming straight at the NBA’s All-Defense team, and he’s saying it out loud.
The Detroit Pistons forward enters the year as one of the franchise’s key tone-setters, the kind of player whose effort matches the identity the team wants to wear every night. After Detroit’s 60-win season and a run that ended in a Game 7 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Holland sounds like a player still carrying the sting of how last year finished.
“For personal goals, I want to get on the (NBA) All-Defense team. I feel like I'm capable of doing that.
With the way I play defense, the team that we have, and the way Ausar Thompson guards, I feel like we'll be able to make some noise this year,” Holland stated. “He was runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year last year.
That speaks to how good of a defender he is, and I feel like I can get up there.”
That confidence is backed by what Holland did last season. He sharpened into one of the league’s more effective perimeter defenders, posting a 108.2 defensive rating and averaging 1.2 steals across 78 games. Detroit, as a team, finished with the NBA’s second-best defensive rating at 109.7, and Holland was a major part of that edge.
The Pistons have also spent the offseason reshaping the roster around their core. They brought in John Collins, Isaiah Joe, and Taurean Prince to help with perimeter shooting and to replace the production left behind by Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart. At the same time, Detroit locked in All-Star center Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson on long-term deals, keeping more of the young foundation intact around Cade Cunningham.
Holland said his own next step is about being more deliberate on both ends. He also pointed to the time he spent with Cunningham in Colorado over the summer, saying the two grew closer as people while also working together to improve as players.
And if there was any doubt about how the Pistons felt about last spring’s finish, Holland cleared that up too. Detroit’s season ended with a home loss in Game 7 to Cleveland, but in Holland’s eyes, the bar was higher than simply surviving the first round.
“We came up short last year in the playoffs. We feel like we could have gone farther.
We feel like we should have won a championship last year,” Holland said. “As the season goes on and as we get better this year, I feel like that's going to be our same mindset.
We're taking practice seriously. From the beginning, we're going to make sure we're building playoff habits because when the playoffs come, we don't want to have any regrets.”
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For Detroit, that mindset puts Ron Holland in a tricky spot as his next team option comes into view. Picking it up would mean a sizable $11.5 million commitment, and with Holland still trying to prove he belongs in the long-term plan, the Pistons have a decision that is as much about timing and value as it is about talent. [Read more 🡒]
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Duren, meanwhile, made the most of those touches, scoring 24 points in a half on just nine shots and doing it with the kind of efficiency that stands out even in exhibition play. For a team searching for dependable secondary scoring, the early chemistry between Huerter and Duren is the sort of development that can make the offense feel less Cunningham-dependent, even if preseason is only a first step. [Read more 🡒]