Season Wrap: The 2024-25 Detroit Pistons

  • By Timothy Woodson

    Last Updated on June 11, 2025 3:33 pm by Keston Paul | Published: June 11, 2025

    Detroit basketball is back, baby. From sitting dead last in the standings the season prior to making the playoffs as the sixth seed this season, Detroit is showing signs of a fruitful future for years to come. They decided to clean house to start the year, bringing in a new head coach and front office, which started a ripple effect to help propel them back into contention for playoff basketball. No one thought it would go this well this soon, but with newly- cemented All-NBA player Cade Cunningham at the helm, savvy veterans that could help space the floor around Cunningham and talented young players sitting at the core, the Pistons found themselves with their first 40-plus win season in since 2018. This is only the beginning. 

    How’d It Go?

    Who would’ve thought this season would go so well for the Pistons? Their year can be broken up into two timelines: pre-and-post Jaden Ivey’s injuries. It is important to note this split, as the team found a new lease on life after Ivey went down.

    The Pistons weren’t off to spectacular start, but they were already beating their record from the previous season. By January 1st, 2025, the Pistons were sitting with a record of 15-18, which is admirable given the fact that they only accrued 15 wins in total last season. The bar was pretty low overall, but at least they were exceeding it. The next game led to the horrendous injury of Jaden Ivey, essentially shutting him down for the rest of the season. Little did we all know that the Pistons would be playing a new level of basketball from that point forward.

    A lot of credit has to be given to their star by the name of Cade Cunningham. The entire nation began to take notice of his play, winning crucial games against giants in the Eastern Conference, such as the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. This campaign led to a Third Team All-NBA finish for him, most likely his first of many. With the rest of the team rallying behind his prowess, the Pistons were able to propel their way into the playoffs for first time since the 2018-19 season. What’s even better is that they were able to acquire their first playoff win since 2008, a huge step in the right direction.

    Heading into next season, the Pistons are sitting in an interesting spot to start the offseason. Even though they don’t have a first round pick in this upcoming NBA Draft, they still own their picks for the next six years and will have plenty of flexibility in their salary cap due to expiring contracts and team options. We can expect to see pivotal players like Malik Beasley get re-signed, who had the best shooting season of his career playing off ball next to Cunningham. There is a chance that the Pistons could look to add a big piece to help them get over the hump next season, as Detroit is now an alluring destination in the NBA again. Either way, the future remains bright with Cade Cunningham running the show for the foreseeable future.

    Coaching

    After enduring a horrid season with former coach Monty Williams, the Pistons cleaned house and brought in the former coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, J.B. Bickerstaff.  Even though this was his first rodeo with the team, Bickerstaff was able to work his magic and establish a unit that not only played hard but also developed amazing chemistry as the year progressed. His tactics led to a plus-1.9 net rating, with huge jumps in both offensive and defensive ratings from the season prior. The best part is that the Pistons were able to avoid the Play-In tournament altogether and make the playoffs comfortably. There was some expected growth to happen for the Pistons this year, but they exceed expectations in no small part due to Bickerstaff.

    It is well known that Bickerstaff is a great “locker room hero” as a coach; he can rally any team to play hard for each other and win over his players with ease, but Bickerstaff struggles at time with the technicalities of being a coach. The “x’s and o’s” don’t always make sense coming from Bickerstaff, as we’ve seen in his tenure with the ultra-talented Cleveland Cavaliers. His rotations falter at times, as we barely saw him play his best defender,  Ausar Thompson in pivotal moments during close contests, and he seems to falter as a coach during the final moments of games. Being a people’s coach can only take you so far, so he will have to find another gear as a coach heading into his second season with Pistons. The expectations will be a lot higher this time around, so it will be interesting to see if he can step up to the challenge.

    The Players

    Cade Cunningham
    PG, Detroit Pistons
    SeasonTeamGPGSMPG FGMFGAFG% FTMFTAFT% 3PTM3PTA3PT% PTSREBAST STLBLKTO
    24-25 DET 70 70 35.0 9.8 20.8 46.9 4.5 5.3 84.6 2.1 6.0 35.6 26.1 6.1 9.1 1.0 0.8 4.4
    23-24 DET 62 62 33.5 8.5 18.8 44.9 3.8 4.4 86.9 1.9 5.4 35.5 22.7 4.3 7.5 0.9 0.4 3.4
    22-23 DET 12 12 33.3 7.8 18.7 41.5 3.0 3.6 83.7 1.4 5.1 27.9 19.9 6.2 6.0 0.8 0.6 3.3

    ADP: 33.8/31.5 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 10/29 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 11/28 (8/9-cat)

    There’s a new star in town for Detroit. Cade Cunningham put the whole nation on notice this season, showing he has what it takes to have a seat at the top. With career highs in PTS, REB, AST, 3PT and FG%, Cunningham is starting to join the conversations of the fantasy elite. You don’t get Third Team All-NBA honors without being a phenomenal player. Those who drafted him in the third round of drafts had to be pleased with their choice.

    Looking towards next year, Cunningham is going to cost a lot of draft capital in order to acquire him on your fantasy team. Only 23 years of age, there is still room for Cunningham to get better as a player. He does lock you into a punt-TO build in 9-cat leagues, but the rest of his stat set is too lovely to pass up. Cunningham is the head of the snake in Detroit and should be primed for another mostrous season. With his excellent skillset and formidable durability, expect Cunningham to go as early as the top-10 in fantasy drafts next season.

    Jalen Duren
    C, Detroit Pistons
    SeasonTeamGPGSMPG FGMFGAFG% FTMFTAFT% 3PTM3PTA3PT% PTSREBAST STLBLKTO
    24-25 DET 78 77 26.1 4.8 7.0 69.2 2.1 3.1 66.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 11.8 10.3 2.7 0.7 1.1 1.7
    23-24 DET 61 60 29.1 5.7 9.2 61.9 2.3 3.0 79.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 13.8 11.6 2.4 0.5 0.8 2.1
    22-23 DET 67 31 24.9 3.9 5.9 64.8 1.4 2.3 61.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 9.1 8.9 1.1 0.7 0.9 1.4

    ADP: 53.7/88.3 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 46/46 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 82/78 (8/9-cat)

    Jalen Duren struggled to find his footing as a player this season. Many fantasy analysts projected Duren to sit around the top-50 this year, but for most of the season, that was not the case. However, Duren was little a bit of late bloomer himself, finding his groove about halfway through the season. During the last two months of the season, Duren sported a top-50 run in 9-cat leagues, producing 13.7 PTS, 10.9 REB, 3.2 AST and 1.1 BLK on 68.9% FG. To be fair, Duren did see a decrease in stats across the board from the previous season, but still found a way to increase his BLK per game to 1.2 this season. It’s particularly interesting given the fact the fact Duren is lackluster on defense.

    While Duren is extremely young (21 years old) and has plenty of room to grow, his defensive ability and spacing are starting to come into question for the Pistons. A “modern” big man would fit extremely well in the Pistons’ system, something that Duren is not. However, if traded, Duren would likely maintain a sizable role with a new team. Given his overall prowess, Duren feels safe to draft around the top-70 in fantasy drafts regardless of where he plays.

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    June 11, 2025, 3:33 pm