The Detroit Pistons last pre-season game this year was revealed to be a road matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves as exhibition No. 3
Before the NBA released the full regular season schedule yesterday, it was possible to stitch together bits and pieces of the Detroit Pistons’ pre-season slate, but the final piece to the puzzle was added yesterday.
Up to this point, the Phoenix Suns announced a pre-season opener in the Motor City against the Pistons on Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 pm, then the Toronto Raptors released an exhibition schedule that included a pre-season finale against Detroit on Friday, Oct. 16 at Little Caesars Arena. Shortly after that time, the Washington Wizards spread word of their Saturday, Oct. 10 pre-season tilt with the Pistons, though that matchup is slated to take place in the nation’s capital.
But that trio of games still left room for one more, and the Pistons announced that they would face the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 8 pm, right in between their pre-season battles with the Wizards and Raptors.
Last year, the Pistons went 2-2 in the 2025-26 pre-season stanza, but they sprinkled in a healthy amount of playing time for their regular rotation-level players. This time around, Detroit has a handful of new players to integrate into the squad, so time like the pre-season will be even more valuable to the development of the group.
To that extent, the back-up point guard battle will be one key position race to keep an eye on through training camp and the pre-season. Daniss Jenkins is returning as the natural incumbent and a trusted option when Cade Cunningham is off the court, but rookie Ebuka Okorie had a strong five-game Summer League performance where the former Stanford guard averaged nearly 20 points per game. Both Okorie and Jenkins look like they can contribute, so that will be a pivotal distribution of minutes to monitor early on.
On top of that, the Pistons will be simultaneously fitting John Collins into the starting lineup as a Tobias Harris replacement, so the pre-season will be the first opportunity to see how the veteran power forward looks in Detroit with a new crop of teammates and an All-NBA floor general delivering him the rock. Behind Harris, the Pistons have the option to play either Ron Holland II or Taurean Prince in reserve minutes at the four, and the latter will be working on fitting into new surroundings at the same time.
Prince, who is coming over to Motown alongside Gary Harris after the offseason trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, is a sharp three-point shooter who can create for himself off the dribble, and his size could lend itself to minutes at the two or three with spot work as a power forward during small-ball lineups.
Outside of those arrivals, Isaiah Joe is going to push Duncan Robinson for minutes at the two with his track record of elite three-point shooting as well, so that’s a battle to keep an eye on. Robinson is expected to open the season as the starter, but if Joe lights it up from the perimeter consistently from the beginning and keeps it going, then he could work his way into the starting lineup after several weeks of the season. Robinson has the upper hand after last year’s run with the Pistons, but both players have posted elite marks from beyond the arc.
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