The hallways of the Henry Ford Health Detroit Pistons Training Center presented a new energy this year– one of optimism, ambition and excitement for what is to come.

Last season, the Pistons, led chiefly by All-NBA third-team selection Cade Cunningham, turned the franchise around with a stark 30-win improvement, moving from a paltry 14 wins the year before to a 44-38 record on the 2024-25 season. That regular season mark was good enough to lift Cunningham and the Pistons into the playoffs for the first time in five years, before the star guard was even in the NBA. 

So, it’s safe to say that Cunningham has been through a lot as he’s steered the Detroit organization in the right direction, and he’s prepared to see how far he can help push the Pistons moving forward as a speedy, defensively-oriented squad. 

“We had been through a lot of losing and toughness as far as my first couple years in the NBA, so last year was our first real step towards winning basketball and building this into a championship program,” Cunningham said during the NBA’s Real Training Camp episode on the Pistons. “So, we’re definitely going to take a lot of that into next season, but we have to put all that behind us at the same time and be ready for what’s ahead of us.” 

Cade Cunningham Central To MVP Discussions Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham finished tied for 7th in the MVP race last season.

Now, Cunningham appears ready for the Pistons to take the next step in their ascension and to reach the top of the Eastern Conference mountain or at least thereabouts. Last year, the Pistons bowed out of the playoffs after a hard-fought six-game playoff series against the New York Knicks in the first round, so Detroit is looking to build on that experience this season with Cunningham at the helm. And if there’s one individual who is confident on how the Pistons look with Cade running the show, then it’s the team’s head coach, J.B. Bickerstaff, who’s now in his 22nd year in the NBA. 

“I give him a ton of credit,” Bickerstaff said. “Being around a guy that age that has the leadership ability that he already has is unbelievable, but he’s just such a selfless person that he doesn’t have to take away from other people in order to be successful. So, him helping guys is natural for him. It’s not something that you have to push or fight him to get to do– he just does it.”

The type of buy-in that Cunningham shows is precisely what Bickerstaff needs to keep the Pistons playing at a playoff level. And even though Cunningham is coming off a stellar All-Star season, the Oklahoma State product is setting the right example by working on his game during the offseason. 

“There’s small skill set things that we wanted to add knowing how teams have guarded him in the past, so I think we did some of those things, whether it’s post scoring, iso scoring, knowing how to get the ball off quicker before traps can get to you and those types of things,” Bickerstaff said. “So, his skill set already is what it is, now it’s the adjustment to how the league is going to defend him and how do we get better at that.” 

And if opposing defenses do key in on Cunningham, the 6-6 point guard is more than happy to get his teammates involved in the offense, and he spoke glowingly about the opportunity to do so during the NBA’s training camp look-in. 

“We have a lot of talent in the room,” Cunningham said. “We have the best athletes in the NBA, a lot of youth that’s ready to take that next step and grow together, then we’ve surrounded ourselves with great vets.”

The Detroit Pistons will open up the 2025-26 regular season with a road game against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 8 pm.

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