Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren is having a career year through 11 games
Fresh off a pair of victories in two nights, the Detroit Pistons are riding a seven-game winning streak and proudly stand on top of the Eastern Conference in first place. This 9-2 stretch is the team’s best start to a season since the mid-2000s, and both Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren have played starring roles in the Pistons’ ascension to first in the East.
As in years past, the Cade-to-JD connection has played a pivotal role in the Pistons’ offensive gameplan this season, and Duren is averaging career-high numbers across the board. Through 11 games, Duren is posting 19.4 points, 12 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals per game, and those numbers would reflect even more glowingly if Duren was not ejected early on when the Pistons played the Houston Rockets on Friday, Oct. 24.
Based on early results, Duren is painting a clear picture as to why he’s deserving of consideration for an All-Star selection in the East. Duren is dominant in the pick and roll with Cunningham, and he’s become a double-double machine with his glass-clearing mentality.
Earlier today, Duren appeared on NBA Today to discuss the Pistons’ early-season success, and the Detroit center initially deflected to praising Cunningham for the team’s climb to the top of the East.
“We live and die with whatever decision he makes, man,” Duren said. “That’s why he’s our leader. He’s gotten us to this point.”
But Cunningham, for all of his late-game heroics, 30-point explosions and triple-double pursuits, has not brought all of this success to Detroit on his own. Duren is responsible for maintaining order in the post, and Detroit has put forth the best rim defense in the entire NBA this year. Duren, along with Isaiah Stewart, has played an important role in that respect, and the fourth-year center out of Memphis has absolutely controlled the paint on offense. Duren has lived near the rim as the lob-collector in the Pistons’ offense, and it’s served him well to open the 2025-26 campaign.
“I think it’s a mixture between the bond that [Cade and I] have and that we’ve been able to grow off the court,” Duren said. “We’ve become close friends and just getting to know each other personally, I think that’s helped our chemistry on the court. Being able to talk among one another, being able to communicate through any tough decisions, any tough situations, high intense situations in the game. And honestly, I think IQ-wise, we both have high IQs and want to make the right play and the right read all the time throughout the game, and it comes together.”
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In the brief interview on NBA Today, Duren mentioned how he’s not particularly eager to dominate the shot ratio in Detroit, instead recognizing that he’s happy to defer to Cunningham for the most part. It’s a recipe that has worked for the Pistons in the early stages of the season, and it could result in a busy All-Star weekend for Detroit’s starting center if he continues to produce at this pace.
Underscoring that notion, Duren had another big double-double in the Pistons’ two-point overtime victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday night. In that contest, Duren logged 19 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and two steals to help establish Detroit’s presence down low in the dramatic Eastern Conference battle.
The Detroit Pistons will host the Chicago Bulls at home on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 7 pm.
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