Detroit Pistons: Jalen Duren Sees Motown As An ‘Underdog Type Of City’

Last season, the Detroit Pistons began to turn heads when they ripped off 13 consecutive wins in November to tie their franchise record. After that, the Motown squad racked up 60 pre-playoff victories and secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but that still was not enough to generate proper respect for the Pistons according to their All-Star big man. 

So, now that Detroit is on the verge of entering the business portion of the 2026-27 campaign, Jalen Duren is choosing to use his team’s lack of respect as motivation heading into their preseason finale later tonight against the Toronto Raptors. 

”I think people, they’re going to continue to sleep on us,” Duren said. “They’re not going to believe in what happened last season and the success that we’ve had. Like you said, it’s kind of like the city— an underdog type of city. It’s a hard-working city, a blue-collar city as we all know, and we embody that. We embody not being the most liked in the league. We embody not being the flashy team or the most loved team, so I think that’s what makes us special.”

Over the offseason, the Eastern Conference experienced a stark shift in momentum when a litany of star players joined teams in the East to complete a league-wide power swing just a couple months after the New York Knicks won the NBA Championship. During the summer, the Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers all retooled with A-list stars entering the fold, so most are expecting the East to resemble a dogfight throughout the upcoming season. 

Not to be outdone, however, the Pistons chose to make fringe upgrades while continuing to emphasize internal growth as the fulcrum for their success. In theory, the Pistons addressed their largest weakness by adding a slew of three-point shooters to the mix, so conventional wisdom dictates that Detroit should be a more balanced group from an offensive perspective. 

As for Duren, the All-NBA Third-Teamer doesn’t look like he lost a single step in the offseason during his contract negotiation. To the contrary, Duren exploded with a 24-point first half effort against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night to emphatically announce his return to the rest of the NBA, so the Pistons are finally at full strength as they enter the regular season. 

In full transparency, Detroit has not had a lot of time to work together as a complete unit given Duren’s timeline, but the Pistons looked impressive right off the bat versus the T-Wolves. Cade Cunningham was able to keep Duren involved while hitting Duncan Robinson for open triples and finding John Collins in dangerous scoring positions, so the Pistons have a bit of wind under their sails as they enter tonight’s preseason finale, a home exhibition game against the Toronto Raptors. 

In tonight’s matchup, don’t be surprised if Detroit opts to give their starters just a gentle run of play before subbing them out to ensure that the Pistons enter the regular season fully healthy. The last thing that the Pistons need is an untimely injury just before the games start to count, so look for some players usually relegated to the end of Detroit’s bench to have a considerable opportunity tonight at home against Minnesota.