Where do you think the Detroit Pistons will end up seeding-wise after the 2026-27 regular season?
With the 2026-27 pre-season just around the corner in a few weeks, now is an opportune time to survey the landscape in the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference after a busy offseason to see where the Detroit Pistons fit into the mix after winning 60 regular season games last year.
Now, the Pistons were bounced out of the second round last postseason by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but a lot has happened since that time. The Pistons parted ways with Tobias Harris in free agency and traded away Isaiah Stewart, Marcus Sasser and Caris LeVert, so the role players in Detroit are going to look quite different this year. On top of that, the Pistons drafted point guard Ebuka Okorie to contribute in the backcourt, so there will be a handful of new faces in the Motor City. Despite that turnover, ESPN has the Pistons checking in at the No. 2 position in the East with a 53-29 record, which would be seven games worse than their performance a season ago.
Naturally, the New York Knicks took the top spot in the East after winning the NBA Championship last season, but basketball is a game of matchups. A year ago, the Pistons dominated those matchups with a 3-0 season sweep over the Knicks, so it would be intriguing to see how a playoff series would shape up between these two sides. In fact, the Knicks and the Pistons seemed to have a rivalry budding last season after squaring off in the playoffs the year prior, but the two organizations had separate postseason paths a few months back.
After the Knicks and the Pistons, two of the top squads to keep an eye on this year will be the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers, and they’re projected to finish with 51 and 50 regular season wins respectively. Even though the Cavs missed out on the LeBron James sweepstakes earlier this summer, the Central Division group did add Peyton Watson within the past week, so the Pistons should have some healthy competition when it comes to retaining their divisional crown as well.
As for the Sixers, adding James to such a star-studded lineup was bound to draw heads no matter what, but Philly made another huge move right before that to land Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics in exchange for Paul George. Given that blockbuster trade, the 76ers have a mountain of hype behind them entering the 2026-27 campaign, so it will be interesting to see how long it takes this new unit to mesh together with VJ Edgecombe at the point, Tyrese Maxey also in the backcourt and Joel Embiid at the five.
Bouncing out to the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are expected to assume the top two positions, and they’re the only two teams from that conference with projected 60-win totals. After the Spurs and Thunder, there’s a steady drop-off before reaching the Denver Nuggets at 51 wins, so the West could unfold as a two-horse race this season.
