The Detroit Pistons were the NBA's most improved team last season.
In 2023-24, they won 16 games. In 2024-25, they won 46.
What would they do for an encore?
Well, so far, the answer is that they've been the best team in the Eastern Conference.
ESPN's Kevin Pelton laid out a bunch of reasons that it's sustainable, too.
"Detroit is allowing the fourth-fewest shots per 100 possessions inside the restricted area around the basket, per GeniusIQ, and holding opponents to the league's lowest accuracy on them (57.3%)," Pelton writes. "Keeping that up might be difficult given that no team allowed less than 63.6% last year, but the Pistons can survive some defensive regression and still stay near the top of the East. After all, Detroit is actually underperforming its shot quality on offense, where Tobias Harris is shooting an effective 45.1%, down from 53% a year ago."
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The Pistons' stars are leading the way offensively.
Cade Cunningham is coming off a massive triple-double and is overall averaging 27.5 points and 9.9 assists per game.
Jalen Duren has raised his scoring average from 11.8 PPG last season to 19.4 this season.
Detroit hasn't even been entirely healthy. Jaden Ivey has yet to play this season, and Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart are both out right now with ankle injuries.
The Pistons are bucking some of Pelton's historical trends, too.
"Historically, teams that have beaten their over/under win total by at least 15 games (Detroit was a whopping 18.5 games better) have dropped off by an average of four wins the following season since 2000," Pelton writes. "However, the most recent two teams to qualify (the 2021-22 Cavaliers and 2022-23 Thunder) both improved again, so it may be time to rethink this conventional wisdom."
There's something to be said here for the steady build. The Pistons bided their time, grew their core and have become a force.
It seems to be for real.
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