Detroit Pistons Keeping Pace With Pair of NBA Finals Contenders

Pistons continue to be one of the hottest teams in the NBA.

Feb 5, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) collides with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) during the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images | David Reginek-Imagn Images

With the 2024-25 regular season slowly coming to a close, the Detroit Pistons remain as one of the biggest success stories in the NBA. A year removed from having the league's worst record, the organization has managed to completely change its long-term trajectory.

There are numerous factors that can be attributed to the Pistons' success this season. J.B. Bickerstaff deserves a lot of credit for his work as head coach, and Trajan Langdon worked hard to improve the supporting cast around the franchise's young core. However, the driving catalyst continues to be a breakout campaign from guard Cade Cunningham.

Coming up on the home stretch of the season, the Pistons find themselves in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a 33-26 record. Aside from their current eight-game winning streak, Detroit has been one of the best teams in the association since the new year.

Over the past two months, the Pistons have kept pace with two of the league's top contenders. Their 22-9 record since the end of December is good for fourth-best in the NBA. The only teams ahead of them are the Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and OKC Thunder.

Since Dec. 20, the Pistons are 21-9. Teams with better records since then:

OKC 25-6
Cleveland 24-6
Denver 24-9

That's it. That's the list.

— Keith Langlois (@Keith_Langlois) February 25, 2025

Diving deeper into this sample size, Detroit is one of just two teams who have yet to lose since the trade deadline. The other being the Cavaliers, who have the NBA's best overall record at 48-10.

Undefeated teams since the trade deadline:

— Detroit Pistons
— Cleveland Cavaliers

That's it. pic.twitter.com/iipGO7TU72

— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 25, 2025

In less than a year, the Pistons have manage to drastically alter their perception around the league. Once viewed as a franchise with no direction, they are now a competitive squad on the cusp of climbing up the NBA hierarchy.

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