After a miraculous 2024-25 campaign, the Detroit Pistons are heading into their 2025-26 season opener with much higher expectations than they had around this time last year. Of course, they still have work to do to prove they’re a playoff team that’s here to stay. To get there though, these three burning questions must be answered.
3 Burning Questions For Pistons Heading Into 2025-26 Season
Can Cade Cunningham Win MVP?
Last season, Cade Cunningham had a breakthrough, averaging 26.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game while leading the Pistons to the playoffs. Though Detroit’s postseason run ended in the first round, it was an MVP-caliber campaign, especially considering how disastrous previous seasons had been. Indeed, Cunningham was tied with Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards for seventh in 2024-25 NBA MVP voting.
This preseason, Cunningham came out firing.
Cade Cunningham averaged 20+ points on 50/40/90 shooting splits in the preseason.
62.9 FG%
BIG year upcoming for Detroit’s star guard! pic.twitter.com/Gui2AgphUZ
— NBA (@NBA) October 19, 2025
In the opener, he tallied 20 points in 17 minutes as the Pistons took down the Memphis Grizzlies. The next game, he upped the ante with 26 points and six assists in 19 minutes, though Detroit would fall to the Milwaukee Bucks. In the 2025-26 preseason finale, Cunningham recorded a double-double 16 points and 12 assists in 24 minutes as the Pistons defeated the Washington Wizards. Ultimately, he ended up averaging 20.7 points and 7.3 assists in 20.5 minutes per game on .629-.583-917 shooting splits. He also came away with two steals in each game, underscoring his underrated defensive impact.
The regular season will be a different beast but he looks ready for the burden. More than that, he looks like he’s on the precipice of another MVP-worthy season. However, while it’s an individual award, whether he wins MVP will also be dependent on the team’s collective success.
With that being said, making the playoffs in back-to-back seasons will appeal to Detroit’s diehard fans but it may not be enough for Cunningham to secure MVP. It’s more likely that the Pistons need to be a top-four team in the Eastern Conference. It’s an ambitious goal, but it could also be attainable, particularly when multiple contenders have injury concerns.
How Will Ausar Thompson’s On-Ball Experiment Go?
For the Pistons, the 2025-26 preseason was dominated by Cunningham’s dominance. Yet, like their opponents, Detroit also used those exhibitions for experimentation. The primary test was seemingly how Ausar Thompson would handle more of an on-ball role after largely being utilized as a 3-and-D player in his first two seasons.
Ausar Thompson ’25-26 Preseason Highlights
#DetroitBasketball pic.twitter.com/0c3Cp8K5Bo
— All Things Thompson Twins (@amenausarblog) October 21, 2025
As expected, there were mixed results. Needing to tighten up on his ball-handling and passing precision, Thompson occasionally looked overwhelmed with the responsibility. However, he was intermittently impressive with his drives and playmaking.
In the end, his preseason averages were rather modest but he stuffed the stat sheet with 8.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 block. He also had a 16.5% assist rate, which was a tad higher than his 2024-25 mark (14.2%). In the regular season, the ball will be in Cunningham’s hands plenty. Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will trust Caris LeVert , who averaged 5.1 assists per game in their last season together, to make plays as well. Still, with Jaden Ivey back on the mend and the lack of a solidified backup point guard, Thompson’s nascent playmaking ability needs to continue being explored.
Is Jaden Ivey Truly A Fit?
As previously mentioned, Ivey is on the sidelines again.
This time, he’s recovering from an arthroscopic surgery to relieve right knee discomfort , the team announced. The procedure is related to the season-ending fibula injury he suffered in 2024-25. He’ll be re-evaluated four weeks from Oct. 16, meaning his earliest return will be mid-November. The fifth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Ivey only played 30 games last season. This after back-to-back seasons playing 74+ games.
Ivey’s sudden lack of durability isn’t the only question surrounding him though. After a promising season that saw him shooting 40.9% from 3, there’s concern about whether he can sustain his long-range efficiency. Not doing so would almost certainly cause undue complications for starting Cunningham and Thompson together. Yet, because Thompson is the team’s primary perimeter defender, the odd man out in the equation would be Ivey.
© Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
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