It was just last season when the Detroit Pistons had one of the most miserable seasons of all-time. They set an NBA record for consecutive losses in a single season with 28. Their 14-68 record is the worst in franchise history. Only one team entered this season experiencing a longer drought of not reaching the playoffs, but the Pistons remarkable turnaround has now culminated in a postseason berth for the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Second-Longest NBA Playoffs Drought Has Come To An End
Pistons Have Reached The Playoffs For The First Time Since 2019
On Friday night, the Pistons took on the Toronto Raptors, winning by the score of 117-105. The victory improved Detroit’s record to 43-34, giving them more than three times the amount of wins that they had in 2023-24. Not only that, it gave the Pistons an official spot in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Very few could have imagined that being possible entering the season. Sure, they would likely improve, but a team needs to improve by leaps and bounds to go from 14 wins to the playoffs. Detroit was able to do so. It is their first time reaching the postseason since 2019, a time when nobody had heard of COVID-19. For five straight seasons, they did not experience extra basketball after their 82-game regular season. The Pistons best winning percentage over those non-playoff years was .303.
Only one team entering this year was in the midst of a longer stretch without postseason basketball. That would be the Charlotte Hornets, who last made the playoffs in 2016. With a bottom-feeding record of 19-58, Charlotte will be sitting home come playoff time for the ninth-straight year. The San Antonio Spurs are the only team that equaled Detroit’s five years with no postseason. At 32-45, their magic number is one to be eliminated from Play-In Tournament contention.
Not only have the Pistons more than tripled last season’s win total, they have 12 more wins than the last two years combined. In 2022-23, Detroit went 17-65.
Battle For Fifth With Bucks
J.B. Bickerstaff deserves a load of credit for the incredible turnaround by Detroit. The Pistons made the bold move of admitting they made a mistake and firing head coach Monty Williams last offseason after just one year. Despite owing Williams a large sum of money after letting him go, it has surely looked like a shrewd move.
The first overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Cade Cunningham needed to have better health and be surrounded by better shooting. While the 23-year-old has missed each of Detroit’s last six outings with a calf injury, he played in 66 of the Pistons first 71 games. In the offseason, the team also added shooting by signing Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley while trading for Tim Hardaway Jr . The Pistons now rank eighth in threes made per game, while Beasley’s 298 made threes are the most in the league in what is a tight league leader race.
Meanwhile, the Pistons now are guaranteed a top-six spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but their actual seed remains unclear. They are fifth at the moment, but just a half-game ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
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