2026-27 Season Preview: Detroit Pistons

Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson look to lead the Pistons back to the top of the Eastern Conference.

Offseason Recap

•

Last Season

: 60-22 (1st in East, lost in conference semifinals)

• Key Additions

: John Collins, Gary Harris, Isaiah Joe, Ebuka Okorie, Ugonna Onyenso, Taurean Prince

Every Pistons move this offseason

Season Outlook

After posting their first 60-win season in two decades to earn

the No. 1 seed

in the East, the Pistons saw their season end with a

Game 7 home loss

to Cleveland in

the conference semifinals

. Detroit has been on a sharp upward trajectory over the past three seasons — climbing from 14 wins in 2023-24 to 44 in 2024-25 and 60 in 2025-26. Can they keep that momentum going in 2026-27?

The offseason saw the Pistons shake up their roster with the departures of Isaiah Stewart, Tobias Harris and Caris LeVert offset by the additions of John Collins, Isaiah Joe and Taurean Prince. But the biggest question remaining as training camp approaches is the status of restricted free agent Jalen Duren, who remains unsigned.

Duren and Cade Cunningham formed an All-NBA duo last season and will likely need to replicate that success if the Pistons hope to remain at the top of an increasingly crowded Eastern Conference.

Breakout Candidate: Isaiah Joe

Over the past four seasons in Oklahoma City, Isaiah Joe did two things consistently: shot over 40% from 3-point range and averaged under 22 minutes per game, starting just 36 of 296 contests.

He

joins a Pistons team

that desperately needs outside shooting — Detroit’s 902 total 3-pointers ranked 28th in the league last season. Joe’s 181 total 3s ranked 30th among all players despite him playing only 1,507 total minutes. The only two players to make more 3-pointers in under 1,600 minutes last season were Stephen Curry (190) and Klay Thompson (202).

If Joe earns a larger role in Detroit than he had in OKC, he has a chance to make a significant leap as he enters his seventh NBA season.

1 Number To Know

14.2 —

The Pistons outscored their opponents by 14.2 points in the paint per game, the second-biggest differential for any team in the 30 seasons for which points in the paint have been tracked.

On offense, the Pistons ranked second in the percentage of their shots (56%) that came in the paint, with Jalen Duren (96%) and Ausar Thompson (89%) ranking second and sixth among 182 players with at least 500 total field goal attempts. On defense, only 47% of their opponents’ shots (the ninth-lowest rate) came in the paint, and they ranked third in opponent field goal percentage in the paint (54.2%).

On the flip side, the Pistons were below average in regard to how effectively they shot outside the paint, and they were outscored by 5.0 points per game – the league’s fifth-worst discrepancy – from 3-point range. They actually shot a little better from the perimeter in the playoffs, but weren’t nearly as dominant in the paint as they were in the regular season.

— John Schuhmann

5 Must-See Matchups

Oct. 20: Celtics vs. Pistons —

The 2026-27 NBA season-opening tripleheader tips off in Detroit as the Pistons host the Celtics in a clash of the top two seeds in the East from last season. After early playoff exits, both teams shook up their rosters this summer ahead of another anticipated postseason run.

• Nov. 4: 76ers vs. Pistons —

The Pistons host the new-look Sixers, who added a pair of Finals MVPs in Jaylen Brown and LeBron James this offseason to bolster their title hopes. After sweeping the season series with Philly last season, can Detroit maintain its dominance in 2026-27?

• Nov. 24: Pistons vs. Magic —

After trailing 3-1 in their first-round series, the Pistons rallied past the Magic to win in seven games. These teams meet for the first time in 2026-27 during

Emirates NBA Cup Group Play

.

Jan. 18: Pistons vs. Cavaliers —

The NBA’s annual

MLK Day

showcase tips off with a rematch of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, where Cleveland eliminated Detroit in a winner-take-all Game 7.

Feb. 3: Knicks vs. Pistons —

The second annual NBA Pioneers Classic features the East’s top regular-season team (Detroit) hosting the East’s top postseason team — the reigning NBA champion New York Knicks. The Classic also serves a larger purpose, celebrating Chuck Cooper, Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton and Earl Lloyd, who broke barriers as the NBA’s first Black players in 1950.

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Complete Regular Season Schedule

Preseason Storylines

With training camps set to open at the end of the month, the Pistons still have offseason business to complete — namely Duren’s restricted free agency and finalizing

a reported five-year, $155 extension

for Ausar Thompson, who is coming off an

All-Defensive First Team

selection and just saw his twin brother Amen earn a max deal in Houston.

On the court, how quickly will the new pieces fit, and can the Pistons replace the production lost with the departures of Harris (Detroit’s third-leading scorer last year) and Stewart (Detroit’s blocks leader and defensive anchor)?

Complete Preseason Schedule