Victories for the Detroit Pistons this season often lead to dance parties on the team plane. The youngest players, 19-year-old rookie Ron Holland and 21-year-old Jalen Duren, typically handle the music, earning praise from teammates for their diverse playlist spanning various eras.
Players show off their best moves in the aisle until an old-school track is requested, often “Family Reunion” by The O`Jays. This prompts 32-year-old Tobias Harris to join in with his own moves, much to the amusement of his younger teammates.
“He`ll show off a few moves sometimes,” Duren commented. “We might actually be making him feel younger.”
Pistons forward Ausar Thompson rated Harris`s dancing a 9.5, deducting half a point for stiffness attributed to his height, build, and age. He suggested a younger Harris might have scored a perfect 10.
Harris, roughly ten years older than most teammates, recently finished his 14th NBA season and is in his second tenure with Detroit. His return is part of President Trajan Langdon`s strategy to blend experienced veterans with the team`s promising young lottery selections. The younger players fondly call Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Malik Beasley the “uncs” or team uncles.
“He and Beasley have what we call little `unc` moves,” Holland shared, mentioning they even have a special handshake.
Beasley clarified his status, stating, “I`m not part of the unc crew. I`m still that cool cousin that`s a little bit older.”
Harris simply shakes his head in response.
He isn`t even the oldest Piston – that title belongs to Tim Hardaway Jr. at 33. However, Harris understood the situation when signing his two-year, $52 million deal with Detroit, a team entering the season as the fourth-youngest in the NBA with an average age of 24.3. This youthful squad was also coming off a historically bad 14-68 season.
Harris noted there was significant talent but a need for veteran presence. “Guide these guys a little bit,” he explained, “and really boost their confidence up, boost the professionalism, morale of the whole team, and see where they could take us.”
He added, “I knew that coming in that this was going to be a breath of fresh air for me, but I`ve truly enjoyed it. It`s the most fun I`ve had playing basketball my whole career with this group and this team.”
First-year Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff has a different nickname for Harris and the other veterans.
Bickerstaff calls them “My safety blanket,” explaining that when things go wrong, he can rely on them to stabilize the game.
They have indeed provided a calming influence for the talented but inexperienced squad, which includes Cade Cunningham, the 2021 No. 1 pick who became an All-Star and is a strong All-NBA candidate. Bickerstaff defined clear roles early on and stressed the historical Pistons traits of defense and grit.
However, few could have predicted how quickly Detroit would achieve such a historic turnaround.
After a league-worst 14-68 record in 2023-24 (including a record 28-game losing streak), the Pistons dramatically improved this season, finishing 44-38 to secure the No. 6 seed in the East. This marks their first winning season since 2015-16. Notably, they are the only NBA team ever to triple their win total from the previous season, and no team with fewer wins in one season had ever made the playoffs the following year.
The Pistons achieved another milestone Monday, winning their first playoff game since the 2008 Eastern Conference finals by defeating the New York Knicks 100-94 at Madison Square Garden. This win ended a 15-game playoff losing streak, the longest in NBA history. Their first-round series, a goal that seemed unattainable last year, is tied 1-1 and heads back to Detroit Thursday night.
“It feels like this should have taken two or three years,” Cunningham said recently. “But for us to have done it so quickly, it`s just a testament to the group of people that we brought into the building.”
He added, “The guys that have been around, we`re super thankful for that. Now it`s about trying to find ways to win the championship.”
Reflecting on his initial approach, Trajan Langdon, the Pistons` president of basketball operations since last May, smiled and shook his head. At the time, making the playoffs, particularly as a top-six seed in the East, was far beyond his most ambitious goals.
Following significant changes, including the departure of general manager Troy Weaver and the dismissal of coach Monty Williams after just one year of a lucrative contract, Langdon quickly developed a strategy for rapid improvement. He felt the foundational pieces were present. His first move was hiring J.B. Bickerstaff, recently let go by the Cleveland Cavaliers after a second-round playoff loss. Langdon valued Bickerstaff`s reputation as a direct leader capable of defining roles and team identity, a stark contrast to the 36 different starting lineups used the previous season.
Three days later, Detroit acquired Tim Hardaway Jr. via trade. Hardaway Jr. is a prolific three-point shooter who had just contributed to the Dallas Mavericks` run to the 2024 NBA Finals. He joined a Pistons team struggling offensively, ranking near the bottom of the league in overall offense, three-point attempt rate, and three-point percentage.
On the same day, Langdon signed Malik Beasley, another high-volume shooter, to a one-year, $6 million contract. Beasley had shot 41.3% from three on nearly seven attempts per game for the Milwaukee Bucks. Two days after that, Tobias Harris was added, coming off a less-than-ideal conclusion to his time with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Langdon stated his primary goal was to surround the young players with individuals who could aid their development. “It`s not only the on-the-court and between-the-lines that I thought was important,” he said, “but also the character, the experience and the postseason experience.”
Harris, who had a previous tenure with Detroit from 2016-2018, fully embraced his mentorship role, guiding younger teammates on off-court matters like finances, diet, and sleep. Beyond guidance, he remained a significant on-court contributor, averaging 13.7 points and 5.9 rebounds in 73 regular-season games, then elevating his performance in the playoffs with averages of 20.0 points and 9.5 rebounds through the first two games.
“I think it`s amazing to have somebody like that in your locker room on your team,” Cunningham commented on Harris`s impact.
The other veterans also played key roles. Hardaway Jr. started 77 games and shot 37% from three on nearly six attempts per game. Beasley set a franchise record and ranked second in the league with 319 made three-pointers. He joins an elite group including Anthony Edwards, Klay Thompson, James Harden, and Stephen Curry as the only players in NBA history with at least 300 made threes in a single season.
“This group has definitely been a blessing to be around,” Beasley stated. He contrasted his current experience with past teams where he didn`t look forward to being in the gym daily, adding, “I come in here, no matter what I got going on in my life, I feel like these guys bring me energy, they bring me life.”
Langdon recalls first noticing a spark during training camp due to the high competition level. However, it was a December West Coast trip, featuring wins against the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, and Sacramento Kings, that truly raised his expectations for the season.
Following a 10-6 record in January, the Pistons had an eight-game winning streak spanning the All-Star break, highlighted by dominant wins against the LA Clippers and Boston Celtics. This was Detroit`s longest win streak since 2008 and propelled them into the top six seeds in the Eastern Conference.
“That was probably the first time I was like, `Oh, we`re beating some pretty good teams,`” Langdon admitted. “We have a chance to compete, be as competitive as we`d like to be. But playoffs still wasn`t in that thought process at that point.”
Langdon remained focused on culture change and translating effort into wins after years of losing. Before this season, Cade Cunningham had never been on a team with a winning record beyond the season`s first five games.
“When you`re losing, it compounds every single day,” Harris observed. He recognized this dynamic from the previous season, noting the young players` excitement about winning and desire for more success.
“I had very high expectations for this team and this group,” Harris concluded, “and I knew that with the pieces that we were bringing in as well, that we could make something happen. So could you say it was a little gamble? Yeah, from a team that hadn`t won that much. But I was very confident that this team was going to be better than a lot of people expected.”
At the Pistons` practice facility, Isaiah Stewart pointed towards the ceiling at the championship banners from 1989, 1990, and 2004.
This was a few days after the forward returned from a two-game suspension stemming from an altercation with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
His gesture`s meaning was clear and deliberate. Despite multiple ejections for his part in various on-court scuffles throughout his five-year career—or perhaps because of them—Stewart`s physical style of play echoes the “Bad Boys” era, a hallmark of Pistons success in the late 80s and early 90s known for challenging opponents like Michael Jordan.
“You talking about Detroit value,” Stewart stated, “You got to have that grit, physicality.”
This season, Detroit finished 10th in defensive rating, their first top-10 finish in seven years. They also ranked in the top 10 for offensive, defensive, and overall rebounding percentage, were second in fast break points, and fifth in points scored off turnovers.
As the closest defender, Stewart limits opponents to 43% shooting in the paint, the second-best mark in the NBA. Teammate Ausar Thompson, who missed time early season recovering from a blood clot, ranks second in the league in opponent field goal percentage and total steals since January 1st.
“We know that even a lot of the older Pistons guys come to the game, they watch, they got our backs,” Thompson said. “I feel like we try to compliment them by kind of playing their style of ball. We don`t necessarily have a thousand superstars on the team, so just everybody come in and do their piece, and everybody go as hard as possible and bring that Detroit energy.”
This connection to the team`s history is intentional, fostered by Bickerstaff to instill its values in the young roster.
“Those who come before you are extremely important,” Bickerstaff stated. “That`s what we`ve done is try our best to pay respect to those who come before us and emulating what`s been successful for this organization in the past.”
This defensive foundation complements the dynamic offense led by Cade Cunningham. The former No. 1 pick achieved career highs in points (26.1), assists (9.1), effective field goal percentage (52%), and two-point field goal percentage (52%), positioning him as a strong candidate for the Most Improved Player award. Detroit`s shooting percentage off Cunningham`s passes is 53%, ranking sixth among players with at least 500 assists.
“Sometimes you get lost in the shuffle of what happened last year,” Harris remarked about Cunningham. “But he`s a great leader for this group. His voice is impactful in the locker room and he`s a real deal and what he brings to the table night in and night out.”
However, when the Pistons clinched their playoff spot with a win against the Toronto Raptors on April 4th and boarded the plane back to Detroit, there was no celebratory dance party, loud music, or significant outward celebration.
Inside the quiet cabin, the team acknowledged their achievement but understood more work was ahead.
“We`re still hungry,” Stewart stated. “Yes, we`re thankful and we`re proud of ourselves for putting ourselves in this playoff setting, but, man, we some dogs. We want more. We don`t want to just be happy to be in the playoffs. We want to go do some things.”