When evaluating the best teams of the 2000s, no Eastern Conference franchise has a better case for the No. 1 spot than the Detroit Pistons. No organization quite measured up to the Los Angeles Lakers or San Antonio Spurs during that time, but Detroit was the most dominant force the East had to offer.
An egoless team that played generational defense and emphasized motion on offense over isolation tendencies, it seemed as though the Pistons' success would never end.
Unfortunately, the past 17 years of Detroit basketball haven't quite measured up to those lofty standards. Detroit made the playoffs just three times between 2008-09 and 2023-24, failing to win a single postseason game during that time.
On Monday, Apr. 21, a 17-year drought finally ended when Cade Cunningham and the Pistons defeated the New York Knicks in Game 2 of their first-round series.
Been a long time coming, but we're back pic.twitter.com/jtNIiyFroI
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) April 22, 2025
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic provided additional context, sharing numbers that would've made Pistons fans' minds melt if not for their collective and cathartic sighs of relief.
The Detroit Pistons went 6,174 days between playoff wins.
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) April 22, 2025
Detroit's leading scorer the night of their last playoff win, Antonio McDyess, is now 50.
Detroit's leading scorer tonight, Cade Cunningham, was 6 that night.
It's taken far longer than it should have, but one of the NBA's greatest franchises has finally found a way to right the ship.
Detroit Pistons win first playoff game since 2008
Detroit won at least 50 games in every season between 2001-02 and 2007-08. The highlight of that period arrived when the Pistons defeated Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, and the Los Angeles Lakers to win the 2003-04 championship.
Detroit even made it back to the NBA Finals the following season, all of which was a part of a historic stretch of six consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances.
That includes 2008, when the Pistons last won a postseason outing. During that season, Detroit came within just two wins of reaching the NBA Finals before it ultimately fell 4-2 to the Boston Celtics, which went on to secure the title a round later.
From being two games shy of competing for a championship to going 17 years without a single playoff win, it was an indescribably awful chapter in Pistons history.
Detroit can thank the group of Cade Cunningham, Tobias Harris, Dennis Schröder, and Jalen Duren for leading the team to a victory 17 years in the making. Cunningham finished the Game 2 win over New York with 33 points and 12 rebounds in 42 mesmerizing minutes.
Schröder added 20 points off the bench, while Harris tallied 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Duren finished with 12 points, 13 boards, three blocks, and a steal.
The hope is that this is the beginning of a new era in Detroit. If nothing else, Cunningham is deserving of an All-NBA nod for his 2024-25 campaign and looks the part of a true franchise player who can lead the Pistons to sustainable success.
17 years later, the Pistons are finally trending in the right direction.