The Detroit Pistons may be the most polarizing 60-win team in recent memory. Their All-NBA center is in the midst of an extended period of restricted free agency, their defensive ace has clear offensive limitations, and their shot creation depth borders on non-existent beyond Cade Cunningham.
Though Detroit has every reason to celebrate what it's accomplished, it's toeing a dangerous line that could see it all unravel as quickly as it was built.
Detroit's rise to 60 wins in 2025-26 was nothing short of spectacular. Just two years prior, they went 14-68. They went 17-65 the year before that, and hadn't won more than 23 games in any of the three seasons that preceded their 17-win campaign.
Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, Detroit compiled a record 94-290—a figure that not only speaks for itself, but includes three seasons during which Cunningham was on the roster.
Cunningham guided the team to a 44-38 record in 2024-25, however, and then a 60-22 mark and the first postseason series win in 18 years in 2025-26. For as exciting as that is, the Pistons have already lost starting forward Tobias Harris, traded backup center Isaiah Stewart, and are now in danger of parting with Duren.
If the Pistons lose and fail to replace Duren with an adequate level of talent, and John Collins and Paul Reed struggle to replace Harris and Stewart, then it could all unravel.
Pistons' rise to 60 wins could end in a collapse without Jalen Duren
It's the one thing that Duren's critics have consistently glossed over when highlighting his postseason shortcomings: He was absolutely essential to Detroit's regular season success. He was the team's second-leading scorer at 19.5 points per game, which is particularly important when one considers that no one other than Duren and Cunningham averaged more than 13.3 points per game.
Duren was also a pivotal piece on the defensive end of the floor, helping to anchor a unit that ranked No. 2 in the NBA in defensive rating.
Cunningham is clearly up to the task of leading the Pistons to grand success, as he's done so in each of the past two seasons. At 24, he's already a two-time All-Star, as well as a two-time All-NBA honoree with a First Team nod coming his way in 2025-26.
Cunningham has also missed at least 18 games in four of his five NBA seasons, however, which indicates Detroit may need to be able to win games without him.
Regardless of how healthy Cunningham is or isn't able to remain in 2026-27, the fact remains that Detroit's rise to 60 wins was built on a fairly fragile structure. They have an elite culture that promotes defensive intensity and physicality, but at some point, teams need to be able to create and make shots to win games—and Cunningham can't do it on his own.
Having already lost two key players and facing the realistic possibility that a third could follow, the Pistons are dangerously close to realizing how fragile even a 60-win team can be.
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