Detroit Just Did Something No NBA Team Has Done in Two Years, and the Doubters Still Don't Get It
Picture this: two years ago, the Detroit Pistons won 14 games. Last season? Brutal. This year? They won 60 games and locked up the No. 1 seed in the entire Eastern Conference. That 46-win jump in two seasons is the biggest turnaround in NBA history, full stop. And somehow, Vegas still has them as the fourth favorite to win the East.
From Basement to the Best in the Conference
The Pistons claimed the top seed way back on November 7th and have not let it go since. Every single day from then until the playoffs started, they sat at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. That is dominance. That is consistency when it matters most. Jalen Duren, the Pistons center, made sure everyone understood the gravity of the moment during the team's final regular season home game at Little Caesars Arena. He grabbed the mic and addressed the crowd, mimicking the team's legendary PA announcer John Mason with a "Deeeee-troit basket-ball." Duren thanked the fans for their support and delivered the real message: "We're not done yet. We've got a long way to go."
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Here is the wild part: despite winning 60 games and earning the No. 1 seed, the Pistons entered the playoffs as an underdog in their own conference. According to DraftKings, Detroit started their postseason run with the fourth-best odds to win the Eastern Conference at plus-500, sitting behind the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and New York Knicks. That disrespect has not gone unnoticed. Forward Ausar Thompson made it clear how the team feels. "We think we could win it all," he told ESPN. "We don't think about what other people say. I feel like we could beat anybody."
The Pistons' playoff journey started rocky in Game 1, but this team has earned the right to be confident. Sixty wins and a historic two-year climb do not lie. The doubters are about to find out what happens when you sleep on Detroit basketball.
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This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.