The Detroit Pistons are finally back in the national spotlight…but for all the wrong reasons. Fifteen years of poor decisions and worse luck on the court have culminated in an historic losing streak, a skid that hit 28 games on Thursday night as the Pistons lost to the Boston Celtics. Detroit can set a new NBA record for consecutive losses on Saturday, when the Toronto Raptors visit Little Caesars Arena.
Cade Cunningham, Detroit‘s star player, has largely performed well this season and is one of the few Pistons with some credit in the bank despite all the losses. Cunningham has drawn the direct attention of a former NBA champion and Defensive Player of the Year, who is hoping — perhaps facetiously — that the point guard will be discouraged enough by the historic losing streak that he will join him in the T1 League.
Detroit Pistons’ Losing Streak: Fans Witness Painful-to-Watch Warm-Up Shooting
Dwight is angling for a new star teammate
Dwight Howard took to X on Friday night and posted a short video of himself sitting on a beach on the island of Taiwan, where he last played professional basketball for the Taoyuan Leopards. The post’s text simply read “Taiwan is calling,” capped with a phone emoji.
This is the third time in a week that Howard has taken a playful jab at the Pistons. On Christmas Eve, Howard wrote “how about them Pistons” as Detroit lost to the Brooklyn Nets for its 26th consecutive defeat. Four days later, Howard quote-replied to his own post with some suggestions for the players Detroit should sign to end its embarrassing skid. Now, he’s taken a new approach to rattling coach Monty Williams‘ cage — calling for his top player to leave the NBA and try a new challenge.
Cunningham is excelling despite Detroit’s defeats
Cunningham is not expected to consider any kind of adventure outside the NBA in the near future — especially as he is playing like the player Detroit selected #1 overall in the 2021 draft.
Over his past five games, Cunningham is shooting over 56 percent from the field while averaging more than 30 points per game as the Pistons’ top — and sometimes only — offensive threat. Even with two 40-point performances during that five-game stretch, the 22-year-old still hasn’t been able to lead Detroit to that elusive first victory since October.
Following Thursday’s loss to the Celtics, Cunningham told reporters that he feels like the Pistons are as competitive as anyone, and on the “same level” as every team against whom they have lost over the past 28 games. It shows a level of confidence that Cunningham has to project onto his teammates as the squad’s leader — and if the Pistons want to avoid infamy, that self-assuredness has to show up for all 48 minutes against Toronto on Saturday.
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