Detroit Pistons 2024-25 Fantasy Basketball Season Recap: Cade And Co. Turn Things Around In Motor City

While the NBA Playoffs are in full swing, now is a good time to recap the fantasy basketball season for all 30 teams.

In the following weeks, we will provide a recap for each team, starting with the team with the worst record and concluding with the NBA champion in June.

Today, we’re looking at a team whose future is oh so bright after an historic turnaround in 2024-25.

Detroit Pistons 2024-2025 Season Recap

Record: 48-34 (6th, East)

Offensive Rating: 114.6 (14th)

Defensive Rating: 112.5 (10th)

Net Rating: 2.1 (12th)

Pace: 100.27 (11th)

2025 NBA Draft Picks: 37th pick

The Pistons became the first team in NBA history to triple their win total from the previous, 82-game season when they went from 14 wins in 2023-24 to 48 wins in 2024-25.

Detroit has been a laughingstock in the Association for years, but the 2024-25 Pistons pushed for 50 wins and played competitive basketball throughout the season.

Detroit delivered its first playoff appearance since 2019, but this one was different. Between 2003-2008, the Pistons made it to the Conference Finals or better each season, but from 2009-2024, the team made the playoffs only three times and was swept in each series.

Detroit won two games in this year’s playoffs, marking the Pistons’ first playoff wins in over 15 years. The 48 wins were also the most in that span.

Last season showed that franchise cornerstone Cade Cunningham can lead a team to the postseason and make it a contender with the right pieces in place. The long-time cellar dwellers showed just how quickly a franchise’s fortunes can change, and the importance of Detroit’s season for the fanbase cannot be understated.

For the first time in more than a decade, there is hope and excitement in the Motor City for Pistons basketball.

Let’s recap last season’s fantasy performances and look ahead to 2025-26.

Fantasy Standout and Revelation: Cade Cunningham

There were no players on Detroit’s roster outside of Cade who could be defined as revelations, so he gets that title along with standout. Cunningham took a major leap in 2024-25, averaging 26.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.8 blocks and 2.1 triples. He shot 46.9% from the floor, 84.6% from the charity stripe and 35.6% from beyond the arc.

The points, assists, triples, field goal percentage and three-point percentage were all career highs, but most importantly, so were his games played. In his fourth season, Cunningham logged a career-best 70 games while playing a career-high 35 minutes a night, putting durability concerns to bed after three seasons with trouble staying healthy.

The do-it-all guard finished with a career-high 18 assists when he posted a 20/11/18 triple-double against the Heat on December 16. That was one of his career-high nine triple-doubles, tied for fifth-most in the NBA. Cunningham posted two triple-doubles as a rookie and none in each of the next two seasons.

Cunningham was an elite facilitator and a strong rebounder for a guard, but he was magnificent as a scorer, too. He finished with 23 30-point games, and his 13 games with at least 35 points was good for fifth-most in the NBA.

Set to turn 24 in the offseason, Cade hasn’t yet played his best basketball, and he’s one of the most promising young guards in the Association. He’s got 30/10 upside so long as he can stay healthy, and fantasy managers should consider taking him in the first two rounds of 2025-26 drafts after he finished 25th in per-game value last season.

Fantasy Disappointment: Jalen Duren

Duren finished 77th in per-game fantasy value behind averages of 11.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.1 blocked shots across 26.1 minutes per game. The big man shot 69.2% from the floor and 66.9% from the charity stripe while committing 1.7 turnovers.

Duren set new career marks in blocked shots, field goal percentage and assists, and his fantasy finish narrowly topped last season’s. He played a career-high 78 games, but Duren’s third season felt like meat was left on the bone.

In his second season, Duren averaged 13.8 points and 11.6 rebounds across 29.1 minutes per game, and it looked like he was ready to take the next step in 2024-25. Instead, Detroit divvied up minutes evenly across the roster, and Duren’s playing time was cut.

Duren finished with a career-high six blocked shots against the Nets on March 1, turning in an 18/11/2/2/6 line. He set a new career mark in the assists department when he handed out seven against the Sixers on February 7. Duren recorded 41 double-doubles in 78 appearances after going for 44 in just 61 games a season ago.

In a vacuum, Duren’s 2024-25 season was a huge success, but given his 2023-24 performance and career trajectory, it felt like a big disappointment. The sky’s the limit for the 21-year-old center, but how high he flies moving forward is largely dependent on how much playing time he’s given.

Fantasy Recaps/Look-Aheads

Tobias Harris:

After spending the last five and a half seasons with Detroit, Tobi signed on for a second stint with the Pistons on a two-year, $52 million deal last offseason.

The veteran showed that he still has plenty left in the tank, as he averaged 13.7 points, 5.9 boards, 2.2 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.8 blocks and 1.2 triples while shooting 47.7% from the floor, 86.1% from the charity stripe and 34.5% from beyond the arc and committing just 1.2 turnovers.

The points were Harris’ fewest since the 2012-13 season but so were his 11 field goal attempts. On a team with Cade Cunningham and a number of lethal shooters, Harris didn’t need to do a ton on offense, and he played his role perfectly for a Pistons team that shocked the Association with a playoff appearance.

Heading into his 15th season, Harris should be a valuable later-round option for fantasy managers after finishing 76th in per-game value in 2024-25. He logged at least 70 games for the fourth straight season and the eighth time in nine seasons, so durability is not a concern. Expect him to play a similar role for the Pistons in 2025-26.

Ausar Thompson:

The versatile two-way forward finished the 2024-25 campaign with averages of 10.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.7 blocks and 0.2 triples. He shot 53.5% from the floor, 64.1% from the charity stripe and 22.4% from beyond the arc while committing just 1.4 turnovers.

Thompson’s playing time dropped from 25.1 minutes per game to 22.5, but he started 54 of his 59 appearances after starting only 38 of 63 games as a rookie.

The second-year man delivered a career-high seven assists with a 19/5/7 performance against the Bulls on February 12. He set a new personal best in the steals department with six against the Timberwolves on January 4.

Thompson finished 144th in per-game fantasy value, and he should only continue improving. Despite fewer minutes, he set new career highs in points, assists, steals and all shooting percentages. He’s worth a look in the final rounds of 2025-26 fantasy drafts.

Malik Beasley:

Beasley offered arguably the best bang for his buck of any NBA player this season. He signed a one-year, $6 million deal with Detroit in the offseason and delivered historic numbers.

Beasley appeared in all 82 games last season and averaged 16.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.9 steals and a career-high 3.9 triples per game. He shot the lights out from beyond the arc, hitting 41.6% of his three-point attempts.

Beasley finished the season with a Pistons franchise-record 319 made three-pointers, good for eighth-most in a single season all time. He became just the fifth player in league history with 300 made triples in a single season.

Beasley will surely command more than $6 million a year on the open market, and teams should line up for the services of a guy who can score 20 off the bench and provide elite floor spacing on any given night. For fantasy managers, he’s useful as a points and triples specialist, but production in any other category will likely be lacking.

Isaiah Stewart:

“Beef Stew” was more notable for his silly nickname and his on-court fights than for meaningful basketball contributions this season. The big man’s minutes and production were cut dramatically this year, and he finished 182nd in per-game fantasy value.

Stewart averaged 6.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.4 steals and 1.4 swats across 19.9 minutes per game. The points, rebounds and minutes were all career lows, while the blocked shots were a career high. Stewart shot 55.9% from the floor and 75.9% from the charity stripe, making 2024-25 the most efficient shooting season of his career. After averaging better than 1.3 made three-pointers across the last two seasons, he made just 0.2.

Stewart started 92 of his 96 appearances across the last two seasons, but he started just four of his career-high 72 games in 2024-25. The big man is likely to remain in a bench role moving forward, particularly with the strong play of veteran Tobias Harris. There’s no need to select Stewart in 2025-26 fantasy hoops drafts.

Dennis Schroder:

The veteran played for a sixth team in four seasons after getting dealt to Detroit, but he made an immediate impact with averages of 13.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.7 triples. Schroder’s shooting splits left much to be desired, but he offered veteran leadership and ran the offense effectively off the bench.

Schroder was a far better on-court presence than he was a fantasy hoops contributor. He showed out in the playoffs, offering key fourth quarter minutes in multiple games, including the Pistons’ Game 2 victory.

Schroder is set to hit the open market this summer, and he’ll likely look to sign with a contender if he chooses not to return to Detroit.

Jaden Ivey:

The 2024-25 season was a lost one for Ivey who unfortunately appeared in just 30 games due to a broken left fibula. The young guard averaged a number of career highs before getting injured, going for 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 2.1 triples while shooting 46% from the field and 40.9% from beyond the arc.

Ivey was quite durable across his first two seasons, missing just 13 total games in that span, so availability shouldn’t be a question for Ivey moving forward. He’s expected to be ready for the start of the 2025-26 campaign, and fantasy managers will hope he takes another step forward.

Tim Hardaway Jr.:

After spending the last five seasons with the Mavericks, THJ signed a one-year deal with Detroit to help address the team’s three-point deficiencies. He provided 11 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.2 triples across 28 minutes per game and helped space the floor for Cade Cunningham.

Hardaway Jr. shot 40.6/85.5/36.8 splits and offered little outside of the three-pointers category. A hot-and-cold scorer, he posted a handful of big scoring performances to go with quite a few duds.

Set for free agency this summer, it’s unclear where he’ll sign, but the long-range specialist should have no problem latching on with a team in need of shooting.

Restricted Free Agents: Daniss Jenkins

Unrestricted Free Agents: Paul Reed, Malik Beasley, Dennis Schroder, Lindy Waters III, Tim Hardaway Jr.

Club Option: None

Player Option: None