Bam Adebayo
March 2026
Adebayo became the second player in Heat history to reach 10,000 points, joining Dwyane Wade, in a 121-110 win over Detroit. He scored 24 to cross the mark, highlighting growth from defensive specialist to multi-level scorer, including four made threes and a season total matching his prior two seasons combined.
Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets
February 2026
Stewart was suspended seven games for leaving the bench area, aggressively entering the altercation, and fighting. Bridges and Diabaté received four games each, and Duren received two games. The NBA said the sequence started when Diabaté committed a defensive foul on Duren with 7:09 left in the third quarter of Detroit’s 110-104 win. All four were ejected after technical fouls, with Stewart’s longer ban partly tied to prior unsportsmanlike history.
Ray Scott
January 2026
Ray Scott became the first Black NBA Coach of the Year after a rapid promotion to Pistons head coach, later pivoting to a long post-NBA career and published a memoir. After Earl Lloyd was fired early in 1972–73, Scott took over with minimal staff and later led Detroit to a 52–30 season, winning Coach of the Year. He was fired in 1976 amid team regression and organizational change, coached briefly in college, then built a career in insurance leadership. The profile emphasizes the NBA’s growth alongside U.S. social change and Scott’s role as an observer and trailblazer.
Isaiah Stewart
January 2026
Stewart credits being dunked on early in his career as fuel for becoming an elite rim protector, with strong block production and league-leading rim defense metrics driving Defensive Player of the Year ambition. He describes repeatedly challenging shots without fear, leading to high block totals, low opponent efficiency at the rim, conference monthly defensive honors, and internal endorsements from coaches and teammates.
JB Bickerstaff
January 2026
Bickerstaff will coach at the 2026 NBA All-Star Game after Detroit held the Eastern Conference’s best record through Feb. 1, marking his first All-Star head coaching selection. He becomes Detroit’s first All-Star head coach since Flip Saunders in 2005-06, with the 2026 game set for Feb. 15 on NBC and Peacock.
Mike Brown, J.B. Bickerstaff
January 2026
A feature revisited the long relationship between Mike Brown and J.B. Bickerstaff, dating back to Brown babysitting Bickerstaff when he first entered the NBA as a video assistant. They meet in a matchup between top East teams. The connection evolved into mentorship and friendship over decades, rooted in Denver when Bernie Bickerstaff ran the Nuggets. The piece highlights how early trust and shared coaching obsession shaped both careers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
December 2025
Antetokounmpo is back in action after missing eight games with a right calf strain suffered against Detroit. Milwaukee went 2-6 without him and sit 11th in the East at 12-19, but remain within touching distance of the playoff places. Having previously battled a left adductor issue and an earlier calf strain that ended his 2023-24 season, Giannis focused his rehab on getting fully healthy amid persistent trade speculation. He insists he is “locked in” on the Bucks, recognising outside noise but prioritising fitness and a push back up the Eastern Conference standings.
Ace Bailey
December 2025
Utah rookie Ace Bailey left in the first half against Detroit with a left hip strain and did not return, snapping a run of strong offensive form in which the No. 5 pick had averaged 10.7 points and reached double figures in four consecutive games for the Jazz. Bailey logged 11 scoreless minutes before departing, with Brice Sensabaugh starting the second half in his place. The Jazz will now assess the severity of the strain, weighing caution against their reliance on Bailey’s length and versatility, especially in late-game situations where he has often featured.
Rick Carlisle
December 2025
Rick Carlisle will end a 20-year run as president of the National Basketball Coaches Association at month’s end, with Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff elected as his successor, as Carlisle nears his 1,000th NBA coaching win and shifts focus fully back to team duties. Praising Bickerstaff as a trusted leader who has stabilised difficult situations in Memphis, Cleveland and Detroit, Carlisle called the new role “life-changing” and also used the moment to champion Bernie Bickerstaff’s Hall of Fame case, highlighting the Bickerstaff family’s long-standing impact on coaching and front-office culture.
Cade Cunningham
December 2025
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has had his high school number two jersey retired by James Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas, returning to the gym where early adversity and locker room tension helped shape his outlook and future approach to leadership as a young varsity standout. During the ceremony Cunningham reflected on feeling like an outsider as a young star, explaining how that experience taught him to support team mates better. He reunited with mentor Doris Morehead Jones, thanked the community, and watched his jersey lifted into the rafters while surrounded by family members.
