Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren’s off-court bond powers Pistons’ rise
Cade Cunningham
December 2025
Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren have powered Detroit’s rise in the East behind career-best starts, built on a deep off-court friendship that includes shared summer trips and daily work, turning the Pistons’ core guard-big partnership into one of the league’s most effective engines. From off-the-grid training in Colorado to two weeks exploring Rome and workouts in Dallas, their time together has sharpened communication and pick-and-roll reads, reflected in elite efficiency numbers, shared assist totals and a dominant two-man net rating driving Detroit’s resurgence.