DETROIT — Cade Cunningham emerged from the tunnel at Little Caesars Arena and through the smoke machines lining the corner of the court to a Detroit crowd waiting months to see their star player return.
Since the last time Cunningham played a non-preseason game at the Pistons’ home arena, he had earned his first All-NBA nod, made appearances on late-night television shows and put another summer under his belt before beginning his fifth season in the league.
Five times Cunningham has witnessed a season-opener and Sunday’s win over the Boston Celtics was the best to date for the guard thanks to a positive result and an engaged crowd of an announced sellout of 20,062.
“It was probably the best home opener I’ve had in my career,” Cunningham said after scoring a team-best 25 points with eight assists. “It was exciting coming out and seeing that, feeling all the love from the fans. We’ve got the best fans in the world. Great to come into the home opener and get a win for them.”
Cunningham received the largest applause when making his entrance as the focal point of much of the Pistons’ recent success, but there was plenty of excitement for returning young stars like Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren.
And despite a slow start that put the Pistons down 17 early on, Detroit got its crowd involved with its physical and energetic style of play.
Ron Holland playing lockdown defense in the corner, Thompson fighting for a loose ball and Duren going for a big dunk served amp the crowd up, something the Pistons were counting on heading into the game.
“The start of the season is always fun. Emotions are high, energy’s high,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said before the game. “Our fans have been away from us, we’ve been away from them, so that first initial meeting is always fun. Like the energy that’s going to be in the building, how our guys feed off that energy. We’re definitely looking forward to playing in front of our home fans so we can start that connection again.”
There’s a long season ahead for the Pistons, but after their postseason appearance last year, the current iteration of Detroit basketball is turning more heads.
The Pistons want to feel the same passion from fans that came with the playoffs. They’re counting on it.
“The fans really have done a tremendous job supporting our group. Last year we saw the immense amount of support and love and passion from our fans,” veteran forward Tobias Harris said.
“At the same time, we know when we felt that excitement in the playoffs last year and we want that same feeling all throughout this year. We know how important they are for our group and our team and the spirit of the city.”
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