The Detroit Pistons entered this season in dire straits, having followed up a 17-win season in 2022-23 with a 14-68 record, the worst in franchise history, in a campaign that included a 28-game losing streak, the longest in a single season in NBA history.
The outlook is much brighter today. The 37-29 Pistons are contending for an NBA playoff appearance, and their expectation-shattering play is driving better business results, including an uptick in attendance, retail sales and media engagement.
First-year president of business operations Melanie Harris sensed when she arrived that the team’s desperation to emerge from the NBA basement extended beyond the court. But the sudden turnaround has surprised even her.
“I didn’t see it coming this quickly,” Harris, who previously worked as a vice-president for Nike’s Jordan Brand in North America, said in a phone interview. “But I’m gonna say we had so many catalysts in place that maybe if I look deeper into the crystal ball, and I would have known.”
She added: “[Owner Tom Gores] said he was going to make these, frankly, expensive changes to do what he thought needed to be done to set the foundation to become a championship team.”
Last season, Gores gave Monty Williams the most lucrative coaching deal in NBA history, a six-year, $78.5 million deal, then fired him after one historically woeful campaign. Detroit made the move despite being on the hook for another $65 million.
This season, led by first-time All-Star Cade Cunningham and Coach of the Year candidate J.B. Bickerstaff, the Pistons have motored to the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference. Home-court advantage in a first-round playoff series is in reach, as they remain close to the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers above them.
“I can tell you that Pistons fans are loyal, but you also can’t fool them,” said Greg Kelser, the team’s color commentator, in an email. “They know what winning looks like. What we all went through last year was tough, but Pistons fans show up for the team. There were some lows last season, and you heard some boos on occasion, but this season has been completely different.”
The financial upside of the improved on-court product is clear.
Since July 1, the Pistons have had a 25% increase in online merch sales and a 16% uptick at the team store in Little Caesars Arena. The Pistons’ ever-popular retail capsules have helped the team capitalize on its hardcourt turnaround. Among the capsules was a Malcolm X collection the business team worked extensively to get approved by the late activist’s estate.
Fans are turning up to home games at a rate not seen for the Pistons since they moved into the 20,000-plus seat Little Caesars Arena in 2017. In the fall, the team said it expected to have three sellout games all season, but it has bettered that with two separate three-game sellout streaks. With nine home dates remaining, the Pistons rank eighth in the league in attendance after ranking 15th last season.
Even more encouraging are the returning season ticket holders. As of Feb. 26, when the team began reaching out for season ticket renewals for next season, the organization had the least opt-outs since moving into the downtown Detroit arena.
“We give a good show,” Harris said, referencing the Pistons’ entertainment team, which includes dancers and their kid-friendly mascot Hooper, who came into the fold in 1996. “A lot of the focus is what’s happening on the court and how well the team is playing, but we make sure that our fans have a fantastic time, no matter the game outcomes.”
Harris said Detroit recorded its best TV viewership for Pistons games in the month of February since 2018, nearly doubling its average audience compared to the same month last year. Though its overall regular-season ratings to date remain flat (a 2% bump of its 51 telecasts versus 2023-24), its viewership on FanDuel’s OTT service grew by 21% through six telecasts so far, and all numbers are trending up.
The Pistons, who play in the country’s 14th largest media market with 1.93 million TV homes, remain committed to the channel, even amid the cratering returns of regional sports networks.
The team is also making waves on social media, having added nearly a quarter-million followers across Instagram, Facebook, X and TikTok—a leap of 7.3% versus a season ago. That growth has contributed to a 53% increase in social media engagements.
All Detroit sports are hot right now, helping the cause. Four professional franchises that play home games within a couple of downtown blocks of each other—the Pistons, Lions, Tigers and Red Wings—have together risen from national mockery to playoff contention in the past few years.
After the Lions became TV darlings of the NFL last year—garnering higher ratings than even the Dallas Cowboys—the Pistons hope they can extend their brand in similar fashion.
“I feel fully confident that next season we will have more national TV coverage, just off the strength of how we played this year and how much demand there has been for fans around the country and around the world,” Harris said. “We have so much history and legacy to build on and now to be part of this resurgence … coming out of a city with so much grit and so much hard work, is something that should resonate, not only with Detroiters, but with, frankly, people around the country and around the world.”
It has unquestionably resonated with George Blaha, the longtime play-by-play man of more than 40 years who bore witness to the Bad Boys and “Goin’ to Work” eras at the suburban Palace in Auburn Hills, and now the resurgence in downtown Detroit.
“This year will go down as the biggest turnaround in franchise history,” he said in an email. “I think fans are beginning to feel something special about this group. We’ll see where the remainder of the season takes us. The future looks extremely bright.”
With additional reporting from Dan Bernstein.