The Detroit Pistons have clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. [1] The sentence requires a pause, because as recently as the 2023-24 season, the Pistons posted the worst record in franchise history. They had not made the playoffs since 2019. They had not held the East's top seed since the 2006-07 season, when Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace were still wearing red, white, and blue.

The turnaround is not merely dramatic. It is structural. Detroit drafted Cade Cunningham first overall in 2021 and committed to a rebuild that refused the shortcuts — no blockbuster trade for a second max player, no veteran mercenary rental, no tanking disguised as development. They added Jalen Duren, built a defensive identity, and let Cunningham grow into the kind of point guard who could carry a franchise. [2]

Then Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung in late March. He has missed the final stretch of the regular season. The Pistons went 7-2 without him, with both losses coming in overtime — one to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. [3] The team clinched the one seed on April 4 with a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff called the run "gritty." It was that. It was also a testament to organizational depth.

The regular season ends Sunday. The Play-In Tournament begins April 14, and the first round of the playoffs starts April 18. [4] The NBA's current format sends the top six seeds in each conference directly to the bracket, with seeds seven through ten competing in the Play-In for the final two spots. In the East, the Celtics (53-25), Knicks, and Cavaliers have also clinched. In the West, the picture remains contested, with Minnesota clinching a top-six seed this week. [5]

Ten teams have now secured playoff berths across both conferences. The remaining jockeying involves seeding, matchup preferences, and the kind of late-season rest calculations that every contender manages differently. The Pistons' calculation is simple: get Cunningham healthy for the postseason.

The franchise that spent three years at the bottom of the standings will enter the playoffs as the team every Eastern Conference contender must go through. Detroit has waited 18 years for this. The city, which knows something about patience and industrial collapse and unlikely comebacks, is paying attention.

-- AMARA OKONKWO, Lagos