Detroit Pistons · Franchise era 6 of 7
The long rebuild: the Detroit Pistons story
Franchise era
2009–10—2020–21
The long rebuild
Detroit Pistons
The story in one sentence
Detroit reached the playoffs only twice as a series of veteran bets failed to create a sustainable core.
01
Short-term fixes delay the reset
02
Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin and Reggie Jackson gave the era its recognizable core.
03
Its ending created the conditions for building around cade.
Timeline
How it unfolded
Before 2009–10
What came before
A cast assembled through shrewd trades reached six straight conference finals and upset the Lakers for the 2004 championship.
2016
Eastern Conference First Round: Detroit Pistons vs Cleveland Cavaliers
2019
Eastern Conference First Round: Detroit Pistons vs Milwaukee Bucks
After 2020–21
What came next
Cunningham became the organizing talent for a young roster trying to reconnect Detroit's patience with its defensive tradition.
The core