{"id":581590,"date":"2026-04-02T22:47:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T22:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/581590\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T22:47:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T22:47:19","slug":"jalen-durens-leap-from-project-to-detroit-pistons-pillar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/581590\/","title":{"rendered":"Jalen Duren\u2019s Leap From Project to Detroit Pistons Pillar"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

NBA<\/p>\n

<\/a>Who saw Duren and the Detroit Pistons rising like this? Outside Detroit, maybe no one. Now they\u2019re the NBA\u2019s biggest surprise. \u201cIf I\u2019m being honest, this is what I envisioned,\u201d Duren says.\"\"NBA<\/a>Who saw Duren and the Detroit Pistons rising like this? Outside Detroit, maybe no one. Now they\u2019re the NBA\u2019s biggest surprise. \u201cIf I\u2019m being honest, this is what I envisioned,\u201d Duren says.Getty Images\/Ringer illustration\"\"<\/a>By Logan Murdock<\/a>April 2, 1:12 pm UTC \u2022 14 min<\/p>\n

A few years ago, Jalen Duren was scrolling online and came across a podcast that piqued his interest. In the episode, former New England Patriots wideout Julian Edelman describes the lengths he\u2019d go to to be in the company of Tom Brady in an effort to build chemistry with his surefire Hall of Fame teammate.<\/p>\n

It went beyond just practices. One summer, Edelman rented a hotel room in Manhattan Beach for three months just in hopes of getting some extra workouts with Brady, who had a house in the area.<\/p>\n

Hearing the wide receiver wax poetic on his partnership with Brady, Duren\u2019s mind began to drift toward his own future. Cade Cunningham, his teammate with the Detroit Pistons, had the game and the ambition to be a franchise pillar in his own right, striving to have his name etched in Detroit sports lore along with the likes of Zeke, Sanders, and Cabrera. The clip set in stone for Duren how critical Cunningham\u2019s presence would be for his career.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of took that as like, \u2018Man, this is my point guard,\u2019\u201d Duren tells me. \u201cAnd hopefully, this is my point guard for the rest of my career. So I want to start to build some chemistry, go get some work in with him, just go be around him, try to get a feel for him as a person, as a human.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

That vision is playing out faster than anyone expected.<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m being honest, this is what I envisioned.<\/p>\n

Jalen Duren<\/p>\n

With six regular-season games remaining, the Pistons sit atop the NBA\u2019s Eastern Conference, having blown past modest preseason prognostications. At the center of it is Duren, who has emerged as one of the league\u2019s biggest success stories. A traditional, physical, rebounding center by archetype, the 22-year-old has added modern wrinkles\u2014passing, ballhandling, footwork, and a developing jumper\u2014that hint at even more growth. In his first three years with the Pistons, Duren was cast as a role player with raw, unproven ability. But behind the scenes, coaches, team officials, and everyone in between have witnessed his steady transformation into a star who can compete for titles alongside Cunningham for years to come.<\/p>\n

In February, Duren made his first All-Star team, making good on his own preseason prediction. And as the regular season draws to a close, he finds himself in pole position to win the league\u2019s Most Improved Player award<\/a> after posting career highs in points per game (19.5)\u2014nearly doubling his scoring average from the previous season\u2014while shooting 64.7 percent from the field and averaging nearly 11 boards, perfectly complementing Cunningham\u2019s All-NBA-caliber season.<\/p>\n

Together, Cunningham and Duren have endured some of the worst stretches imaginable. Two years ago, Detroit lost a league-record 28 straight games, becoming a laughingstock as it finished with the worst record in franchise history. But its biggest test may have happened last month, when Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung, leaving Duren to steady the ship during the most consequential period of Detroit\u2019s season.<\/p>\n

Over that stretch, Duren has shown that he\u2019s much more than just an ideal running mate. He has proved that he can shoulder the load on his own, carrying the Pistons to a 6-2 record in Cunningham\u2019s absence while averaging 23.4 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. Rather than let Detroit falter without its leader, Duren assumed the mantle himself, looking like the type of franchise center Pistons fans could have only dreamed of four years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m being honest, this is what I envisioned,\u201d Duren says. \u201cI think going into my workouts in the offseason, working on my body in the offseason, coming out of last season, my biggest goal was to take a major step. I wanted to be an All-Star. I wanted to be seen as one of the better players in this league. \u2026 I still got a long way to go, but I think I\u2019m on the right path.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jalen Duren dunks during the game against the Toronto Raptors on March 31<\/p>\n

Brian Sevald\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

As long as he can remember, Duren has been the biggest player on the floor. His combination of size, strength, and brute-force athletic ability carried him from a five-star high school prospect in Philly to a freshman phenom at Memphis. But entering the league at 18, he had little idea of how he could use his frame to affect the game consistently.<\/p>\n

Duren\u2019s first few years in Detroit were marred by an ever-changing carousel of coaches and executives. During his rookie season, his coach, Dwane Casey, stepped down. Then Monty Williams was fired after a 14-win season, which included the historic losing streak.<\/p>\n

Following the 2023-24 season, the Pistons fired both Williams and general manager Troy Weaver, replacing them with J.B. Bickerstaff and former Pelicans assistant GM Trajan Langdon. Under Weaver, the Pistons assembled a talented core, drafting Cunningham and Ausar Thompson and securing Duren and Isaiah Stewart in draft-day trades. Langdon enhanced it further by tabbing Bickerstaff and making stealthy peripheral signings like Duncan Robinson and undrafted gem Daniss Jenkins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last season, Duren and the new-look Pistons began to come into form, and Detroit reached its first postseason in nearly a decade. During the season, the young center would occasionally show flashes of brilliance, but also still very much looked like a work in progress.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200b\u200bIt just took time for me to understand just even what my role was going to be in the NBA,\u201d Duren admits. \u201cComing in, some guys get picked, and they know exactly what is needed from them. As soon as they get to their team, they get their role, they are already kind of set in stone. But I feel like I came in pretty young, so it was more like just a learning experience for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Too often, he would second-guess himself, annoying teammates when he hinted at the potential of what he could be.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just passed it a lot,\u201d Thompson tells me, shaking his head. \u201cAnd I\u2019m like, he\u2019s way stronger than everybody.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to tell him last year. Bro, just go dunk it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just always tell him \u2026 you better not go up with no soft shit,\u201d Jenkins adds. \u201cThat\u2019s all I tell him. Don\u2019t go away from the gold. Don\u2019t worry about no fouls. Go through any and everybody you see down there and finish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Entering last summer, Duren was done questioning his abilities. He wanted to be more than just a lob threat and transform into someone who could carry the offensive load\u2014one who not only takes pressure off Cunningham but also has his name on the call sheet.<\/p>\n

Bickerstaff sensed that desire and set out a plan for Duren\u2019s offseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked about the offensive stuff and how he can be not only a scorer,\u201d Bickerstaff tells me, \u201cbut he can be a hub that you can play through and that can create for other people. But defensively, his ability to lock down the paint, protect the rim, rebound the basketball, close possessions, be the anchor of our defense\u2014that\u2019s what the 5 man\u2019s responsibility is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duren responded with an offseason that transformed his career. On some days, he\u2019d lift in the morning, followed by a quick lunch, then head back to the gym for on-court workouts featuring circuits of shooting drills and work to refine his offensive post game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been able to move, always been able to handle the ball a little bit, always been able to finish and pass the ball and make plays,\u201d he said. \u201cBut like I said, that was on a lower level. It\u2019s not the NBA. So I had to find my way of doing it on this level, which was tightening up my handle, tightening up my reads, learning what my reads would be, learning how to defend these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other days were spent on the football field under the hot Florida sun at a local high school, running sprints until he was in the best shape of his life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also had to find discipline off the floor. When Duren was a child, his mother had a secret stash of Swedish Fish in the house, which Jalen made a habit of raiding. During his first few years in the league, he carried that sweet tooth along with other dietary vices.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was eating whatever,\u201d he admits. \u201cLittle Caesars, Domino\u2019s, Chinese food\u2014just eating. Not really thinking, but just eating, and not understanding how much that\u2019s affecting my body.\u201d<\/p>\n

So Pistons nutritionist Taylor Call implemented a strict diet. \u201cNo cakes, no cookies, not too many desserts or anything,\u201d Duren tells me, as he devours his fourth bowl of grapes during our interview. \u201cRight now, it\u2019s a lot of greens, protein, carbs\u2014trying to maintain weight.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knew things had changed a month into the season when teams began to prepare for him differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore, I\u2019d be on the scouting report, I probably only got two clips: \u2018He\u2019s just a rebounder, live threat, dunker, spacing,\u2019\u201d he says, mimicking a coach\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Now] they might say, \u2018Oh, he\u2019s trying to drive right, sneak drives, DHO, handoff keeps\u2019\u2014obviously still a lob threat. Duck-ins, post, roll, and all. You got to scout me a little differently now because now I\u2019m being more aggressive on the offensive end.\u201d<\/p>\n

By February, he was an All-Star, helping lead the Pistons to the top of the East. Individually, he may already be the league\u2019s third-best center, behind Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic.<\/p>\n

As the trade deadline approached, some observers surmised that the Pistons might scour the league for an extra ball handler to help Cunningham offset his offensive responsibilities and ease Duren\u2019s offensive burden. But Duren\u2019s recent play during Cunningham\u2019s absence provided a clue about why Detroit opted to stand pat.<\/p>\n

More on Jalen Duren and the Pistons <\/p>\n

More on Jalen Duren and the Pistons <\/p>\n

Last month against the Lakers, with Cunningham out, Duren displayed the fortitude required of a franchise star, dropping 20 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists in a statement win. In the second half, as the Lakers mounted a comeback, he commanded the group huddle, providing instruction on how to get out of there with a win. His best play of all came on the final possession of overtime, when he contested a potential game-tying 3-pointer from Luka Doncic, securing the victory. Now, the kid who once struggled to find himself has no problem being the primary voice when needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s more aware of his voice on the team,\u201d said Pistons guard Javonte Green following the game. \u201cHe\u2019s never been a shy guy or nothing like that, but just saying different stuff when we need it at different times, man, to just help us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later that evening, Duren deployed another tactic. As the smiles, laughs, and trash talk commenced in the locker room, Duren pulled out a 4-foot speaker and took over the controls\u2014playing Domino\u2019s \u201cGetto Jam\u201d and Kendrick Lamar\u2019s \u201cDNA.\u201d\u2014leading to a room full of smiles and a chorus of \u201cWhat does the youngin\u2019 know about this?\u201d from assistant coaches more than a decade Duren\u2019s senior.<\/p>\n

The scene was an extension of Duren\u2019s growing presence within the Pistons\u2019 ethos. If Cunningham is the calming force, Duren is the great connector, making sure the train is always on schedule.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not even something I thought of or tried to do,\u201d Duren says when asked how he\u2019s grown into a leadership role. \u201cI think naturally, I just fuck with my guys. I\u2019m cool with my guys. \u2026 I like to bring guys together. I like to joke. I like to play around. Serious when I need to be serious, though.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like the afternoon after the Lakers win, when Pistons coaches, executives, and players convened at the team facility for a team picture. Following the photo session, Bickerstaff gave the team the rest of the day off. Most players got out of Dodge, except Duren, who stayed on the court to watch film of the Lakers game and go over his footwork with assistant Vitaly Potapenko. Then, Duren challenged another assistant to a game of one-on-one and proceeded to dust him as Pistons backup center Paul Reed sneaked in glances\u00a0while he practiced across the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been inspiring,\u201d Reed says. \u201cBecause last year I saw him take steps forward. And I remember playing against him before I even came to this team, and he was still trying to figure things out. And I\u2019m seeing the steps he\u2019s taken forward every game. And he\u2019s really inspiring, for real.\u201d<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean Duren\u2019s growing pains have ceased. One night in February, Duren got into a skirmish with Charlotte Hornets center Moussa Diabat\u00e9. After a brief back-and-forth under the basket, Duren mushed Diabat\u00e9, causing an all-out brawl that led to multiple suspensions, including one for Duren, who was forced out of the lineup for two games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was upset,\u201d he admits. \u201cI felt like I could have handled it better in the sense that it didn\u2019t have to escalate to the point where it did. I was more so upset that I couldn\u2019t play in games and I was getting suspended and losing money, but not so much anything else. And also that, like I said, I could have handled it better because one of my brothers got suspended, too, so I didn\u2019t like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hiccups are understandable for a young player, and even as success comes for Duren, room for improvement remains. Two days after Detroit\u2019s win over the Lakers, Duren was again forced into a consequential situation against the Hawks, scoring 26 points and 14 rebounds\u2014but he failed to lead the Pistons to victory in a loss that underlined his hubris. With the Pistons down by three with three minutes to go in overtime, he committed a crucial turnover, leading to an Atlanta fast break. In the game\u2019s final seconds, he also missed a short shot that would have won it.<\/p>\n

Following the loss, Duren wasn\u2019t blasting music in the locker room, and his teammates were quick to exit. Just before 11 p.m., Duren emerged from a back room and stared straight ahead as he gathered his belongings in silence. I asked him what he wants to prove during this stretch without Cade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to show that our team is more than just one player,\u201d he says. \u201cWe got a team. I feel like we got a complete team. I want to show the world that we got more than enough to be what we want to be. That\u2019s what I want to show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jalen Duren drives to the basket in a game on November 29, 2022, during his rookie season<\/p>\n

Brian Sevald\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Last summer, Duren traveled to Italy alongside Cunningham, where they rode scooters through Rome, took in the Amalfi Coast, and, yes, worked out together.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing all that shit was crazy,\u201d Duren says. \u201cBecause Amalfi was like a hotel on a cliff. And when you look out your window, the beach is all the way down there. I couldn\u2019t explain it. It was crazy, but it was the experience that I had to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, the duo have become inseparable. Following the European excursion, Duren traveled to Cunningham\u2019s home state of Texas for Pistons training camp, where Cade\u2019s mother cooked for everyone in sight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI already knew him through basketball and through grassroots and playing AAU and USA Basketball and all that,\u201d Duren says. \u201cBut I feel like it had to be on a deeper level. Our bond just grew. I was blessed to meet his family. He has a great family, great foundation, great background.\u201d<\/p>\n

The success makes Duren\u2019s mind wander to the past, when he lost the most games in his life during his early years in Detroit. He remembers seeing the faces of teammates on the bench during those rebuilding years and having faith that those times wouldn\u2019t last forever.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tough, man, I ain\u2019t going to lie. It was tough,\u201d he says. \u201cBut a part of me was always like \u2026 I\u2019ve seen what we had in this locker room. What we were losing with, I knew we were better than what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he remembers Cunningham saying they weren\u2019t \u201c2-26 bad\u201d when everyone in the league believed otherwise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he said that,\u201d Duren says, \u201cI think that really embodied what was going on. I felt like the guys we had in the locker room \u2026 we had the foundation, we just were all young. And I hate to use the young excuse, but it\u2019s the truth. I go back to saying, you got to learn how to play in this league.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few years ago, all Duren knew about the city of Detroit was that the \u201990s TV show Martin was based there\u2014even though the series was filmed in Los Angeles. Now, cutouts of Duren\u2019s head are held with pride by fans behind the bench at Little Caesars Arena, highlighting the love affair between the two.<\/p>\n

I just always tell him \u2026 you better not go up with no soft shit. That’s all I tell him. Don’t go away from the gold. Don’t worry about no fouls. Go through any and everybody you see down there and finish.<\/p>\n

Daniss Jenkins<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a blue-collar city,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a city that works for everything that they\u2019re given. And I think they just respect the grind and the hustle, man. I think they respect just getting it out the mud.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI embody it,\u201d he continues. \u201cI like that type of basketball. I like to play physical. I like when it\u2019s gritty. I\u2019m with all that.\u201d<\/p>\n

But his future in Michigan was in doubt just before the 2025-26 season, when Duren and the Pistons failed to come to an agreement on a contract extension by the October 31 deadline, making him a restricted free agent this summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, it was what it was,\u201d Duren says softly, looking like a man still reconciling with the decision. \u201cI think it’s tough because there is a business aspect to it. Like I said, I would love to be a Piston for life. It was nothing personal. Nothing I took personal with the organization or anything. It was just business. They felt one way, I felt another. And at that moment we couldn’t come to an agreement.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

His general manager seems to be on the same page.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want him to be a Piston for life, too,\u201d Langdon says. \u201cIt had nothing to do with what he had or hadn’t done.\u201d<\/p>\n

But now, more immediate tasks are on the horizon. Soon enough, Cunningham and Duren will be on the court again, and the Pistons will finally be whole. In two weeks, Detroit will enter the postseason as a no. 1 seed, playing with expectations that this version of the team has never faced before, in a conference full of teams gearing up to beat them. Just down the road, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the hottest teams in the East since New Year\u2019s Day. In Boston, Jayson Tatum is rounding into form. And the Hornets have transformed from a cellar dweller into the most dangerous offense in the league.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yet the Pistons remain the biggest mystery of them all. Are they headed for a tough playoff lesson as a young team? Or is there a chance that they can make a run ahead of schedule?<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want this team to use its full potential,\u201d Duren says. \u201cWhatever that looks like, I want us, top to bottom, to reach our full potential. I want to come out of this season thinking like, \u2018Yeah. We did everything that we wanted to do. We\u2019ve grown and took another step, especially going into the next season.\u2019 I just want to feel like we\u2019re on the right path.\u201d<\/p>\n

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