Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham is introduced during home opener
Cade Cunningham is introduced to the LCA crowd for the 2025-26 NBA season as the Pistons play their home opener against the Boston Celtics.
Ausar Thompson didn’t need a play drawn up for him to take over the game late.
He capped an all-around impressive effort in the Detroit Pistons’ 119-113 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday, Oct. 26, with three of the most consequential plays of the game — all of which began with an offensive rebound.
In the final three minutes of the fourth period, he had a putback dunk and tip-in layup to help fend off a late Celtics run. The third offensive board led to a quick assist to Tobias Harris for a layup, making it a three-possession game, 115-108, with under two minutes remaining.
There wasn’t anything uncharacteristic about the sequence. Thompson, 6 feet 6, has been one of the league’s top rebounders at his size since his NBA debut and a sharp passer. Rather, it was the entirety of his performance that stood out.
He finished the game with 21 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals, and was a plus-15 in a six-point victory. His performance entailed fastbreak dunks and difficult finishes in traffic, drive-and-kicks leading to 3-pointers and an assertiveness that reflected his enhanced role this season.
The Pistons are putting the ball in Thompson’s hands and challenging him to take a step forward as one of their primary options on offense. Through three games, he’s answered that call while continuing to play his own unique game.
“He can do it in so many different ways,” J.B. Bickerstaff said after the win. “He’s not one-dimensional as an offensive player. Getting offensive rebounds and putbacks helps our offense. Making cuts when other guys have the ball behind the vision, catching the ball in the paint, helps our offense. When he makes plays, when he attacks the paint, that helps our offense.
“There’s so many different ways that he can help us offensively and he’s going to continue to grow and get more comfortable. He’s in a really good place right now.”
Thompson is averaging 17 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and two combined blocks and steals thus far on 53.8% overall shooting. He’s reached double figures in scoring in all three games, with Sunday’s output falling a point shy of his career high of 22.
He’s being unleashed a year after returning from a blood clot diagnosis that prematurely ended his rookie season. The Pistons had him on a minutes restriction as he played himself into shape, and he crossed the 30-minute mark just six times out of his 59 appearances last season despite starting most of them.
The contrast this season has been immediate. He’s played more than 30 minutes in two of the Pistons’ three games and has also taken 15 or more shots in two games, matching his total from last year.
Sunday showcased the many ways he’s able to make opposing teams pay. The game shifted in the Pistons’ favor in the first quarter when he was joined on the floor by the second unit — Isaiah Stewart, Ron Holland, Javonte Green and Chaz Lanier. Their activity on both ends sparked the Pistons after they fell behind by 17 points early, and Thompson helped set that tone by battling to secure a loose ball, which also fired up the home crowd.
A drive and kick to the corner for a 3-pointer from Harris late in the second period brought the Pistons within three, 54-51. An improved handle allowed him to break down and collapse Boston’s defense, leaving Harris open in the corner. A fastbreak dunk by Thompson not long after tied the game at 56, in the midst of a pivotal stretch that allowed them to take a 60-58 lead at halftime.
“We know his athleticism and his speed,” Harris said. “I think he’s just doing a good job finishing, getting in the lane, making the right plays. I thought tonight he had some really good plays of getting into the paint and kicking out. I think that is a piece of his game that will continue to get better and continue to open up other things on the floor for himself and our group.
“I always thought he had a good handle, but I definitely think now you’re seeing him in more actions,” Harris continued. “But I always thought even last year that he had a really solid handle for his size and who he is as a player.”
With Jaden Ivey set to miss the first month of the season, at least, following arthroscopic knee surgery, Thompson’s strong two-way play has been right on time. He spent the offseason — his first healthy summer since his rookie season — tightening the key aspects of his game.
That work, so far, has brought immediate returns for himself and the Pistons.
“I definitely feel like I’m in a really good place,” Thompson said. “My teammates believing in me and coach believing in me and going out there and being aggressive every night, I feel like that’s when I’m at my best.”
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