DETROIT >> Shortly after the Detroit Pistons lost to the New York Knicks 128-98 on Nov. 1, Cade Cunningham walked to the post-game podium with his usual calm demeanor. The loss dropped the Pistons to 1-5 on the season, and their appalling performance at Little Caesars Arena gave reminiscence of a team that set a record for the longest losing streak in league history with 28 consecutive defeats.

The loss did not disrupt Cunningham’s faith that the 2024-25 season would be different from his previous three years, where the Pistons won a combined 54 games since his arrival in July 2021. He refused to lose confidence due to the work his teammates had put in throughout the offseason and the teachings of coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

Eight days after Detroit’s embarrassing loss to New York, the Pistons have put together a 3-1 record following their 122-121 win over the Atlanta Hawks Friday night. They are currently in a seven-way tie for the fourth-best record over the previous week, which features the Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors.

“I love the way that these guys work together,” Bickerstaff said. “I love the way they lift each other up. The way they carry each other. The way they stick together through tough times and how quickly they’ve picked up some of the things that we’ve tried to give them systematically.

“We have a way to go, and we’ll keep getting better as the year goes on. I’m proud of these guys for the way that they go out, compete and play selflessly every night.”

The Pistons have yet to reveal a handful of their goals for the season and still choose to keep their long-term objectives in-house. However, since media day, the Pistons have been open about their desire to establish a winning culture.

Tobias Harris, who joined the Pistons on a two-year deal in July, has been involved in several rebuilds that have embedded a winning foundation. His most noticeable contribution came during the 2017-18 season, where he helped the Los Angeles Clippers re-establish themselves at the end of the Lob City era. They finished the season with a 17-15 record following Harris’ trade to the franchise in January.

Harris revealed that creating an identity, building chemistry and closing tight games were the key elements to building a successful foundation in Los Angeles. After 10 games, he has seen the same components materialize in Detroit.

“This group is a little younger, but at the end of the day, those basic fundamentals of the game, being a professional on and off the floor and coming in every day with a great mindset to get better as a whole group, they are similar,” Harris told the Detroit News. “That’s what they brought me here for — to be a stable piece for this team, a leader in the locker room and to stay positive throughout this whole journey that we have.”

Each of the Pistons’ three wins showcases the components they have relied on during the early stages of constructing a winning foundation.

In their 106-92 comeback win against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, the Pistons dominated the second half with their defense. With only two made 3-point field goals, Detroit held Brooklyn to 13.3% shooting from behind the arc. The Nets began the game connecting on 43.8% of their 3-point shots, which led to the Pistons trailing Brooklyn 57-52 at the half.

In wins against the Los Angeles Lakers and Hawks, the Pistons held off a pair of fourth-quarter comebacks, applying the lessons learned from their disappointing 0-4 start to the season. Against the Hawks, Atlanta battled back from a 24-point deficit and held a 121-120 lead with 12.1 seconds left. Cunningham came up huge in the final seconds with a game-winning basket and rejection en route to his third consecutive triple-double with 22 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.

“It’s just about staying together throughout the game,” Cunningham said. “Just staying together, continuing to compete. Continuing to defend and get stops, rebounding the ball — that’s the main thing. At the end of the game, we would have liked to win this game by about 15 points. We had a good lead early on, but it didn’t work that way. So it’s just about finding a way to win.”

The Pistons are proud of their position after 10 games but not satisfied. They are currently two games under .500 with a 4-6 record and feel they still have a long way to go to accomplish their goals.

Unlike the first 10 games of last season, the Pistons have developed a reputation for playing hard while giving themselves an opportunity to win. A blowout loss to the Knicks a week ago marked the only time this season that an opponent throttled Detroit.

The Pistons won their fourth game of last season on Jan. 15, when they defeated the Washington Wizards. Detroit’s fourth victory of the 2024-25 season came 68 days earlier, illustrating why Cunningham refused to let the early season struggles rattle his confidence.

“It feels good, definitely feels a lot better,” Cunningham said. “The goal is, at the end of the year, to be in the spot that we want to be at. It’s going to take staying in a moment, getting wins, and competing every night. It’s early. We’re not trying to get ahead of ourselves, but I like where we’re at for sure.”