It's a turnaround year like none other for the Pistons, and the best may still be yet to come

The Detroit Pistons were three minutes into their first preseason game back in October. They were already trailing by double digits against the Milwaukee Bucks. And J.B. Bickerstaff called time out to settle his team down.

He still remembers the crowd reaction.

“They booed us,” the Pistons’ first-year coach said.

They’re not booing in Detroit anymore. The Pistons — the team that lost 28 consecutive games last season — are 40-32, on the brink of clinching a winning record. They're assured of no worse than a play-in tournament berth and control their own destiny for a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They’ve increased their win total by 26 games over last season, already the biggest one-year turnaround in franchise history.

They are ahead of schedule. And they are one of the best surprises in the NBA this season.

“The plan was always to win. The plan was to be better in January than we were in November and to be better in March than we were in January,” Pistons general manager Trajan Langdon said. “I always told my people, ‘I don’t know what that’s going to mean ultimately, but that’s what we’re going to set out to do.’

“But to say that with 10 games left we’re going to be at 40 wins, I would have lost that bet.”

They've hit all the right notes this season. Cade Cunningham, who former GM Troy Weaver insisted on making the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, made his first All-Star team, is a serious All-NBA candidate and is averaging 25.7 points and 9.2 assists per game — numbers that only nine players have finished a season with and numbers that only Denver's Nikola Jokic has so far this season.

Cunningham played in every game during that 28-game slide a year ago. He's savoring the fact that Detroit will see postseason basketball one season later.

“It’s something that we had all envisioned," Cunningham said. "As young guys, we had to find a way to climb to the top of the mountain. And we had a rough go early, as everybody can see. To stay with it, to continue to dig deep, this year has been super rewarding for all of us and we’re still super hungry.”

Cunningham is the leader. He's the star. He's not the only reason why Detroit is winning.

A pair of veterans — Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. — arrived after last season, are mainstays in the starting lineup and have been the 30somethings that a team of 20somethings desperately needed. Jalen Duren, a center in his third year, is averaging a double-double and shooting 70%. Malik Beasley entered Monday 17th in the league this season in fast-break points. And the Pistons have kept winning even while playing for basically the last three months without 17-point scorer Jaden Ivey, out with a broken leg.

At the helm of it all is Bickerstaff, who was fired by Cleveland after making the second round of the playoffs a year ago. He took over in Detroit after the Pistons fired Monty Williams with five years and $65 million left on his contract. But Langdon reached out with a vision, one that owner Tom Gores clearly backs, and it didn't take long for Bickerstaff to buy in.

“Timing was important," Bickerstaff said. “At the time, I had been off for about a month, and I was just spending a ton of time with my family and going to soccer tournaments and all that stuff. But I was a little antsy. So, when Trajan called, I was excited just to see and explore what the opportunity may be.

”Looking at the roster, looking at the guys that were on the team, the young guys, it was a group that I thought my skillset and personality kind of matched. And I was intrigued.”

They started 0-4. They were 9-15 in early December, 13-17 at Christmas.

And then Dec. 26 happened — a game at Sacramento where the Pistons trailed by 19 in the third quarter, by 10 with 2:45 left and won 114-113 on a four-point play from Ivey with 3.1 seconds remaining. That was part of a stretch where Detroit won 10 out of 12, capped by a victory in Madison Square Garden over New York.

Detroit was a game under .500 in early February, then ripped off an eight-game winning streak — punctuated by a 20-point win over Boston. Just like that, the Pistons were seven games over .500. It was obvious then that the playoffs would await; the berth still isn't technically clinched, but it's happening.

“They’re aware of where they are," Bickerstaff said. "What I think they’ve done a really good job of is not looking ahead and missing the moments. This team has found its consistency because it approaches every day the same, whether it’s a practice day or game day. The focus is on that day, whatever our task is at hand, without looking too far ahead.”

This probably isn't a one-year wonder in Detroit. Duren is 21. Ausar Thompson is 22. Ivey is 22. Cunningham is 23. The Pistons should have some cap space to play with this coming summer. It's not hard to envision this team being even better a year from now.

It is a happy group. And the best might still be yet to come.

“I have 1,000% fallen in love with this group," Bickerstaff said. “And all my focus goes into them and seeing them elevate and seeing them grow. That’s the thing that I find the most joy in."

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Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, right, talks with guard Malik Beasley (5) during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Thursday, March 13, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Pistons forward Ronald Holland II (00) celebrates with guard Malik Beasley (5) during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Pistons guard Dennis Schroder (17) celebrates during the final minute of the Pistons' win over the New Orleans Pelicans in an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) is cheered by his teammates after scoring the winning basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) is cheered by his teammates after scoring the winning basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) celebrates after scoring the winning basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Social Security Administration faced questions Tuesday at his confirmation hearing about efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency to close field offices and cut back on phone service at the beleaguered agency.

Frank Bisignano, a self-professed “DOGE person,” was called to account for recent upheaval at the Social Security Administration, which provides benefits to roughly 72.5 million people, including retirees and children. The agency has taken center stage in the debate over the usefulness of DOGE cuts to taxpayer services and their effect on Social Security, the social welfare program long regarded as the third rail of national politics — touch it and you get shocked.

During the 2 1/2-hour hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts illustrated a scenario of a person with limited internet access and mobility issues being turned away from an understaffed Social Security office hours away from home. She ended with a question for Bisignano: “Isn’t that a benefit cut?”

Bisignano responded, “I have no intent to have anything like that happen under my watch.”

Bisignano, a Wall Street veteran and one-time defender of corporate policies to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination, has served as chairman of Fiserv, a payments and financial services tech firm since 2020. He told CNBC in February that he is “fundamentally a DOGE person” but “the objective isn’t to touch benefits.”

The hearing follows a series of announcements of mass federal worker layoffs, cuts to programs, office closures and a planned cut to nationwide Social Security phone services.

Asked during the hearing whether Social Security should be privatized, Bisignano responded: “I’ve never heard a word of it, and I’ve never thought about it.”

Republicans were largely in favor of Bisignano's nomination. “If confirmed, you will be responsible for leading an agency with a critical mission, and numerous operational and customer service challenges,” said Senate Finance Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho. “Based on your background, I am confident you are up to the task.”

The chaos at the Social Security Administration began shortly after acting commissioner Michelle King stepped down in February, a move that came after DOGE, run by Trump adviser Elon Musk, sought access to Social Security recipient information.

Later that month, the agency announced plans to cut 7,000 people from the agency payroll through layoffs, employee reassignments and an offer of voluntary separation agreements, as part of an intensified effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce through DOGE.

Most recently, the agency's acting commissioner, DOGE supporter Leland Dudek, announced a plan to require in-person identity checks for millions of new and existing recipients while simultaneously closing government offices. That sparked a furor among lawmakers, advocacy groups and program recipients who are worried that the government is placing unnecessary barriers in front of an already vulnerable population.

Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, said Tuesday's hearing “showed that Frank Bisignano is not the cure to the DOGE-manufactured chaos at the Social Security Administration. In fact, he is part of it and, if confirmed, would make it even worse.”

The upheaval has made its way to the courts. A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked DOGE from Social Security systems that hold personal data on millions of Americans, calling the group's work there a “fishing expedition.” The order also requires the team to delete any personally identifiable data in its possession.

The Social Security program faces a looming bankruptcy date if it is not addressed by Congress. The May 2024 trustees’ report states that Social Security’s trust funds will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2035. Then, Social Security would only be able to pay 83% of benefits, absent changes.

Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota declined at the hearing to ask Bisignano any questions.

“This is a travesty," she said. "This is a wholesale effort to dismantle Social Security from the inside out.”

A sign outside the U.S. Social Security Administration advertises its online services in downtown Welch, W.Va., Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)

Mary Weaver reflects on changes to the Social Security Administration while visiting the McDowell County Commission on Aging Senior Center in Welch, W.Va., Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)

FILE - Frank Bisignano, right, then Chairman and CEO of First Data, smiles after the company's IPO at the New York Stock Exchange, Oct. 15, 2015. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Demonstrators gather outside of the Edward A. Garmatz United States District Courthouse in Baltimore, on Friday, March 14, 2025, before a hearing regarding the Department of Government Efficiency's access to Social Security data. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)