Pistons Fan Vote Reveals MVP, Future Stars and the Team's Most Chaotic Personalities
We asked, you answered, and now, we can officially reveal the results for the Detroit Pistons' batch of year-end awards!
Shout-out to everyone who participated. You played a pivotal role in helping us dole out invaluable hardware. From the Pistons' MVP and most underrated player to their best trash-talker and zombie apocalypse savior, you covered all the most important bases.
So, who won each category? Let's get to the big reveals.
Stats accurate as of Sunday, April 12. Contract data via Spotrac.
Who Is the Most Valuable Player?
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Winner: Cade Cunningham
Voting for anyone other than Cade Cunningham is akin to betrayal. We're looking at you, 3 percent of fans who picked Jalen Duren. And you, 1 percent of fans who selected Ausar Thompson.
Cunningham has perhaps the league's toughest job when you factor his scoring burden, shot quality, the share of offense he tees up for others and the workload he carries at the defensive end. Sticklers get bogged down by his efficiency. That's a genuine hangup when pitting him against other megastars. It has no impact, at all, on his in-house standing.
Who Is Most Underrated?
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Winner: Daniss Jenkins
Were you among those worried Daniss Jenkins became too mainstream to win this category? Well, you needn't have lost any sleep. He won with 48 percent of the vote.
There's no use arguing, either. Jenkins has given the Pistons another ball-handler who doesn't shrink the floor at a time when they weren't supposed to have any alternatives.
How many All-Defense selections would Isaiah Stewart have if not for the minutes- and games-played thresholds? More than one, probably. Hence, his finishing in second with 20 percent of the vote.
Who Is the Best Athlete?
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Winner: Ausar Thompson
Physical tools alone aren't responsible for Detroit's vaunted defense, but they're a big part of it. Fielding above-average explosiveness at basically every position goes a long way.
Ausar Thompson (78 percent) grabs this throne without looking back on most nights. His athleticism flirts with nuclear when he's playing at half-burst.
Ron Holland II (6 percent) trailing Jalen Duren (17 percent) legit surprised me. The sophomore is a stick of dynamite whenever he takes flight, holding little to no regard for who might be in front of him.
Who Is Most Likely To Be a 1st-Time All-Star In the Next 5 Years?
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Winner: Ausar Thompson
Jalen Duren making an All-Star squad this year paved the way for Ausar Thompson to dominate the returns. And dominate he did, earning 75 percent of the vote.
Ron Holland II (12 percent) is worth considering, but Thompson is more intriguing. He might be First Team All-Defense this season, and his ceiling won't be as reliant on expanding his scoring touch if he can run more of the half-court offense.
Who Has the Best Contract?
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Winner: Daniss Jenkins
If Detroit has any regrets over Daniss Jenkins' $4 million salary next season, it's that the front office didn't sign him to a longer deal. That wasn't enough to prevent him from getting 46 percent of the votes.
Isaiah Stewart looms as the second-best option, with 22 percent of the vote. Hewould be a starter who logs more minutes on most teams. The Pistons have him locked down for another two years at roughly 9 percent of the salary cap.
For all Ausar Thompson's question marks as a scorer, his defense and playmaking are worth well above the sub-7 percent of the cap he's making this season and next. He earned his 20 percent keep.
Who Has the Worst Contract?
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Winner: Caris LeVert
Raise your hand if you thought Caris LeVert would be an upgrade over Dennis Schröder. Here's hopin I'm not the only one with a limb in the air.
LeVert takes the entire cake here so long as you don't overthink it. Shelling out mid-level-exception money for his services after the season he's had is a misallocation of financial resources. Without winding the clock back to his Cleveland days, he'll be most valuable as an expiring contract.
To the 8 percent of people who voted for Jalen Duren, I appreciate your worrying that his deal is bad because it's about to expire, and he's about to get maxed or near-maxed. Your concern for owner Tom Gores' wallet is weird, but molecular as hell.
Who Is the Best Trash-Talker?
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Winner: Isaiah Stewart
Some idiot (me) listed Isaiah Stewart four times, leaving only one spot for supplementary entrants. It seems that was the right call.
Just 3 percent voted for another Pistons player. The other 97 percent selected Stewart.
Indeed, Beef Stew is not the only member of the team who talks trash. But he is the only one who views talking trash and enforcing the team's physical identity as his life's mission.
"You're not expecting me to stay on the bench," he said after getting ejected against the Charlotte Hornets. "The f--k I was drafted to Detroit for!"
Who Is Most Likely To Have a Burner Account?
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Winner: Tobias Harris
Putting Tobias Harris on the ballot was a good idea after all. He won with 35 percent of the vote, just edging out Isaiah Stewart, who had 30 percent.
Harris isn't on the burner board because he played for the Philadelphia 76ers. His tenure didn't overlap with Bryan Colangelo's time. Burner Accounts 101 was not a training-camp course.
He is, however, the Pistons' adult in the room. I'd like to think he's using a burner to monitor his teammates' whereabouts on game nights, just to make sure they're turning in at a reasonable hour.
Who Are You Taking With You Into the Zombie Apocalypse?
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Winner: Isaiah Stewart
Try as I did to build a case for others, Isaiah Stewart was in my heart of hearts the only correct answer. Based on 72 percent of you voting for him, we're all operating on the same wavelength.
Stewart is Detroit's Emperor Enforcer Supreme. Humans and undead alike fear him. We will all be safe following his lead.
Paul Reed is a sneaky-good option and finished second with 10 percent of the vote. He doesn't have the raw physicality of Ron Holland II or the volcanic explosion of Ausar Thompson, but he seems to thrive in the most unconventional circumstances. It doesn't get much more atypical than trying to survive a zombie apocalypse.
Who Is Most Likely To Be Playing Overseas In 2 Seasons?
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Winner: Bobi Klintman
Those of us (*raises hand*) smitten with Bobi Klintman as a Maxi Kleber-meets-De'Andre Hunter swing are looking sheepish. He grabbed 46 percent of the vote in a landslide victory.
Nearly a half-decade removed from being drafted No. 26 overall in 2022, it's just not happening for Wendell Moore Jr. His second-place finish, with 22 percent of the vote, tracks.
Tolu Smith III (19 percent) has the profile of someone who will eventually venture overseas for the regular season only to return and dominate the Las Vegas Summer League for as long as teams will have him.
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