It was four years earlier that the Pistons won the Finals under the leadership of Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton, but this was the Pistons' single best regular season performance since the turn of the century. Coached by Flip Saunders, Detroit won 59 games and played to a nERD of 74.1 in 2008.

They ranked sixth and fourth in the NBA in offensive and defensive rating, but the Pistons were denied by the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.