After ten months of waiting, Jaden Ivey finds the Pistons transformed
After almost 11 months of absence from the field, two operations and endless rehabilitation tunnel, Poor Ivey finally returned to the regular season on Saturday night. It was at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, and the Detroit guard, still upset, 200% appreciated the moment he wasn’t sure he’d get to experience again so soon.
“I enjoyed the moment I got back on the court tonight.” trust Ivy after the match against Bucks.
“Coming in, I was just trying to get myself in the right mindset because it’s been so long. It took me a while to get used to it again. Getting the warm-ups going, the routines… But I was just so grateful to be back there.”
In his first regular season game since January 1st, Ivey scored 10 points on 4/6 shooting, 2 assists and 1 steal in 15 minutes, contributing greatly to the success of the Pistons on the floor of the Bucks (129-116), their 12th straight victory, a streak that redefines the franchise’s ambitions.
A perfectly understandable emotion for a player whose 2023-24 season ended abruptly: a fibula fracture on New Year’s Eve, then a comeback attempt cut short by discomfort in his right knee that required a second operation on Oct. 16.
The Pistons changed their status in ten months
For Cade Cunningham, this return almost smelled like a family reunion. “It’s like seeing him in his natural state”explains the Pistons leader. “With the shirt, on the pitch… It’s like seeing him at home again. And he was good today. I was very comfortable. You don’t even get the impression that he was away. It’s the fruit of his work and everything he’s put in. We’re all really happy to see him there.”
It’s hard to prove him wrong. Detroit is in a rare state. The franchise’s 12-game winning streak was the third-longest in its history, behind 1989-90 and 2003-04…two seasons that ended with a title.
“The last time I played it was so different”admits Ivy, whose contract is up. “I feel like we found something like a team, an identity, a bond between us.”
2025-11-23 08:02:00
