The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Little Caesars Arena, located in Midtown Detroit. Founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as a semi-professional company basketball team called the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons in 1937, they would turn pro in 1941 as a member of the National Basketball League (NBL), where they won two NBL championships: in 1944 and 1945. The Pistons later joined the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1948. The NBL and BAA merged to become the NBA in 1949, and the Pistons became part of the merged league. In 1957, the franchise moved to Detroit. The Pistons have won three NBA championships: in 1989, 1990 and 2004.
Rasheed Abdul Wallace is an American basketball coach and former professional player. A native of Philadelphia, Wallace played college basketball at the University of North Carolina before declaring for the draft in 1995. He played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Ben Camey Wallace is an American basketball executive and former professional player who played most of his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Detroit Pistons. He is regarded by many to be the greatest undrafted player in NBA history, and was known for his shot-blocking, rebounding, and overall defensive play. A native of Alabama, Wallace attended Cuyahoga Community College and Virginia Union University. In his NBA career, he also played with the Washington Bullets/Wizards, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls, and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. was an American professional basketball player. He played center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lanier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.
Kenneth Smith, nicknamed "the Jet", is an American sports commentator and former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, and Denver Nuggets. He won back-to-back NBA championships with Houston.
Theophalus Curtis Ratliff is an American former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Terry Gilbert Dischinger was an American basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Dischinger was a three-time NBA All-Star and the 1963 NBA Rookie of the Year, after averaging 28 points per game in his three seasons at Purdue University.
Christopher Joseph Ford was an American professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mad Bomber", Ford played most of his NBA career on the Detroit Pistons, before finishing his playing career at the Boston Celtics. In the Celtics' season opener in 1979–80, he was credited with making the first official three-point shot in NBA history. He won an NBA championship with the Celtics in 1981.
Bailey E. Howell is an American former professional basketball player. After playing college basketball at Mississippi State, Howell played 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Howell was a six-time NBA All-Star, two-time NBA champion and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.
Tavares Montgomery Williams is an American professional basketball coach, executive and former player who is the head coach for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Williams played for five NBA teams during a playing career that spanned from 1994 to 2003. His NBA coaching career has included stints as an assistant coach, associate head coach, and head coach.
Terry Duerod was an American professional basketball player.
The 1988–89 NBA season was the Detroit Pistons' 41st season in the NBA and 32nd season in the Detroit metropolitan area. The Pistons moved from the Pontiac Silverdome to the brand-new Palace of Auburn Hills before the start of the season.
Andre Jamal Drummond is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A center, he was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft with the ninth overall pick.
The 1994–95 NBA season was the Pistons' 47th season in the National Basketball Association, and 38th season in the city of Detroit. After losing 62 games in 1993 along with the retirements of Bill Laimbeer and Isiah Thomas, the Pistons started a new era by drafting Grant Hill out of Duke University with the third overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft. The team also signed free agents Oliver Miller, Johnny Dawkins, and Rafael Addison, and acquired Mark West from the Phoenix Suns during the off-season. However, after a respectable 8–7 start to the season, the Pistons lost 13 of their next 14 games, which included an 8-game losing streak, as second-year guard Lindsey Hunter only played just 42 games due to foot and ankle injuries, and Dawkins was released to free agency after 50 games. After holding a 17–29 record at the All-Star break, the Pistons continued to struggle losing eight of their final nine games, finishing last place in the Central Division with a 28–54 record.
The 1997–98 NBA season was the Pistons' 50th season in the National Basketball Association, and 41st season in the city of Detroit. During the off-season, the Pistons signed free agents Brian Williams, and Malik Sealy. After winning their first two games, the Pistons lost five straight and struggled with a 6–11 start, as Joe Dumars missed ten games due to a shoulder injury during the first month of the season. In late December, the team traded Theo Ratliff and Aaron McKie to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Jerry Stackhouse and Eric Montross. At midseason, head coach Doug Collins was fired after a 21–24 start, and was replaced with assistant Alvin Gentry; Collins would later on get a job as color analyst for the NBA on NBC. The Pistons held a 22–25 record at the All-Star break, then later on posted a 7-game losing streak between March and April, missing the playoffs finishing sixth in the Central Division with a disappointing 37–45 record.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the Pistons' 48th season in the National Basketball Association, and 39th season in the city of Detroit. During the off-season, the Pistons hired Doug Collins as head coach, while acquiring Otis Thorpe from the Portland Trail Blazers; Thorpe won a championship as a member of the Houston Rockets in the 1994 NBA Finals. Under Collins, the Pistons, who were now led by second-year star Grant Hill and Allan Houston, struggled with a 5–9 record in November, but played .500 basketball for the remainder of the season, holding a 23–22 record at the All-Star break. At midseason, the team signed free agent Michael Curry, who was previously released by the Washington Bullets. The Pistons reemerged as a playoff contender finishing fifth in the Central Division with a 46–36 record, and returned to the playoffs after a three-year absence.
The 1998–99 NBA season was the Pistons' 51st season in the National Basketball Association, and 42nd season in the city of Detroit. On March 23, 1998, the owners of all 29 NBA teams voted 27–2 to reopen the league's collective bargaining agreement, seeking changes to the league's salary cap system, and a ceiling on individual player salaries. The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) opposed to the owners' plan, and wanted raises for players who earned the league's minimum salary. After both sides failed to reach an agreement, the owners called for a lockout, which began on July 1, 1998, putting a hold on all team trades, free agent signings and training camp workouts, and cancelling many NBA regular season and preseason games. Due to the lockout, the NBA All-Star Game, which was scheduled to be played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 14, 1999, was also cancelled. However, on January 6, 1999, NBA commissioner David Stern, and NBPA director Billy Hunter finally reached an agreement to end the lockout. The deal was approved by both the players and owners, and was signed on January 20, ending the lockout after 204 days. The regular season began on February 5, and was cut short to just 50 games instead of the regular 82-game schedule.
The 1999–2000 NBA season was the Pistons' 52nd season in the National Basketball Association, and 43rd season in the city of Detroit. During the off-season, the Pistons re-signed free agents Terry Mills, and Michael Curry. After the retirements of Joe Dumars and Bison Dele, the Pistons were led by Grant Hill and Jerry Stackhouse as they provided a 1-2 scoring punch, and were both selected for the 2000 NBA All-Star Game. The Pistons struggled losing their first four games, but then won 18 of their next 28 games, and held a 25–23 record at the All-Star break. At midseason, Don Reid was released to free agency, and later on signed with the Washington Wizards, while head coach Alvin Gentry was fired after a 28–30 start, and was replaced with assistant George Irvine. The Pistons won 14 of their next 24 games, and finished fourth in the Central Division with a 42–40 record.
The 2017–18 Detroit Pistons season was the 77th season of the franchise, the 70th in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the first in Midtown Detroit. The Pistons moved from The Palace of Auburn Hills to the new Little Caesars Arena before the start of the season. This was the first season where the Pistons have played in Detroit on a regular basis since 1978. This would also be the last season with Stan Van Gundy being both the team's head coach and President of Basketball Operations.
Cade Parker Cunningham is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Bowie High School in his hometown of Arlington, Texas, before transferring to Montverde Academy in Florida, where he was rated a consensus five-star recruit and among the top players in the 2020 class by major recruiting services. As a senior, he led one of the best high school teams in history and received national player of the year recognition.
