The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit, Michigan. The Pistons, currently owned by Tom Gores, are in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing their home games at Little Caesars Arena. [1] [2]
The franchise was founded in 1941 by Fred Zollner in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Zollner Pistons, playing in the National Basketball League (NBL). [3] In 1948, the team was re-named the Fort Wayne Pistons and joined the Basketball Association of America (BAA), merging with the NBL to form the NBA one year later. [3] After nine seasons in Fort Wayne, Zollner moved the team to Detroit in 1957 to compete financially with other big city teams. [4] In the 1980s, general manager Jack McCloskey drafted Isiah Thomas, acquired Joe Dumars and Dennis Rodman, and hired head coach Chuck Daly. [4] The 1980s team, known as "the Bad Boys" due to their physical playing style, won both the 1989 and 1990 NBA Finals under Daly. [4] The Pistons won their third and most recent title in the 2004 NBA Finals under Larry Brown. [4]
Since joining the NBA, the Pistons have had 37 head coaches. Carl Bennett was the franchise's first head coach, leading the team for six games, all of which were losses. [5] Daly is the franchise's all-time leader in regular-season games coached (738), regular-season games won (467), playoff games coached (113), and playoff games won (71). [6] Flip Saunders is the franchise's all-time leader in regular season win percentage (.715). [7] Daly and Brown are the only members of the franchise to be inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as coaches, [6] [8] with Daly also being selected as one of the top 10 coaches in NBA history. [9] Ray Scott and Rick Carlisle won the NBA Coach of the Year Award for the 1973–74 and 2001–02 season, respectively. [10] Dick Vitale was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame to recognize the work he did as a broadcaster after leaving the franchise. [11] Sixteen head coaches have spent their entire NBA coaching careers with the Pistons. Notable players and coaches who spent time with the Pistons include Curly Armstrong, [12] Red Rocha, [13] Dick McGuire, [14] Dave DeBusschere, [15] Donnis Butcher, [16] Terry Dischinger, [17] Earl Lloyd, [18] Ray Scott, [19] and Michael Curry. [20]
The current head coach of the Pistons is Monty Williams. [21] [22]
| GC | Games coached |
| W | Wins |
| L | Losses |
| Win% | Winning percentage |
| # | Number of coaches [a] |
| * | Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Pistons |
|---|---|
| ‡ | Elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach |
Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2022–23 season. The list does not include NBL seasons.
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.
David Albert DeBusschere was an American professional National Basketball Association (NBA) player and coach and Major League Baseball (MLB) player. He played for the Chicago White Sox of MLB in 1962 and 1963 and in the NBA for the Detroit Pistons from 1962 through 1968 and for the New York Knicks from 1968 to 1974. He was also the head coach for the Pistons from 1964 through 1967.
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.
The 1962 NBA draft was the 16th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 26, 1962, before the 1962–63 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. In each round, the teams selected in reverse order of their won–loss record in the previous season. Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round draft pick, then select any player from within a 50-mile radius of its home arena as their territorial pick. The Chicago Packers, who finished last in the previous season, were renamed the Chicago Zephyrs. The Philadelphia Warriors relocated to San Francisco and became the San Francisco Warriors prior to the start of the season. The draft consisted of 16 rounds, comprising 102 players selected.
The 1964–65 NBA season was the Detroit Pistons' 17th season in the NBA and its eighth season in the city of Detroit. The team played at Cobo Arena in Detroit.