History of the Detroit Pistons

60s - Below 500

The Pistons franchise began in 1948 before moving to Detroit in 1957. Since the move, they struggled to put together a winning season but were still able to get into the playoffs as 6 of the 9 teams would go. Throughout the decade they would only win one playoff series.

70s - Building Around Bob

In the 1970 draft, the Pistons took center, Bob Lanier, first overall. He proved to be a piece to build around as he made an all star team in his second year averaging 26 points and 14 rebounds. They weren’t able to surround him with much as they never made it past the second round.

80s - The Bad Boys

The best days for the Pistons came in the 80s which began with drafting Isiah Thomas and trading for Bill Laimbeer in the same year. A couple years later they hired Chuck Daley as the coach and with the additions of Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman, and other scrappy players creating the “Bad Boys”. This team rivaled with the Celtics, Lakers, and Bulls on route to win back to back NBA championships.

90s - New Era

After Rodman, Laimbeer, and Thomas all left, a new era in Detroit would have to emerge. They would draft Grant Hill out of college but after he dealt with numerous injuries, he would get traded to the Orland Magic leaving Jerry Stackhouse as the main guy.

00s - Bad Boys Return

The gritty style of play would return to Detroit as Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace would lead the Pistons to have one of the greatest defensive seasons of all time. They would do this in 2004 with the help of Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Rasheed Wallace. This would get them their first championships since the 80s as they beat Kobe, Shaq, Gary Payton, and Karl Malone in the Finals.

10s - A Long Rebuild

The Pistons began a rebuild in the early 2010s which never came into fruition. A lot of their lottery picks turned out to be busts such as Stanley Johnson and Kantavious Caldwell-Pope. They tried to build around Andre Drummond but that only led to two playoff appearances.