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+ "page_name": "How the Detroit Pistons came to be known as the Bad Boys - Vintage ...",
+ "page_url": "https://www.vintagedetroit.com/how-the-detroit-pistons-came-to-be-known-as-the-bad-boys/",
+ "page_snippet": "If the Pistons themselves hadn\u2019t ... Detroit or basketball and NBA history knows who the \u201cBad Boys\u201d are, and that\u2019s only because Isiah and Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn and the others were happy to be those guys....Leave it to the owner of a football team to help brand a basketball team as a bunch of thugs. Actions like that were second nature for Al Davis, the owner of the Oakland Raiders and a self-described \u201cmaverick.\u201d But the story of how the Detroit Pistons became known as the \u201cBad Boys\u201d and cloaked [\u2026] Actions like that were second nature for Al Davis, the owner of the Oakland Raiders and a self-described \u201cmaverick.\u201d But the story of how the Detroit Pistons became known as the \u201cBad Boys\u201d and cloaked themselves in the dark garb of villains, starts before Davis sent a crate of Raiders gear to Detroit head coach Chuck Daly. And that\u2019s one of the secrets about the Bad Boys. If the Pistons themselves hadn\u2019t embraced the name, it never would have stuck, and it wouldn\u2019t have become as iconic as it did. Everyone who knows anything about Detroit or basketball and NBA history knows who the \u201cBad Boys\u201d are, and that\u2019s only because Isiah and Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn and the others were happy to be those guys. The Detroit Pistons won NBA titles in each of the first two seasons they were known as the \u201cBad Boys,\u201d but the glory of the black-and-silver and that label wore off sooner than many expected. Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls helped shape an image of a high-flying, athletic basketball team that didn\u2019t need to be \u201cthugs.\u201d When the Bulls finally defeated Isiah and the Pistons in the playoffs in 1991, it was obvious that an era was ending.",
+ "page_result": "\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n \n \n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n \t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\n\tHow the Detroit Pistons came to be known as the Bad Boys - Vintage Detroit Collection\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t \r\n \t\n\t\n\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\n\n \t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n \n \n \n \n
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How the Detroit Pistons came to be known as the Bad Boys
It never bothered the Detroit Pistons that they were called the “Bad Boys.”
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Leave it to the owner of a football team to help brand a basketball team as a bunch of thugs.
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Actions like that were second nature for Al Davis, the owner of the Oakland Raiders and a self-described “maverick.” But the story of how the Detroit Pistons became known as the “Bad Boys” and cloaked themselves in the dark garb of villains, starts before Davis sent a crate of Raiders gear to Detroit head coach Chuck Daly.
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The story of the Bad Boys also includes a Detroit native who scratched out the Bad Boys logo for his silkscreen t-shirt company and saw it explode in popularity, so much so that Nelson Mandela once wore a cap with the logo on it.
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After the 1988 NBA Finals, in which the Pistons lost narrowly to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games, the NBA entertainment\u00a0department edited and produced their annual video for each team. These tapes were sold mostly at retailers and were available in VHS (yes, that’s what we watched back then). Some bright copy editor decided to call the Pistons’ 1987-88 season video “Bad Boys.” The rest was history.
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But wait, not so fast. How did they arrive at the name “Bad Boys” and why did it take off? Why did thousands and thousands of fans in Detroit and around the country start wearing “Bad Boys” merchandise?
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The answer goes to the heart of who the Detroit basketball team was in that era. It goes to the heart of their floor leader, a Chicago kid who had a serious case of “little man syndrome.”
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Why the Pistons were considered “Bad Boys”
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Isiah Thomas was the unquestioned leader of the “Bad Boys” Pistons, and he branded the team with his personality.
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Isiah Thomas was more than just a point guard, he was the life blood of the Detroit Pistons from the first time he stepped onto the hardwood as a rookie in 1981. Thomas was a marvel with a basketball in his hands: he might pass it, he might shoot it, he might dribble it like he was a member of the Harlem Globetrotters. Most importantly for the success of the Pistons, Isiah was a floor leader. He had that leadership thing inside him and it wouldn’t turn off.
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Growing up in a large family in the worst neighborhoods of Chicago in the 1970s, Thomas developed a tough outer shell, a biting tongue, and a furious competitive nature. He wasn’t content with just winning, he wanted to destroy the competition. As a little guy on the courts in the Windy City he had to learn how to go into the land of giants under the basket and score his points. By the time he got to the NBA as a 20-year old, he was tough enough to manage the bumps and bruises that came with competing in “The Association.” In some ways, the NBA was tamer than what Isiah was used to.
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Through his Hall of Fame basketball skill\u00a0and drive, Isiah pushed the Pistons up the NBA ladder. So that, by the time of the 1987-88 season, with an excellent cast built around him, Detroit was one of the best teams in the game. But as anyone who knows Detroit knows, the city doesn’t come by respect easily. Detroit really has to earn its respect. There’s always someone who wants to ridicule and diminish the city. But Isiah’s toughness wasn’t going to let that happen.
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Guided by coach Chuck Daly, a cool customer whose “Daddy Rich” appearance and well-coiffed hair concealed a fierce determination, and under the floor management of the point guard they called “Zeke,” the Pistons assumed the personality of their leadership. It extended to the front office too: general manager Jack McCloskey, the hoops genius who assembled the team, was a confident man who burned to compete and win on the biggest sports stage. McCloskey had commanded landing ships for the U.S. Marines in World War II. He was a tough man.
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Under Daly’s direction, the Pistons adopted a philosophy of “94 feet defense.” The idea was that the team would defend everywhere on the court. They wanted to make it difficult for opponents to set up their offense. Up until that time, most NBA teams ran back on defense and allowed the offensive team to set up and run plays. It was basically a gentleman’s agreement: there were certain things that a team didn’t do, and one of them was to disrupt the flow of the game. But the Pistons didn’t care. They pressured, bumped, and agitated unlike\u00a0any other team ever had. As a result, they earned a reputation for being “dirty.” While they never led the league in personal fouls or technical fouls in that era, they did lead the league in the unofficial categories of “hip checks,” “forearms,” and “icy stares.” Soon, Isiah and his teammates were the most hated team in the game.
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How the Pistons gladly accepted their role as villains
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The supremely confident and ultra-competitive Bill Laimbeer had no problem being physical on the court.
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Given Isiah’s nature, when he saw what the NBA had titled the team video he was not shocked or offended. Instead he lathered on one of those famous “Cheshire Cat” smiles that he\u00a0was famous for. Only Isiah could simultaneously look innocent, devilish, playful, sarcastic, happy, and insane at the same time.
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“I guess we’re the Bad Boys,” Isiah chirped when asked about the name in the offseason.
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“[I’m] not sure about the name,” coach Daly said, “but I know our team isn’t going to back away from it.”
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And that’s one of the secrets about the Bad Boys. If the Pistons themselves hadn’t embraced the name, it never would have stuck, and it wouldn’t have become as iconic as it did. Everyone who knows anything about Detroit or basketball and NBA history knows who the “Bad Boys” are, and that’s only because Isiah and Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn and the others were happy to be those guys.
\n
During training camp before the 1988-89 season, Davis, the principle owner for the Raiders, and a man who never met a bad dude he didn’t like, instructed his staff to gather tee-shirts, caps, and shorts emblazoned with the silver-and-black logo of the Oakland Raiders.
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For years his Raiders had been the “trouble child” of the NFL, and Davis had butted heads with NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle so often that they shared the same chewing gum. Davis loved to see other teams have the guts to stand out and be different. He liked the swagger of the Pistons.
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A camera crew was on hand when Daly, Isiah, and others first rifled through that box of Raiders merchandise sent by Davis. Immediately, some of the players started wearing the items in practice and even during pre-game. When the season started, some fans could be seen\u00a0wearing Raiders caps and tee-shirts at The Palace of Auburn Hills, the new home of the team.
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The NBA was not happy at first. They didn’t like the idea that their league would be celebrated for “rough” play and a “bad” image. But they quickly changed their tune.
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The Bad Boys logo
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The Bad Boys logo was an immediate hit when it debuted during the 1988-89 NBA season.
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The NBA has never met a marketing opportunity it didn’t like. When they saw basketball fans wearing NFL merchandise to NBA games, they knew they had an opportunity to make some money. But first they needed a hook. They couldn’t sell Raiders gear at the NBA venue in Detroit without having to jump through licensing hoops. They needed their own brand.
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But before the NBA could pounce on the market,\u00a0an enterprising Detroiter stepped in, a principle partner in The Athletic Supporter Ltd., a firm based in Farmington Hills. Billy Berris, who had once played hoops in the Motor City as a high school star in the 1960s at Detroit Mumford, put his imagination to work along with the pen of his graphic artist Robin Brant to devise a logo for the Bad Boys.
\n
Obviously black and silver needed to be used (in a tip of the hat to\u00a0Davis and the Raiders), so Berris decided on that and then added a skull and crossbones, because that’s some scary stuff. Brant added a nice touch by giving the skull a few cracks and then he placed it\u00a0in the middle of a basketball with\u00a0the words “Bad Boys” scripted beneath. The font chosen was somewhat reminiscent of what we saw from Michael Jackson on his “Bad” album a few years earlier, sort of looking like spray-painted graffiti.
\n
For Berris, the job of creating a marketable Bad Boys image was a labor of love. His part in making the Bad Boys the “Bad Boys” may not be well known, but it was the flashing point for taking a team nickname and making it a cultural brand. It was fitting too that a Detroiter designed the logo.
\n
For years the Pistons logo had been one of the least popular in the game. While some loved it for its simplicity (you can’t get much more simple than the team names scrawled on top of a basketball in team colors), others shook their heads at the bareness of it. Even today, the Pistons primary logo, which is largely unchanged from the 1980s, is considered one of the worst in the NBA.
\n
Quickly, the Bad Boys image became immensely popular, especially with urban youth. In Detroit, kids were wearing it to show how tough they were. Jalen Rose, who later starred as a member of the “The Fab Five” for Michigan, embraced the Bad Boys brand as a teenager growing up in Detroit.
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“I loved everything about the Bad Boys. I loved how they played and how they didn’t back down,” Rose recalled in an ESPN podcast in 2013. “They just went out and kicked the other teams’ butts.”
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The Legacy of the Bad Boys
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Detroit point guard Reggie Jackson wears a Bad Boys cap during the 2015-216 season.
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The Detroit Pistons won NBA titles in each of the first two seasons they were known as the “Bad Boys,” but the glory of the black-and-silver and that label wore off sooner than many expected. Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls helped shape an image of a high-flying, athletic basketball team that didn’t need to be “thugs.” When the Bulls finally defeated Isiah and the Pistons in the playoffs in 1991, it was obvious that an era was ending.
\n
But while Air Jordan and his Bulls might have acted like they had no respect for Detroit basketball, they did something that some didn’t notice at the time: they adopted the Bad Boys tough play. Without the Bad Boys changing the way the game was played in the 1980s and beating up on His Airness and the Jordanettes, there would probably have not been a Bulls dynasty in the 1990s.
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Ironically, the Pistons themselves worked hard to dismiss the era of the Bad Boys. After Isiah retired prematurely due to an injury, and then Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman retired or moved on, the team’s “bad” core was gone. In the mid-1990s the team was building around a new superstar, Grant Hill, a squeaky-clean college star who played a lot more like Jordan than he did Isiah.
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For the 1996-97 season the team unveiled new uniforms and a new logo. It was the beginning of what became known as “The Teal Era.” Gone were the red-white-and-blue colors of the Pistons’ championship teams of the late 1980s. Gone was any mention of “Bad Boys,” even though Joe Dumars was still putting up his rainbow jumper for the team. No, the Pistons were turning a page, and for some damn reason that meant burying the history of the best team in franchise history. The Pistons had won a title under a different logo and different “brand” only six years before, the bodies of the Bad Boys were barely cold, but the front office was shoveling dirt on an era.
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The teal and purple logo, with a horse head that looked like a knight piece on a chess board, was never popular. Not with real Pistons’ fans. It was mocked, as it should have been. When the team switched back to the traditional red-white-and-blue color theme and logo for the 2001-2002 season, it coincided with a revival of success on the court. Thankfully, a few years later when they won a third NBA title, it was the old logo that adorned the jerseys worn by Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace and the rest.
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The Bad Boys image has always lurked under the surface of the Pistons, and when the franchise returned to prominence in the early 2000s, advancing to six consecutive conference finals, you started to see some fans reviving their Bad Boys caps. It was as if someone gave them the green light to pull their Bad Boys t-shirts out of the bottom of their closets.
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In 2014 ESPN’s award-winning documentary series aired a film on the Bad Boys, which was also released on DVD. The documentary reunited Thomas, Laimbeer, Rodman, Rick Mahorn, James Edwards, John Salley, Joe Dumars, and other members of the team. It was one of the highest-rated segments in the 30-for-30 documentary series. Its popularity has helped spawn renewed interest in the Bad Boys. Not just the team, but the logo too.
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It’s safe to say that the Bad Boys will always be an important part of Detroit sports history and NBA history. The two-time champions were one of the greatest\u00a0teams in NBA history, even if they are often overlooked and underrated. They vanquished every great team of their era: the Larry Bird Celtics; Magic Johnson’s Showtime Lakers; and the Michael Jordan-led Bulls, who were eliminated from the playoffs by Isiah and the Pistons three years in a row.
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Unlike most other teams however, the Pistons of the Bad Boys era will live on for many years in more obvious ways. That’s because they have their own clothing line, and basketball fans, whether they rooted for Detroit or not, love the nostalgic image of that tough-as-nails team.
Ordered a customized Mickey Redmond sweater on a Thursday, it arrived in Chicago the following Monday. The quality and attention to detail is incredible, and I was blown away how fast the turnaround was on a customized item. This thing looks top notch with perfect handstitched name and number, and they even have the correct vertical arch on the name (a dead giveaway for cheap knockoffs) which is such a specific Red Wings touch. Don't go anywhere else for your Detroit sports apparel!
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Top notch customer service! I ordered a jersey for my wife as a gift and there was an issue with the numbers...they offered to have the numbers removed by another company and then have them redone or a gift card. They have resolved our issue and now we are happy customers...the fact that they are willing to go the extra mile to make sure customers are satisfied makes all the difference in the world! Thanks again!
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Great quality, super fast delivery. Called with question and the phone was answered by a human being who was easy to understand, knowledgeable, friendly and quickly answered my question. What a refreshing experience in this time of AI, robo calls, not being able to talk to a human being. So happy to support a small Michigan based company. Order, you won\u2019t be disappointed!
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The pullover I ordered is a beautiful garment. However, I ordered a 2X and received an XXL. I was a seamstress in menswear for 8 years so I can guarantee you the cut on a 2X differs from an XXL. When I called the store to talk about this, the employee was less than pleasant and understanding. He interrupted me several times to say the size scale is manufacturer dependent and a 2X is the same as an XXL. With that being said, it would be helpful if the drop down menu ACCURATELY displayed the available sizes. It's deceptive to show a 2X is being ordered when in all actuality a 2X was never an option.
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Best personalized in store shopping experience for officially licensed Detroit sports apparel around. Cool exclusive designs too! Great customer service and fast shipping. Best place for customized jerseys, hands down. An absolute must stop for out of town Detroit fans!
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+ "page_last_modified": ""
+ },
+ {
+ "page_name": "Detroit Pistons - Wikipedia",
+ "page_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Pistons",
+ "page_snippet": "Prior to the 1986\u201387 season, the Pistons acquired more key players: John Salley (drafted 11th overall), Dennis Rodman (drafted 27th) and Adrian Dantley (acquired in a trade with the Utah Jazz). The team adopted a physical, defense-oriented style of play, which eventually earned them the nickname ...Prior to the 1986\u201387 season, the Pistons acquired more key players: John Salley (drafted 11th overall), Dennis Rodman (drafted 27th) and Adrian Dantley (acquired in a trade with the Utah Jazz). The team adopted a physical, defense-oriented style of play, which eventually earned them the nickname \"Bad Boys\". Dan Hauser, Pistons Vice-President of Marketing said, \"Al sent us Raiders sweaters, and when we played Golden State in Oakland, Al had Raiders warm-ups for us with our names and numbers on them. The rough bad-boy fighting style of the Raiders fits our image. That's why, at our home games at the Palace, you see a sea of black: black caps, black T-shirts, black sweatshirts\". The end of season video yearbook produced by the NBA was titled Bad Boys. Due to these factors, the name and image was embraced by the players and fans. Pistons guard Joe Dumars said, \"You can't be great in this league and have zero identity.\" Hudson Soft would later develop and publish Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball, a futuristic basketball game released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System without rules, without fouls, and weapons are permitted. Jalen Rose, who later starred as a member of the Fab Five at Michigan, embraced the Bad Boys brand as a teenager growing up in Detroit, stating \"I loved everything about the Bad Boys. I loved how they played and how they didn't back down. They just went out and kicked the other teams' butts.\" Pistons announcer George Blaha said, \"I think the people of Detroit and all across Michigan loved the Pistons' don't-back-down-ever mentality. Pistons announcer George Blaha said, \"I think the people of Detroit and all across Michigan loved the Pistons' don't-back-down-ever mentality. Detroit's a working person's town and that's the same type of fan that you have all across the state of Michigan from the big cities to the small towns. Never does a day go by that somebody that I talk to doesn't bring up the Bad Boys; they loved 'em.\"",
+ "page_result": "\n\n\n\nDetroit Pistons - Wikipedia\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJump to content\n
Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 1937\u20131941 (semi-professional) 1941\u20131948 (NBL) Fort Wayne Pistons 1948\u20131957 (BAA/NBA) Detroit Pistons 1957\u2013present[1][2][3]
1937\u20131957: Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons[edit]
\n
Fred Zollner owned the Zollner Corporation, a foundry that manufactured pistons, primarily for car, truck, and locomotive engines in Fort Wayne, Indiana.[9] In 1937, Zollner sponsored a semi-professional company basketball team called the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons after he received a request from his workers.[10] In 1941, the Zollner Pistons shed their works team roots and joined the National Basketball League (NBL).[1] The Zollner Pistons were NBL champions in 1944 and 1945.[1] They also won the World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1944, 1945 and 1946.[11]\n
In 1948, the team became the Fort Wayne Pistons and jumped to the Basketball Association of America (BAA).[9] In 1949, Fred Zollner brokered the formation of the National Basketball Association from the BAA and the NBL at his kitchen table.[9]\n
There are suggestions that Pistons players conspired with gamblers to shave points and throw various games during the 1953\u201354 and 1954\u201355 seasons. In particular, there are accusations that the team may have intentionally lost the 1955 NBA Finals to the Syracuse Nationals.[12] In the decisive Game 7, the Pistons led 41\u201324 early in the second quarter before the Nationals rallied to win the game.[13][14] The Nationals won on a free throw by George King with 12 seconds left in the game.[13][14] The closing moments included a palming turnover by the Pistons' George Yardley with 18 seconds left, a foul by Frank Brian with 12 seconds left that enabled King's winning free throw, and a turnover by the Pistons' Andy Phillip in the final seconds which cost them a chance to attempt the game winning shot.[13][14] In the following season, the Pistons made it back to the NBA Finals. However, they were defeated by the Philadelphia Warriors in five games.[15]\n
\nDave Bing joined the team in 1966, scoring 1,601 points in his rookie year.\n
Though the Pistons enjoyed a solid local following, Fort Wayne's small size made it difficult for them to be profitable, especially as other early NBA teams based in smaller cities started folding or relocating to larger markets.[1] After the 1956\u201357 season, Fred Zollner decided that Fort Wayne was too small to support an NBA team and announced the team would be playing elsewhere in the coming season. He ultimately settled on Detroit.[1] Although it was the fifth largest city in the United States at the time,[16] Detroit had not seen professional basketball in a decade.[1][17][18][19] They lost the Detroit Eagles due to World War II, both the Detroit Gems of the NBL (whom became the Minneapolis Lakers) and the Detroit Falcons of the BAA in 1947, and the Detroit Vagabond Kings in 1949.[1][17][18][19] Zollner decided to keep the Pistons name, believing it made sense given Detroit's status as the center of the automobile industry.[1][9]George Yardley set the NBA single-season scoring record in the Pistons' first season in Detroit, becoming the first player to score 2,000 points in a season.[20][21]\n
During the 1960s and 1970s, the Pistons were characterized by talented players including George Yardley, Bailey Howell, Dave Debusschere, Dave Bing, and Bob Lanier, questionable trades, and frequent coaching changes.[22][23][24][25][26][27] At one point, DeBusschere was the youngest player-coach in the history of the NBA.[25] Then a trade during the 1968\u201369 season sent DeBusschere to the New York Knicks for Howard Komives and Walt Bellamy, both of whom had their best seasons behind them.[25] DeBusschere became a key player in leading the Knicks to two NBA titles.[25] Howell had previously been dealt to the Baltimore Bullets in 1964 and former Pistons guard Gene Shue, who was the head coach of the Bullets at the time, assessed the Pistons thusly: \"Detroit has the worst management in the league.\"[28][29] Howell would go to win two championships as a member of the Boston Celtics. Yardley, Lanier, and Bing all ended their Pistons tenure being traded away, frustrated with the direction and opportunities with Detroit.[30][31][32]\n
In 1974, Zollner sold the team to glass magnate Bill Davidson, who remained the team's principal owner until his death in 2009.[33][34]\n
The team had a winning season in 1971, having spent the 1960s below .500, and then had a brief period of sustained success in the mid-1970s, qualifying for the playoffs in four straight seasons (1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977).[35][36][37][38] Hope was then placed in Dick Vitale in 1978, the former head coach at the University of Detroit, but he was fired the following season, and the team limped into the 1980s with a 16\u201366 record in 1979\u201380.[39] The 1979\u201380 team lost its last 14 games of the season which, when coupled with the seven losses at the start of the 1980\u201381 season, constituted a then-NBA record losing streak of 21 games.[40]\n
Over time, Davidson became displeased with Cobo Arena, but opted not to follow the Red Wings to the under-construction Joe Louis Arena next door. Instead, in 1978, he moved the team to the suburb of Pontiac, where they played in the 82,000 capacity Silverdome, a structure built for professional football (and the home of the Detroit Lions at the time).[22][41]\n
\nIsiah Thomas against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on January 19, 1985.\n
Initially, the Pistons had difficulty moving up the NBA ladder. In 1984, the Pistons lost a tough five-game series to the underdog New York Knicks, 3\u20132.[45] In the 1985 playoffs, Detroit won its first-round series and faced the defending champion Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals. Though Boston prevailed in six games, Detroit's surprise performance promised that a rivalry had begun.[39] In the 1985 NBA draft, the team selected Joe Dumars 18th overall, a selection that proved to be very wise.[46] They also acquired Rick Mahorn in a trade with the Washington Bullets.[47] However, the team took a step backwards, losing in the first round of the 1986 playoffs to the more athletic Atlanta Hawks.[48] After the series, changes were made in order to make the team more defensive-minded.[39]\n
Prior to the 1986\u201387 season, the Pistons acquired more key players: John Salley (drafted 11th overall), Dennis Rodman (drafted 27th) and Adrian Dantley (acquired in a trade with the Utah Jazz).[49][50] The team adopted a physical, defense-oriented style of play, which eventually earned them the nickname \"Bad Boys\".[51]\n
In 1987, the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics. After pushing the defending champions to a 2\u20132 tie, the Pistons were on the verge of winning Game 5 at the Boston Garden with seconds remaining.[52][53] After a Celtics turnover, Isiah Thomas attempted to quickly inbound the ball and missed Chuck Daly's timeout signal from the bench. Larry Bird stole the inbound pass and passed it to Dennis Johnson for the game-winning layup.[52][53] While the Pistons did win Game 6 in Detroit, they lost the series in a tough Game 7 back in Boston.[52][53]\n
\nChuck Daly, coach of the 1989 and 1990 NBA champions.\nA ticket for Game 1 of the 1988 NBA Finals at The Forum.\n
Motivated by their loss to the Celtics, the Pistons, aided by midseason acquisition James Edwards, improved to a then-franchise-record 54 victories and the franchise's first division title in 32 years.[39][54][55] In the postseason, the Pistons avenged their two previous playoff losses to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, defeating them in six games and advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since the franchise moved to Detroit.[39]\n
The Pistons' first trip to the Finals in 32 years saw them face the Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.[15][39] After taking a 3\u20132 series lead back to Los Angeles, Detroit appeared poised to win their first NBA title in Game 6. In that game, Isiah Thomas scored an NBA Finals record 25 points in the third quarter while playing on a severely sprained ankle.[56] However, the Lakers won the game, 103\u2013102, on a pair of last-second free throws by Abdul-Jabbar following a controversial foul called on Bill Laimbeer, referred to by many as a \"phantom foul\".[56][57] With Thomas unable to compete at full strength, the Pistons narrowly fell in Game 7, 108\u2013105, as the Lakers became the first back-to-back NBA Champions since the 1969 Boston Celtics.[56][58]\n
\nDennis Rodman, NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991\n
Prior to the 1988\u201389 season, the Pistons moved to Auburn Hills to play at The Palace of Auburn Hills, the first NBA arena financed entirely with private funds.[59] The 1989 Pistons completed the building of their roster by trading Adrian Dantley for Mark Aguirre, a trade that Pistons fans criticized heavily initially, but later praised.[60][61][62][63] The team won 63 games, shattering their one-year-old franchise record, and steamrolled through the playoffs and into an NBA Finals rematch with the Lakers. This time, the Pistons came out victorious in a four-game sweep to win their first NBA championship. Joe Dumars was named NBA Finals MVP.[64]\n
The Pistons successfully defended their title in 1990, despite losing Rick Mahorn to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the expansion draft.[65][66] After winning 59 games and a third straight division title, the Pistons cruised through the first two rounds of the playoffs before playing a tough Eastern Conference Finals series against Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and the Chicago Bulls. Facing each other for the third straight season, the Pistons and Bulls split the first six games before the Pistons finished the series with a decisive 93\u201374 victory in Game 7.[67][68][69] Advancing to their third consecutive NBA Finals, the Pistons faced the Portland Trail Blazers.[66] After splitting the first two games at The Palace, the Pistons went to Portland, where they had not won a game since 1974, to play Games 3, 4 and 5.[70] The Pistons won all three games in Portland, becoming the first NBA team to sweep the middle three games on the road.[71] The decisive game came down to the final second. Trailing 90\u201383 with two minutes remaining, the Pistons rallied to tie the game, then took a 92\u201390 lead when Vinnie Johnson sank a 15-foot jumper with 00.7 seconds left in the game; this shot earned Johnson a new nickname in Detroit, \"007\", to go with his original, \"The Microwave\".[66][72] Isiah Thomas was named NBA Finals MVP.[66]\n
The Pistons' championship run came to an end in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, as they were swept by the eventual NBA champion Chicago Bulls in four games.[73] The most critical injury during this time belonged to Isiah Thomas, who had suffered a wrist injury a few months prior to the NBA playoffs.[74] The Conference Finals is best remembered for the Pistons walking off the court in the last game just before it ended, willingly letting the final seconds tick away, unwilling to shake hands with the Bulls. After the series, Michael Jordan said, \"You see two different styles with us and them. The dirty play and the flagrant fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct. Hopefully, that will be eliminated from the game. I think we play clean basketball. We don't go out and try to hurt people and dirty up the game. You never lose respect for the champions. But I haven't agreed with the methods they used. I think people are happy the game will get back to a clean game [with a Bulls triumph] and away from the 'Bad Boy' image.\"[75][76][77]\n
After getting swept by the Bulls, the Pistons traded James Edwards and waived Vinnie Johnson during the off-season.[78][79] In the 1991\u201392 season, the Pistons finished with a 48\u201334 record.[80][81] In the first round of the 1992 NBA playoffs, the Pistons were defeated by the New York Knicks in five games.[82] Chuck Daly resigned as head coach after the season.[83] Following Daly's departure, the Pistons went through a transitional period, as key players were either traded (Salley and Rodman) or retired (Laimbeer in 1993 and Thomas in 1994).[24][84][85][86] They bottomed out in the 1993\u201394 season, finishing with a 20\u201362 record.[80]\n
After being swept by the Miami Heat in the 2000 playoffs, Joe Dumars, who had retired following the 1998\u201399 season, was hired as the team's president of basketball operations.[94] He quickly faced what appeared to be a setback for the franchise, as Grant Hill elected to leave for the Orlando Magic.[95] However, Dumars worked a sign and trade with Orlando that brought the Pistons Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins in exchange for Hill.[96] Both quickly entered the Pistons' starting lineup. Wallace in particular developed into a defensive stalwart in the coming years.[92][97] However, Hill played only 47 games in the following three seasons due to a recurring ankle injury.[92]\n
The Pistons suffered through another tough season in 2000\u201301, going 32\u201350 despite Jerry Stackhouse averaging 29.8 points a game.[98] After the season, the Pistons fired George Irvine as head coach and hired Rick Carlisle, a widely respected assistant coach who had been a contributor for the Celtics during the mid-1980s.[99] The franchise also returned to its traditional red, white, and blue colors.[92]\n
Despite the team's improvement, Rick Carlisle was fired in the 2003 off-season. There were believed to be five reasons for the firing: first, that Carlisle had appeared reluctant to play some of the team's younger players, such as Prince and Mehmet Okur, during the regular season; second, that some of the players had not gotten along with Carlisle; third, that Carlisle's offense was thought to be conservative; fourth, that Hall of FamerLarry Brown had become available; and fifth, that Carlisle was rumored to have alienated owner Bill Davidson with his personality.[109][110] Brown accepted the job that summer.[111]\n
The Pistons' transformation into a championship team was completed with the February 2004 acquisition of Rasheed Wallace.[112] The Pistons now had another big man to pose a threat from all parts of the court.[113] The Pistons finished the season 54\u201328, recording their best record since 1997.[113] In the 2004 playoffs, after defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in five games, they defeated the defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets in seven games after coming back from a 3\u20132 deficit.[113] The Pistons then defeated the Pacers, coached by Rick Carlisle, in six tough games to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1990.[114][113][115] Many analysts gave the Pistons little chance to win against their opponent, the Los Angeles Lakers, who had won three out of the previous four NBA championships and who fielded a star-studded lineup that included Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton, and Karl Malone.[113][116] However, the Pistons won the series in dominating fashion, defeating Los Angeles in five games for the team's third NBA championship.[113][117] The Pistons posted double-digit wins in three of their four victories and held the Lakers to a franchise-low 68 points in Game 3.[113][118] Chauncey Billups was named NBA Finals MVP.[113][117] With the win, Bill Davidson became the first owner to win both an NBA and NHL championship in the same calendar year, as he had also won the Stanley Cup as owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning.[34]\n
Despite losing key members of their bench during the off-season (including Okur, Mike James and Corliss Williamson), the Pistons were considered a strong contender to win a second consecutive title in 2005.[119] They won 54 games during the regular season, their fourth consecutive season of 50 or more wins.[120] During the 2005 playoffs, they easily defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 4\u20131 and then rallied from a 2\u20131 deficit to finish off the Indiana Pacers, 4\u20132.[121][122][123] In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons faced the Miami Heat. Once again, the Pistons fell behind.[124] However, they ultimately won the series in seven games.[125] In the NBA Finals, the Pistons faced the San Antonio Spurs. After the teams split the first four games of the series, the turning point came at the end of Game 5 in Detroit, which went into overtime. The Pistons were ahead 95\u201393 when Robert Horry sank the game-winning three-point basket for the Spurs with 5.8 seconds left in the extra session.[126] The Pistons fought back to win Game 6 in San Antonio, setting up the first NBA Finals Game 7 since 1994.[127] The Pistons then lost a hard-fought, low-scoring game to the Spurs, who won their third NBA championship since 1999.[128]\n
The Pistons' 2004\u201305 season was marked by a major controversy, as well as distracting issues involving Larry Brown.[129][130] In the first month of the season, the infamous Malice at the Palace erupted between the Pacers and the Pistons, one of the largest fan-player incidents in the history of American sports.[129] It resulted in heavy fines and suspensions for several players and a great deal of NBA and media scrutiny.[129] Meanwhile, Brown was forced to leave the team on two occasions due to health concerns. During this time, he was the subject of a series of rumors linking him to other job openings.[130] Concerned about Brown's health and angered over his alleged pursuit of other jobs during the season, the Pistons bought out his contract soon after the 2005 NBA Finals.[130][131] Brown was promptly named head coach of the New York Knicks, while the Pistons hired Flip Saunders, formerly of the Minnesota Timberwolves.[132][133]\n
During the 2005\u201306 season, the Pistons recorded the NBA's best overall record.[134] Their 37\u20135 start exceeded the best start for any Detroit sports franchise in history and tied for the fourth-best start through 42 games in NBA history.[135][136] Four of the five Pistons starters (Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace) were named to the All-Star team, and Flip Saunders served as the Eastern Conference All-Star team coach.[137] The Pistons finished the regular season with a record of 64\u201318, setting new franchise records for both overall and road victories (27).[134][138][139] In addition, the team set an NBA record by starting the same lineup in 73 consecutive games from the start of the season.[134]\n
\nA game ticket from March 2006 between the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards.\n
During the off-season, the Pistons offered Ben Wallace a four-year, $48 million contract, which would have made him the highest-paid player in franchise history at the time. However, Wallace agreed to a 4-year, $60 million contract with the Chicago Bulls.[145]\n
To replace Ben Wallace, the Pistons signed Nazr Mohammed.[146] He struggled to fill the team's void at center, however, and the team began looking for additional help.[89] On January 16, 2007, the Pistons signed free agent Chris Webber.[147] The Pistons quickly began playing better basketball. They were only 21\u201315 before Webber was acquired; with him, the team went 32\u201314.[148][149] On April 11, the Pistons clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference, which guaranteed them home-court advantage for first three rounds of the playoffs.[150]\n
The Pistons opened the 2007 NBA playoffs with a 4\u20130 victory over the Orlando Magic, their first playoff series sweep since 1990.[151] The team advanced to face the Chicago Bulls, marking the first time that the Central Division rivals had met in the postseason since 1991.[152] After winning the first two games by 26 and 21 points, the Pistons overcame a 19-point deficit to win Game 3, 81\u201374.[153][154][155] The Bulls avoided elimination by winning Games 4 and 5, but the Pistons closed out the series, 95\u201385, in Game 6 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive season.[156][157][158] In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons faced the Cleveland Cavaliers. After both teams split the first four games of the series, the turning point happened in Game 5. The game is best remembered for LeBron James' performance where he scored the Cavaliers' final 29 of 30 points, including the team's final 25 points, to help defeat the Pistons 109\u2013107 in double overtime.[159] The Pistons never recovered as they were eliminated in Game 6, 98\u201382.[160]\n
At the start of the 2007\u201308 season, Rasheed Wallace became the Pistons' new center.[166] Upon entering his third season, Saunders became the longest-tenured Pistons coach since Chuck Daly.[167] Detroit finished the season with the second-best record in the league at 59\u201323.[168] The Boston Celtics held the first seed, and many speculated that Boston was their main competition in the Eastern Conference.[168][169] In the 2008 NBA playoffs, Detroit started out poorly with a Game 1 loss to the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers and found themselves in a 2\u20131 deficit.[170][171] However, the Pistons rallied to defeat the Sixers in six games.[172]\n
In the semifinals, the Pistons faced the Orlando Magic. The Pistons rolled out to a Game 1 romp,[173] and won a tight Game 2 amid mild controversy. At the very end of the third quarter, Chauncey Billups hit a three-point field goal that gave the Pistons a three-point lead. However, the clock had stopped shortly into the play. League rules currently prohibit officials from using both instant replay and a timing device to measure how much time has elapsed when a clock malfunctions, nor is a replay from the time of the malfunction onward allowed. The officials estimated that the play took 4.6 seconds, and since there were 5.1 seconds remaining when it began, the field goal was counted. The NBA later admitted that the play actually took 5.7 seconds and the basket should not have counted.[174]\n
In addition to losing Game 3 badly, 111\u201386, the Pistons also lost all-star point guard and team leader Chauncey Billups to a hamstring injury.[175] Despite his absence, the Pistons rallied from 15 down in the third quarter to win Game 4 90\u201389 on a field goal by Tayshaun Prince with just 8.9 seconds to play, taking a 3\u20131 series lead.[176] Again with Billups sitting on the sideline, they then proceeded to win Game 5 in Detroit, winning the series 4\u20131.[177]\n
Detroit advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the sixth straight season, squaring off against the Celtics.[177][178] This put the Pistons second on the all-time list of most consecutive conference finals appearances, behind only the Los Angeles Lakers, who appeared in eight straight conference finals from the 1981\u201382 to 1988\u201389 seasons.[179] They lost Game 1 88\u201379, but won in Game 2 on the road, 103\u201397, marking the Celtics' first home court loss in the postseason.[180][181] Immediately following that, the Celtics won their first road game of the postseason, 94\u201380, in Game 3.[182] Game 4 saw the Pistons win 94\u201375.[183] In the pivotal Game 5 they lost 106\u2013102, despite rallying from 17 points down late in the game.[184] In Game 6, the Pistons entered the fourth quarter leading 70\u201360, but a lack of focus, a poor game from Rasheed Wallace, and a rally-killing turnover by Tayshaun Prince ultimately led to their demise; the Pistons ended their season with an 89\u201381 loss. In what would ultimately be a bellwether moment in the franchise's history, Wallace refused to take any post-game questions, simply walking back to the locker room after, aware that Joe Dumars would likely start dismantling the team, saying only \"It's over, man.\"[185] After that, the Celtics went on to win the 2008 NBA Finals.[186] On June 3, 2008, the Pistons announced that Flip Saunders would not return as head coach.[187]\n
On June 10, 2008, the Pistons hired Michael Curry to be their new head coach.[188] On November 3, 2008, the Pistons traded key members Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson.[189][190] McDyess was later waived on November 10 and rejoined the Pistons on December 9.[191][192] The trade was marked as the start of a new rebuilding process due to Iverson's free agent status at the end of the season.[189] Indeed, Joe Dumars previously made it clear that no player on the team was guaranteed a position, bluntly saying they lost their sacred cow status.[193]\n
The season was marked with many controversies and injuries.[194][195] As a result of this and poor play, the Pistons dropped down the standings, only clinching a playoff berth on April 10, 2009.[196] The Pistons finished the season at 39\u201343, their first losing season in eight years.[197][198] The Pistons were then swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in four games in the first round of the 2009 NBA playoffs.[199] On June 30, 2009, Michael Curry was fired as head coach.[200] Iverson signed with the Memphis Grizzlies during the off-season.[201]\n
In the off-season, the Pistons reached an agreement with former Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon on a five-year/$55 million contract, as well as an agreement with former Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva on a five-year contract worth $35 million.[202][203] That same month, the Pistons lost their two key members during the last few years, veterans Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess.[204][205] On July 8, 2009, the Pistons hired former Cavaliers assistant coach John Kuester to be the new head coach.[206] The Pistons later re-signed Ben Wallace on August 12, 2009.[207]\n
Despite these changes, the team regressed even further, as they were hampered by setbacks and injuries.[208][209] On March 23, 2010, the Pistons were eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Indiana Pacers.[210] The Pistons finished with a 27\u201355 record, their worst since 1994.[211] Another 50-loss season, this time finishing at 30\u201352, led to the firing of Kuester at the end of the 2010\u201311 season.[212]\n
\n
2011\u20132015: New ownership; more struggling[edit]
Prior to the start of the 2011\u201312 season, the Pistons made several leadership changes, including appointing Dennis Mannion as president of the franchise and Palace Sports & Entertainment.[218] The team decided to hire Lawrence Frank as the head coach.[219] The 2011\u201312 season was an improvement from previous years for the Pistons, although they still posted a losing record. While they started the season 4\u201320, they won half their remaining games to finish a lockout-shortened season with a record of 25\u201341.[220] The team continued to build its young core with the drafting of the talented center Andre Drummond.[221]\n
Following the 2012\u201313 season, Frank was fired as head coach on April 18, 2013, after two losing seasons,[167][222] and on June 10, 2013, the Pistons hired former player and coach Maurice Cheeks.[223] His tenure lasted for just a bit more than half a season, as he was replaced by interim coach John Loyer.[224][225] In April, the Pistons announced that Joe Dumars would step down as president of basketball operations but remain as an advisor to the organization and its ownership team.[226] On May 14, 2014, Stan Van Gundy was hired. Van Gundy signed a 5-year, $35 million contract to become the head coach and president of basketball operations for the team.[227]\n
After starting the 2014\u201315 season with a 5\u201323 record, the Pistons waived Josh Smith, who was acquired in the summer of 2013.[228] The team went on a lengthy winning streak, but finished the season with a record of only 32\u201350 after Brandon Jennings' Achilles injury.[229][230]\n
The Pistons entered the All-Star break at 27\u201327.[240] The Pistons surpassed their win totals from the 2009\u201310 season to the 2014\u201315 season on March 9, 2016, when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks 102\u201396.[241] On April 6, 2016, following a 108\u2013104 win over the Orlando Magic, the Pistons reached 42 wins and were assured their first winning season since the 2007\u201308 season.[242] On April 8, 2016, the Pistons defeated the Washington Wizards 112\u201399 and clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2009.[243] The eighth-seeded Pistons faced the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 2016 NBA playoffs. They were swept in four games in a highly competitive series.[244][245]\n
\n
2017\u20132020: Returning to downtown Detroit[edit]
\nOpening tip of a Pistons game against the New York Knicks\n
Beginning with the 1978\u201379 season, the Pistons played their home games in suburban Oakland County, directly north of Detroit/Wayne County, first playing ten seasons at the Pontiac Silverdome and then playing at The Palace of Auburn Hills starting in the 1988\u201389 season.[22][246][247] Pistons owner Tom Gores, Palace Sports & Entertainment vice chairman Arn Tellum, and Olympia Entertainment, the Ilitch family's holding company that controls the Red Wings and Tigers, had been in negotiations over a partnership since the summer of 2015, with the Pistons possibly relocating to the new Little Caesars Arena as soon as the 2017\u201318 season. Talks intensified just as the Pistons were set to open their 2016\u201317 season, and as part of the terms of the agreement, there was discussion of a possible merger between Olympia and PS&E.[248] Also contingent on a finalized agreement, the Pistons were looking for a parcel of land in the arena's vicinity to build a new practice facility and team headquarters.[248][249] The leasing agreement/partnership needed both city and league approval to be finalized.[250][251]\n
On November 22, 2016, the Pistons officially announced their intention to move to Little Caesars Arena, and the site of The Palace of Auburn Hills was to be redeveloped and sold, with the arena likely to be demolished as part of the redevelopment.[252] The last remaining NBA franchise to play in a suburban location, the Pistons ended their 39 year stay in Oakland County.[253]\n
On June 20, 2017, Detroit City Council approved the Pistons' move to Little Caesars Arena.[254] On August 3, 2017, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the move, which made it official.[255][256] The move made Detroit the only U.S. city to have its Major League Baseball (MLB), National Football League (NFL), NBA, and NHL teams playing in its downtown district, and one of only two U.S. cities to have all their teams playing in one place, the other being Philadelphia.[257]\n
The Pistons finished the 2017\u201318 season with a 39\u201343 record. They missed the playoffs for the eighth time in ten years.[259] On May 7, 2018, the Pistons announced that Stan Van Gundy would not return as head coach and president of basketball operations.[260] On June 11, 2018, Dwane Casey was hired by the Pistons to be their new head coach, agreeing to a five-year deal.[261] The Pistons finished the 2018\u201319 season with a 41\u201341 record, clinching a playoff spot as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.[262] In the first round of the 2019 NBA playoffs, the Pistons were swept in four games by the Milwaukee Bucks, setting an NBA record for the most consecutive playoff losses with 14.[263][264]\n
On March 11, 2020, the 2019\u201320 season was suspended by the NBA after it was reported that Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.[265][266] On June 4, 2020, the season came to an end for the Pistons when the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan that would restart the season with 22 teams returning to play in the NBA bubble on July 31, 2020, which was approved by the National Basketball Players Association the next day.[267][268] The Pistons finished the season with a 20\u201346 record.[269]\n
\n
2020\u2013present: Continued struggles; historic losing streak[edit]
\n
The Pistons hired Troy Weaver as the new general manager in June 2020.[270] The Pistons finished the 2020\u201321 season with the second-worst record in the league at 20\u201352, missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season. The 20 wins were also tied for the second-fewest in franchise history at the time.[271][272] In the 2021 NBA draft, the Pistons selected Cade Cunningham with the first overall pick.[273] The Pistons finished the 2021\u201322 season at 23\u201359, missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season.[274]\n
With the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, the Pistons selected Jaden Ivey. Later in the first round, the Pistons acquired Jalen Duren via a trade with the New York Knicks.[275] The Pistons finished the 2022\u201323 season with the worst overall record in NBA and second-worst in franchise history at 17\u201365.[276] It was their first 60-loss season since 1993\u201394.[277] After the last game of the season on April 9, 2023, Dwane Casey stepped down as head coach to join the front office.[276] On June 2, 2023, Monty Williams was hired by the Pistons to be their new head coach.[278]\n
After the Pistons started the 2023\u201324 season with a 2\u20131 record, they lost a franchise-record 28 games in a row from October 30 to December 30, the longest single-season losing streak and tied for the longest losing streak in NBA history.[279] They became the 13th team in NBA history to have a winless month, going 0\u201315 in November.[280] On March 9, 2024, the Pistons were officially eliminated from playoff contention for the fifth consecutive season.[281]\n
After moving from Fort Wayne, to Detroit in 1957, the Pistons' uniforms remained largely unchanged for two decades, featuring the word \"Pistons\" in blue block lettering. In the 1978\u201379 season, the team featured a uniform with lightning bolts on the sides and in the wordmark on the front of the jerseys. The team discontinued the lightning bolt theme and returned to its classic block lettering and simple side panel pattern in 1981, staying with this look until 1996. That year, the Pistons changed their colors to teal, black, yellow and, red and unveiled a new logo with a horse's head and flaming mane. This color scheme lasted until 2001, when the team returned to the traditional red, white, and blue colors and a uniform pattern taking cues from the 1981\u201396 threads.[285] The horse's head and flaming mane logo lasted until 2005, when the team switched to a more classic logo design.[286]\n
On May 16, 2017, the Pistons unveiled a new logo, which is a modernized version of the previous \"Bad Boys\" era logo used from 1979 to 1996.[4][287]\n
Hooper is the mascot of the Pistons. He is depicted as a horse wearing a Pistons jersey. The symbolism is, that like the pistons they are named after, the team produces horsepower.[286][288] Hooper became a part of the team on November 1, 1996, replacing Sir Slam A Lot.[289][290]\n
Though Hooper was introduced during the \"teal era\" to coincide with the Pistons' new equestrian logo, his popularity as a mascot allowed him to remain a part of the team despite the Pistons returning to their previous colors and basketball logo only a few years later.[286]\n
At the start of the 1987\u201388 season, Al Davis, owner of the then Los Angeles Raiders, sent Raiders merchandise to the Pistons to acknowledge the shared view of the teams and their physical style of play. Dan Hauser, Pistons Vice-President of Marketing said, \"Al sent us Raiders sweaters, and when we played Golden State in Oakland, Al had Raiders warm-ups for us with our names and numbers on them. The rough bad-boy fighting style of the Raiders fits our image. That's why, at our home games at the Palace, you see a sea of black: black caps, black T-shirts, black sweatshirts\".[51][291]\n
The end of season video yearbook produced by the NBA was titled Bad Boys.[51][292] Due to these factors, the name and image was embraced by the players and fans.[51][291][293][294] Pistons guard Joe Dumars said, \"You can't be great in this league and have zero identity.\"[293]Hudson Soft would later develop and publish Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball, a futuristic basketball game released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System without rules, without fouls, and weapons are permitted.[295] \n
The positive view of the team was not universal with Michael Jordan declaring \"the Bad Boys are bad for basketball,\"[296] later adding \"I hated them. And that hate carries even to this day.\"[297]David Stern, Commissioner of the NBA at the time, said, \"If I had it to do over again, we would be more aggressive in regulating, shall we say, that style of play, because it led to our game becoming much more physical.\"[293]\n
Jalen Rose, who later starred as a member of the Fab Five at Michigan, embraced the Bad Boys brand as a teenager growing up in Detroit, stating \"I loved everything about the Bad Boys. I loved how they played and how they didn't back down. They just went out and kicked the other teams' butts.\"[51] Pistons announcer George Blaha said, \"I think the people of Detroit and all across Michigan loved the Pistons' don't-back-down-ever mentality. Detroit's a working person's town and that's the same type of fan that you have all across the state of Michigan from the big cities to the small towns. Never does a day go by that somebody that I talk to doesn't bring up the Bad Boys; they loved 'em.\"[294]\n
During the 1984\u201385 season, the Silverdome's roof collapsed, causing the team to temporarily relocate to the Joe Louis Arena for 14 of their remaining 15 home games of the season (March 6 through May 10).[59][305] The March 11 game was played at Cobo Arena.[306]
The Pistons hold the draft rights to the following unsigned draft picks who have been playing outside the NBA. A drafted player, either an international draftee or a college draftee who is not signed by the team that drafted him, is allowed to sign with any non-NBA teams. In this case, the team retains the player's draft rights in the NBA until one year after the player's contract with the non-NBA team ends.[307] This list includes draft rights that were acquired from trades with other teams.\n
1Reggie Jackson wore the number at the time it was retired (2015\u20132020).[314][315]
\n
2The number was originally retired in honor of Chuck Daly, who never played in the NBA, as it represented the two NBA championship teams he coached. However, the number was unretired on July 30, 2021 for Cade Cunningham after he received permission to wear it from Daly's daughter.[44][316]
\n
3Stanley Johnson wore the number at the time it was retired.[314][317]
^ abcdefghiPretzer, Ryan (October 16, 2007). \"Farewell, Fort Wayne\". Pistons.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.\n
^\"NBA LockerVision - Detroit Pistons - Association Edition - Story Guide\". LockerVision.NBA.com. NBA Properties, Inc. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2022. The Detroit Pistons Association Edition uniform is the traditional white-base uniform found in every team's uniform lineup. The Pistons core brand elements are brought to life using the teams classic red, white and blue colorway along with the \"Pistons\" jersey wordmark and classic stripes on the side inserts. The shorts feature the team's primary and secondary logos, while also maintaining the stripe detail found on the jersey.\n
^Maxwell, John (December 26, 2007). \"The First 2,000-Point Scorer\". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2019.\n
^ abLanglois, Keith (May 9, 2009). \"Chuck Daly, 1930-2009\". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2017.\n
^Langlois, Keith (May 31, 2011). \"NBA Approves Tom Gores\". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2017.\n
^\"Pistons waive Josh Smith\". NBA.com (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. December 22, 2014. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2016.\n
^ abc\"Detroit Pistons Radio\". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. October 28, 2015. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.\n
^Coon, Larry. \"NBA Salary Cap FAQ \u2013 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement\". Retrieved April 13, 2014. If the player is already under contract to, or signs a contract with a non-NBA team, the team retains the player's draft rights for one year after the player's obligation to the non-NBA team ends. Essentially, the clock stops as long as the player plays pro ball outside the NBA.\n
\n\n\n\n",
+ "page_last_modified": " Sun, 17 Mar 2024 10:49:29 GMT"
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+ "page_name": "Detroit Pistons: The 5 Baddest Boys of the Bad Boys Era | News, ...",
+ "page_url": "https://bleacherreport.com/articles/761050-detroit-pistons-the-five-baddest-boys-of-the-bad-boys-era",
+ "page_snippet": "The 1988-89 and 1989-90 Detroit Pistons teams are considered by most to be some of the greatest in NBA history. The \u201888-'89 Pistons dominated the regular season, finishing with a 63-19 record. The \u201cBad Boys\u201d were largely responsible for the demise of the great Lakers and Celtics teams ...If you weren\u2019t a Detroit Pistons fan in the late '80s and early '90s then you undoubtedly hated the \u201cMotor City Bad Boys.\u201d \u00b7 And that\u2019s how we like it. Led by a physically aggressive, defense-orientated core of players, the Detroit Pistons literally fought their way to back-to-back NBA championships in \u201989 and \u201990. And when it came to defending the \u201cBad Boys\u201d moniker, no player was safe. And when it came to defending the \u201cBad Boys\u201d moniker, no player was safe. Not Barkley, not Bird and especially not Michael Jordan. Detroit\u2019s initial inability to successfully defend \u201cHis Airness\u201d led to Pistons head coach Chuck Daly instituting the \u201cJordan Rules.\u201d The 1988-89 and 1989-90 Detroit Pistons teams are considered by most to be some of the greatest in NBA history. The \u201888-'89 Pistons dominated the regular season, finishing with a 63-19 record. The \u201cBad Boys\u201d were largely responsible for the demise of the great Lakers and Celtics teams of the '80s. The \u201cBad Boys\u201d were largely responsible for the demise of the great Lakers and Celtics teams of the '80s. The Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers for the organization's first championship in 1989. Prior to the \u201989 championship, the Lakers and Celtics combined for eight total NBA championships from 1980-1988.",
+ "page_result": "Detroit Pistons: The 5 Baddest Boys of the Bad Boys Era | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report
Detroit Pistons: The 5 Baddest Boys of the Bad Boys Era
0 of 5
If you weren\u2019t a Detroit Pistons fan in the late '80s and early '90s then you undoubtedly hated the \u201cMotor City Bad Boys.\u201d
And that\u2019s how we like it.
Led by a physically aggressive, defense-orientated core of players, the Detroit Pistons literally fought their way to back-to-back NBA championships in \u201989 and \u201990.
And when it came to defending the \u201cBad Boys\u201d moniker, no player was safe.
Not Barkley, not Bird and especially not Michael Jordan.
Detroit\u2019s initial inability to successfully defend \u201cHis Airness\u201d led to Pistons head coach Chuck Daly instituting the \u201cJordan Rules.\u201d
Daly vowed that Jordan himself would never defeat the Pistons again.
Essentially the \u201cJordan Rules\u201d indicated that No. 23 was to be stopped by any means necessary.
Ultimately, it was this mentality to\u00a0win by any means necessary that allowed the Detroit Pistons to steamroll opponents.
The 1988-89 and 1989-90 Detroit Pistons teams are considered by most to be some of the greatest in NBA history. The \u201888-'89 Pistons dominated the regular season, finishing with a 63-19 record.
The \u201cBad Boys\u201d were largely responsible for the demise of the great Lakers and Celtics teams of the '80s.
The Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers for the organization's first championship in 1989. Prior to the \u201989 championship, the Lakers and Celtics combined for eight total NBA championships from 1980-1988.
Neither the Los Angeles Lakers nor the Boston Celtics would win an NBA championship again until Shaq and Kobe combined to win the Lakers a championship in 2000.
The world hated the \"Bad Boys\" and here are five reasons why.
5. John Salley
1 of 5
Pistons Era:\u00a01986-1992
Uniform Number:\u00a022
Position:\u00a0Center/Power Forward
At a long 6\u201911\", former Pistons first-round draft pick John \u201cSpider\u201d Salley ruled the paint.
Salley was a defensive juggernaut in Detroit, and is among the Pistons' all-time leaders in shots blocked.
Though John Salley wasn\u2019t the Laimbeer or Rodman type in regard to ruthless aggressiveness, he made this list because of the specific role he played with the team.
Salley was of sound mind at all times and was heavily relied on to rope in some of the other eccentric personalities that the Pistons boasted in that era.
Salley made this list because back in those days it took a real \u201cBad Boy\u201d to dominate the paint, and that\u2019s exactly what John Salley did.
4. Isiah Thomas
2 of 5
Pistons Era:\u00a01981-1994
Uniform Number:\u00a011
Position: Point Guard
Don\u2019t let Isiah\u2019s small stature fool you.
In 1996, the NBA selected Isiah Thomas as one of the 50 greatest players ever to play the game.
As Pistons team captain, Thomas was instrumental in Detroit\u2019s back-to-back championships.
At only 6\u20192\", Isiah Thomas played with great intensity, and he refused to be bullied.
Thomas played with a no-fear mentality throughout his career and Detroit, and you could find him at the center of most on-court altercations.
One thing that the \u201cBad Boys\u201d era taught us is that Isiah Thomas isn\u2019t afraid to throw the first punch.\u00a0
3. Rick Mahorn
3 of 5
Pistons Era:\u00a01985-1989, 1996-1998
Uniform Number:\u00a044
Position:\u00a0Center/Power Forward
Rick Mahorn was considered to be one of the baddest boys of them all.
He was never considered a spectacular athlete, but what he lacked in athletic ability he made up for in physical tenacity.
Mahorn was infamous for his ability to wreak havoc both on and off the court.
I think that you can attribute much of Dennis Rodman\u2019s antics later in his career to his time under the tutelage of Rick Mahorn during their time together in Detroit.
Mahorn\u2019s suspensions due to physicality didn\u2019t end with his days as a \u201cMotor City Bad Boy.\u201d
In 2008 Mahorn served\u00a0as the assistant coach for the WNBA Detroit Shock. During a\u00a0game against the\u00a0Los Angeles Sparks, he attempted to break up an on-court altercation between members of the two teams. In doing so,\u00a0Mahorn yet again receive a league-imposed suspension, as he\u00a0inadvertently\u00a0pushed Lisa Leslie to the ground, in an attempt to restrain the Sparks center.
The brawl between the teams is commonly referred to as the \u201cMalice at The Palace II.\u201d
Mahorn is listed at No. 3 because he was only a member of one of the two back-to-back championships.
2. Dennis Rodman
4 of 5
Pistons Era:\u00a01986-1993
Uniform Number:\u00a010
Position: Power Forward
Dennis Rodman was universally known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities.
He was an absolute menace for opposing teams, and completely tenacious in his pursuit of the basketball.
It didn\u2019t take him long to establish himself as a preeminent defensive talent, earning consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards while playing for the Pistons in '89-\u201990 and '90-\u201991.
He played the game with a controlled sense of reckless abandon, night in and night out he put his body on the line.
Rodman played many roles for the Detroit Pistons\u2014instigator, intimidator, rebounder, scorer\u2014it didn\u2019t matter. He did whatever he had to do to help the Pistons win the game.
Rodman\u2019s effort and approach to each game always remained the same, regardless of importance.
He played outside of himself, and welcomed the challenge of defending opposing teams' greatest superstars.
Dennis Rodman was the embodiment of the \u201cBad Boy\u201d image, and went down as a Detroit Pistons great.
1. Bill Laimbeer
5 of 5
Pistons Era: 1982-1993
Uniform Number: 40
Position: Center
Bill Laimbeer was a man of war. He literally fought tooth and nail during his time with the Detroit Pistons, and was the baddest of the \u201cBad Boys.\u201d
LeBron James knows no hate like Laimbeer endured during his career. In fact, I would go so far as to say that people outside of Detroit loathed Bill Laimbeer.
He was rough, dirty and everything that we loved and others hated.
No one in the history of the NBA played with more fire and desire than Bill Laimbeer.
His antagonistic demeanor and physical play were the source of countless on-court altercations.
For the most part, it was his contributions defensively that made Laimbeer a four-time NBA All-Star.
But it was his offensive prowess that is often overlooked.
Laimbeer finished his career in Detroit as one of the organization's top five all-time scorers in team history.
Laimbeer is also the Pistons' all-time leading rebounder.
X
",
+ "page_last_modified": ""
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+ "page_name": "Detroit Pistons - Wikipedia",
+ "page_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Pistons",
+ "page_snippet": "Prior to the 1986\u201387 season, the Pistons acquired more key players: John Salley (drafted 11th overall), Dennis Rodman (drafted 27th) and Adrian Dantley (acquired in a trade with the Utah Jazz). The team adopted a physical, defense-oriented style of play, which eventually earned them the nickname ...Prior to the 1986\u201387 season, the Pistons acquired more key players: John Salley (drafted 11th overall), Dennis Rodman (drafted 27th) and Adrian Dantley (acquired in a trade with the Utah Jazz). The team adopted a physical, defense-oriented style of play, which eventually earned them the nickname \"Bad Boys\". Dan Hauser, Pistons Vice-President of Marketing said, \"Al sent us Raiders sweaters, and when we played Golden State in Oakland, Al had Raiders warm-ups for us with our names and numbers on them. The rough bad-boy fighting style of the Raiders fits our image. That's why, at our home games at the Palace, you see a sea of black: black caps, black T-shirts, black sweatshirts\". The end of season video yearbook produced by the NBA was titled Bad Boys. Due to these factors, the name and image was embraced by the players and fans. Pistons guard Joe Dumars said, \"You can't be great in this league and have zero identity.\" Hudson Soft would later develop and publish Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball, a futuristic basketball game released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System without rules, without fouls, and weapons are permitted. Jalen Rose, who later starred as a member of the Fab Five at Michigan, embraced the Bad Boys brand as a teenager growing up in Detroit, stating \"I loved everything about the Bad Boys. I loved how they played and how they didn't back down. They just went out and kicked the other teams' butts.\" Pistons announcer George Blaha said, \"I think the people of Detroit and all across Michigan loved the Pistons' don't-back-down-ever mentality. Pistons announcer George Blaha said, \"I think the people of Detroit and all across Michigan loved the Pistons' don't-back-down-ever mentality. Detroit's a working person's town and that's the same type of fan that you have all across the state of Michigan from the big cities to the small towns. Never does a day go by that somebody that I talk to doesn't bring up the Bad Boys; they loved 'em.\"",
+ "page_result": "\n\n\n\nDetroit Pistons - Wikipedia\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJump to content\n
Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons 1937\u20131941 (semi-professional) 1941\u20131948 (NBL) Fort Wayne Pistons 1948\u20131957 (BAA/NBA) Detroit Pistons 1957\u2013present[1][2][3]
1937\u20131957: Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons[edit]
\n
Fred Zollner owned the Zollner Corporation, a foundry that manufactured pistons, primarily for car, truck, and locomotive engines in Fort Wayne, Indiana.[9] In 1937, Zollner sponsored a semi-professional company basketball team called the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons after he received a request from his workers.[10] In 1941, the Zollner Pistons shed their works team roots and joined the National Basketball League (NBL).[1] The Zollner Pistons were NBL champions in 1944 and 1945.[1] They also won the World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1944, 1945 and 1946.[11]\n
In 1948, the team became the Fort Wayne Pistons and jumped to the Basketball Association of America (BAA).[9] In 1949, Fred Zollner brokered the formation of the National Basketball Association from the BAA and the NBL at his kitchen table.[9]\n
There are suggestions that Pistons players conspired with gamblers to shave points and throw various games during the 1953\u201354 and 1954\u201355 seasons. In particular, there are accusations that the team may have intentionally lost the 1955 NBA Finals to the Syracuse Nationals.[12] In the decisive Game 7, the Pistons led 41\u201324 early in the second quarter before the Nationals rallied to win the game.[13][14] The Nationals won on a free throw by George King with 12 seconds left in the game.[13][14] The closing moments included a palming turnover by the Pistons' George Yardley with 18 seconds left, a foul by Frank Brian with 12 seconds left that enabled King's winning free throw, and a turnover by the Pistons' Andy Phillip in the final seconds which cost them a chance to attempt the game winning shot.[13][14] In the following season, the Pistons made it back to the NBA Finals. However, they were defeated by the Philadelphia Warriors in five games.[15]\n
\nDave Bing joined the team in 1966, scoring 1,601 points in his rookie year.\n
Though the Pistons enjoyed a solid local following, Fort Wayne's small size made it difficult for them to be profitable, especially as other early NBA teams based in smaller cities started folding or relocating to larger markets.[1] After the 1956\u201357 season, Fred Zollner decided that Fort Wayne was too small to support an NBA team and announced the team would be playing elsewhere in the coming season. He ultimately settled on Detroit.[1] Although it was the fifth largest city in the United States at the time,[16] Detroit had not seen professional basketball in a decade.[1][17][18][19] They lost the Detroit Eagles due to World War II, both the Detroit Gems of the NBL (whom became the Minneapolis Lakers) and the Detroit Falcons of the BAA in 1947, and the Detroit Vagabond Kings in 1949.[1][17][18][19] Zollner decided to keep the Pistons name, believing it made sense given Detroit's status as the center of the automobile industry.[1][9]George Yardley set the NBA single-season scoring record in the Pistons' first season in Detroit, becoming the first player to score 2,000 points in a season.[20][21]\n
During the 1960s and 1970s, the Pistons were characterized by talented players including George Yardley, Bailey Howell, Dave Debusschere, Dave Bing, and Bob Lanier, questionable trades, and frequent coaching changes.[22][23][24][25][26][27] At one point, DeBusschere was the youngest player-coach in the history of the NBA.[25] Then a trade during the 1968\u201369 season sent DeBusschere to the New York Knicks for Howard Komives and Walt Bellamy, both of whom had their best seasons behind them.[25] DeBusschere became a key player in leading the Knicks to two NBA titles.[25] Howell had previously been dealt to the Baltimore Bullets in 1964 and former Pistons guard Gene Shue, who was the head coach of the Bullets at the time, assessed the Pistons thusly: \"Detroit has the worst management in the league.\"[28][29] Howell would go to win two championships as a member of the Boston Celtics. Yardley, Lanier, and Bing all ended their Pistons tenure being traded away, frustrated with the direction and opportunities with Detroit.[30][31][32]\n
In 1974, Zollner sold the team to glass magnate Bill Davidson, who remained the team's principal owner until his death in 2009.[33][34]\n
The team had a winning season in 1971, having spent the 1960s below .500, and then had a brief period of sustained success in the mid-1970s, qualifying for the playoffs in four straight seasons (1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977).[35][36][37][38] Hope was then placed in Dick Vitale in 1978, the former head coach at the University of Detroit, but he was fired the following season, and the team limped into the 1980s with a 16\u201366 record in 1979\u201380.[39] The 1979\u201380 team lost its last 14 games of the season which, when coupled with the seven losses at the start of the 1980\u201381 season, constituted a then-NBA record losing streak of 21 games.[40]\n
Over time, Davidson became displeased with Cobo Arena, but opted not to follow the Red Wings to the under-construction Joe Louis Arena next door. Instead, in 1978, he moved the team to the suburb of Pontiac, where they played in the 82,000 capacity Silverdome, a structure built for professional football (and the home of the Detroit Lions at the time).[22][41]\n
\nIsiah Thomas against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on January 19, 1985.\n
Initially, the Pistons had difficulty moving up the NBA ladder. In 1984, the Pistons lost a tough five-game series to the underdog New York Knicks, 3\u20132.[45] In the 1985 playoffs, Detroit won its first-round series and faced the defending champion Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals. Though Boston prevailed in six games, Detroit's surprise performance promised that a rivalry had begun.[39] In the 1985 NBA draft, the team selected Joe Dumars 18th overall, a selection that proved to be very wise.[46] They also acquired Rick Mahorn in a trade with the Washington Bullets.[47] However, the team took a step backwards, losing in the first round of the 1986 playoffs to the more athletic Atlanta Hawks.[48] After the series, changes were made in order to make the team more defensive-minded.[39]\n
Prior to the 1986\u201387 season, the Pistons acquired more key players: John Salley (drafted 11th overall), Dennis Rodman (drafted 27th) and Adrian Dantley (acquired in a trade with the Utah Jazz).[49][50] The team adopted a physical, defense-oriented style of play, which eventually earned them the nickname \"Bad Boys\".[51]\n
In 1987, the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics. After pushing the defending champions to a 2\u20132 tie, the Pistons were on the verge of winning Game 5 at the Boston Garden with seconds remaining.[52][53] After a Celtics turnover, Isiah Thomas attempted to quickly inbound the ball and missed Chuck Daly's timeout signal from the bench. Larry Bird stole the inbound pass and passed it to Dennis Johnson for the game-winning layup.[52][53] While the Pistons did win Game 6 in Detroit, they lost the series in a tough Game 7 back in Boston.[52][53]\n
\nChuck Daly, coach of the 1989 and 1990 NBA champions.\nA ticket for Game 1 of the 1988 NBA Finals at The Forum.\n
Motivated by their loss to the Celtics, the Pistons, aided by midseason acquisition James Edwards, improved to a then-franchise-record 54 victories and the franchise's first division title in 32 years.[39][54][55] In the postseason, the Pistons avenged their two previous playoff losses to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, defeating them in six games and advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since the franchise moved to Detroit.[39]\n
The Pistons' first trip to the Finals in 32 years saw them face the Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.[15][39] After taking a 3\u20132 series lead back to Los Angeles, Detroit appeared poised to win their first NBA title in Game 6. In that game, Isiah Thomas scored an NBA Finals record 25 points in the third quarter while playing on a severely sprained ankle.[56] However, the Lakers won the game, 103\u2013102, on a pair of last-second free throws by Abdul-Jabbar following a controversial foul called on Bill Laimbeer, referred to by many as a \"phantom foul\".[56][57] With Thomas unable to compete at full strength, the Pistons narrowly fell in Game 7, 108\u2013105, as the Lakers became the first back-to-back NBA Champions since the 1969 Boston Celtics.[56][58]\n
\nDennis Rodman, NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991\n
Prior to the 1988\u201389 season, the Pistons moved to Auburn Hills to play at The Palace of Auburn Hills, the first NBA arena financed entirely with private funds.[59] The 1989 Pistons completed the building of their roster by trading Adrian Dantley for Mark Aguirre, a trade that Pistons fans criticized heavily initially, but later praised.[60][61][62][63] The team won 63 games, shattering their one-year-old franchise record, and steamrolled through the playoffs and into an NBA Finals rematch with the Lakers. This time, the Pistons came out victorious in a four-game sweep to win their first NBA championship. Joe Dumars was named NBA Finals MVP.[64]\n
The Pistons successfully defended their title in 1990, despite losing Rick Mahorn to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the expansion draft.[65][66] After winning 59 games and a third straight division title, the Pistons cruised through the first two rounds of the playoffs before playing a tough Eastern Conference Finals series against Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and the Chicago Bulls. Facing each other for the third straight season, the Pistons and Bulls split the first six games before the Pistons finished the series with a decisive 93\u201374 victory in Game 7.[67][68][69] Advancing to their third consecutive NBA Finals, the Pistons faced the Portland Trail Blazers.[66] After splitting the first two games at The Palace, the Pistons went to Portland, where they had not won a game since 1974, to play Games 3, 4 and 5.[70] The Pistons won all three games in Portland, becoming the first NBA team to sweep the middle three games on the road.[71] The decisive game came down to the final second. Trailing 90\u201383 with two minutes remaining, the Pistons rallied to tie the game, then took a 92\u201390 lead when Vinnie Johnson sank a 15-foot jumper with 00.7 seconds left in the game; this shot earned Johnson a new nickname in Detroit, \"007\", to go with his original, \"The Microwave\".[66][72] Isiah Thomas was named NBA Finals MVP.[66]\n
The Pistons' championship run came to an end in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, as they were swept by the eventual NBA champion Chicago Bulls in four games.[73] The most critical injury during this time belonged to Isiah Thomas, who had suffered a wrist injury a few months prior to the NBA playoffs.[74] The Conference Finals is best remembered for the Pistons walking off the court in the last game just before it ended, willingly letting the final seconds tick away, unwilling to shake hands with the Bulls. After the series, Michael Jordan said, \"You see two different styles with us and them. The dirty play and the flagrant fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct. Hopefully, that will be eliminated from the game. I think we play clean basketball. We don't go out and try to hurt people and dirty up the game. You never lose respect for the champions. But I haven't agreed with the methods they used. I think people are happy the game will get back to a clean game [with a Bulls triumph] and away from the 'Bad Boy' image.\"[75][76][77]\n
After getting swept by the Bulls, the Pistons traded James Edwards and waived Vinnie Johnson during the off-season.[78][79] In the 1991\u201392 season, the Pistons finished with a 48\u201334 record.[80][81] In the first round of the 1992 NBA playoffs, the Pistons were defeated by the New York Knicks in five games.[82] Chuck Daly resigned as head coach after the season.[83] Following Daly's departure, the Pistons went through a transitional period, as key players were either traded (Salley and Rodman) or retired (Laimbeer in 1993 and Thomas in 1994).[24][84][85][86] They bottomed out in the 1993\u201394 season, finishing with a 20\u201362 record.[80]\n
After being swept by the Miami Heat in the 2000 playoffs, Joe Dumars, who had retired following the 1998\u201399 season, was hired as the team's president of basketball operations.[94] He quickly faced what appeared to be a setback for the franchise, as Grant Hill elected to leave for the Orlando Magic.[95] However, Dumars worked a sign and trade with Orlando that brought the Pistons Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins in exchange for Hill.[96] Both quickly entered the Pistons' starting lineup. Wallace in particular developed into a defensive stalwart in the coming years.[92][97] However, Hill played only 47 games in the following three seasons due to a recurring ankle injury.[92]\n
The Pistons suffered through another tough season in 2000\u201301, going 32\u201350 despite Jerry Stackhouse averaging 29.8 points a game.[98] After the season, the Pistons fired George Irvine as head coach and hired Rick Carlisle, a widely respected assistant coach who had been a contributor for the Celtics during the mid-1980s.[99] The franchise also returned to its traditional red, white, and blue colors.[92]\n
Despite the team's improvement, Rick Carlisle was fired in the 2003 off-season. There were believed to be five reasons for the firing: first, that Carlisle had appeared reluctant to play some of the team's younger players, such as Prince and Mehmet Okur, during the regular season; second, that some of the players had not gotten along with Carlisle; third, that Carlisle's offense was thought to be conservative; fourth, that Hall of FamerLarry Brown had become available; and fifth, that Carlisle was rumored to have alienated owner Bill Davidson with his personality.[109][110] Brown accepted the job that summer.[111]\n
The Pistons' transformation into a championship team was completed with the February 2004 acquisition of Rasheed Wallace.[112] The Pistons now had another big man to pose a threat from all parts of the court.[113] The Pistons finished the season 54\u201328, recording their best record since 1997.[113] In the 2004 playoffs, after defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in five games, they defeated the defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets in seven games after coming back from a 3\u20132 deficit.[113] The Pistons then defeated the Pacers, coached by Rick Carlisle, in six tough games to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1990.[114][113][115] Many analysts gave the Pistons little chance to win against their opponent, the Los Angeles Lakers, who had won three out of the previous four NBA championships and who fielded a star-studded lineup that included Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton, and Karl Malone.[113][116] However, the Pistons won the series in dominating fashion, defeating Los Angeles in five games for the team's third NBA championship.[113][117] The Pistons posted double-digit wins in three of their four victories and held the Lakers to a franchise-low 68 points in Game 3.[113][118] Chauncey Billups was named NBA Finals MVP.[113][117] With the win, Bill Davidson became the first owner to win both an NBA and NHL championship in the same calendar year, as he had also won the Stanley Cup as owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning.[34]\n
Despite losing key members of their bench during the off-season (including Okur, Mike James and Corliss Williamson), the Pistons were considered a strong contender to win a second consecutive title in 2005.[119] They won 54 games during the regular season, their fourth consecutive season of 50 or more wins.[120] During the 2005 playoffs, they easily defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 4\u20131 and then rallied from a 2\u20131 deficit to finish off the Indiana Pacers, 4\u20132.[121][122][123] In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons faced the Miami Heat. Once again, the Pistons fell behind.[124] However, they ultimately won the series in seven games.[125] In the NBA Finals, the Pistons faced the San Antonio Spurs. After the teams split the first four games of the series, the turning point came at the end of Game 5 in Detroit, which went into overtime. The Pistons were ahead 95\u201393 when Robert Horry sank the game-winning three-point basket for the Spurs with 5.8 seconds left in the extra session.[126] The Pistons fought back to win Game 6 in San Antonio, setting up the first NBA Finals Game 7 since 1994.[127] The Pistons then lost a hard-fought, low-scoring game to the Spurs, who won their third NBA championship since 1999.[128]\n
The Pistons' 2004\u201305 season was marked by a major controversy, as well as distracting issues involving Larry Brown.[129][130] In the first month of the season, the infamous Malice at the Palace erupted between the Pacers and the Pistons, one of the largest fan-player incidents in the history of American sports.[129] It resulted in heavy fines and suspensions for several players and a great deal of NBA and media scrutiny.[129] Meanwhile, Brown was forced to leave the team on two occasions due to health concerns. During this time, he was the subject of a series of rumors linking him to other job openings.[130] Concerned about Brown's health and angered over his alleged pursuit of other jobs during the season, the Pistons bought out his contract soon after the 2005 NBA Finals.[130][131] Brown was promptly named head coach of the New York Knicks, while the Pistons hired Flip Saunders, formerly of the Minnesota Timberwolves.[132][133]\n
During the 2005\u201306 season, the Pistons recorded the NBA's best overall record.[134] Their 37\u20135 start exceeded the best start for any Detroit sports franchise in history and tied for the fourth-best start through 42 games in NBA history.[135][136] Four of the five Pistons starters (Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace) were named to the All-Star team, and Flip Saunders served as the Eastern Conference All-Star team coach.[137] The Pistons finished the regular season with a record of 64\u201318, setting new franchise records for both overall and road victories (27).[134][138][139] In addition, the team set an NBA record by starting the same lineup in 73 consecutive games from the start of the season.[134]\n
\nA game ticket from March 2006 between the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards.\n
During the off-season, the Pistons offered Ben Wallace a four-year, $48 million contract, which would have made him the highest-paid player in franchise history at the time. However, Wallace agreed to a 4-year, $60 million contract with the Chicago Bulls.[145]\n
To replace Ben Wallace, the Pistons signed Nazr Mohammed.[146] He struggled to fill the team's void at center, however, and the team began looking for additional help.[89] On January 16, 2007, the Pistons signed free agent Chris Webber.[147] The Pistons quickly began playing better basketball. They were only 21\u201315 before Webber was acquired; with him, the team went 32\u201314.[148][149] On April 11, the Pistons clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference, which guaranteed them home-court advantage for first three rounds of the playoffs.[150]\n
The Pistons opened the 2007 NBA playoffs with a 4\u20130 victory over the Orlando Magic, their first playoff series sweep since 1990.[151] The team advanced to face the Chicago Bulls, marking the first time that the Central Division rivals had met in the postseason since 1991.[152] After winning the first two games by 26 and 21 points, the Pistons overcame a 19-point deficit to win Game 3, 81\u201374.[153][154][155] The Bulls avoided elimination by winning Games 4 and 5, but the Pistons closed out the series, 95\u201385, in Game 6 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive season.[156][157][158] In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons faced the Cleveland Cavaliers. After both teams split the first four games of the series, the turning point happened in Game 5. The game is best remembered for LeBron James' performance where he scored the Cavaliers' final 29 of 30 points, including the team's final 25 points, to help defeat the Pistons 109\u2013107 in double overtime.[159] The Pistons never recovered as they were eliminated in Game 6, 98\u201382.[160]\n
At the start of the 2007\u201308 season, Rasheed Wallace became the Pistons' new center.[166] Upon entering his third season, Saunders became the longest-tenured Pistons coach since Chuck Daly.[167] Detroit finished the season with the second-best record in the league at 59\u201323.[168] The Boston Celtics held the first seed, and many speculated that Boston was their main competition in the Eastern Conference.[168][169] In the 2008 NBA playoffs, Detroit started out poorly with a Game 1 loss to the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers and found themselves in a 2\u20131 deficit.[170][171] However, the Pistons rallied to defeat the Sixers in six games.[172]\n
In the semifinals, the Pistons faced the Orlando Magic. The Pistons rolled out to a Game 1 romp,[173] and won a tight Game 2 amid mild controversy. At the very end of the third quarter, Chauncey Billups hit a three-point field goal that gave the Pistons a three-point lead. However, the clock had stopped shortly into the play. League rules currently prohibit officials from using both instant replay and a timing device to measure how much time has elapsed when a clock malfunctions, nor is a replay from the time of the malfunction onward allowed. The officials estimated that the play took 4.6 seconds, and since there were 5.1 seconds remaining when it began, the field goal was counted. The NBA later admitted that the play actually took 5.7 seconds and the basket should not have counted.[174]\n
In addition to losing Game 3 badly, 111\u201386, the Pistons also lost all-star point guard and team leader Chauncey Billups to a hamstring injury.[175] Despite his absence, the Pistons rallied from 15 down in the third quarter to win Game 4 90\u201389 on a field goal by Tayshaun Prince with just 8.9 seconds to play, taking a 3\u20131 series lead.[176] Again with Billups sitting on the sideline, they then proceeded to win Game 5 in Detroit, winning the series 4\u20131.[177]\n
Detroit advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the sixth straight season, squaring off against the Celtics.[177][178] This put the Pistons second on the all-time list of most consecutive conference finals appearances, behind only the Los Angeles Lakers, who appeared in eight straight conference finals from the 1981\u201382 to 1988\u201389 seasons.[179] They lost Game 1 88\u201379, but won in Game 2 on the road, 103\u201397, marking the Celtics' first home court loss in the postseason.[180][181] Immediately following that, the Celtics won their first road game of the postseason, 94\u201380, in Game 3.[182] Game 4 saw the Pistons win 94\u201375.[183] In the pivotal Game 5 they lost 106\u2013102, despite rallying from 17 points down late in the game.[184] In Game 6, the Pistons entered the fourth quarter leading 70\u201360, but a lack of focus, a poor game from Rasheed Wallace, and a rally-killing turnover by Tayshaun Prince ultimately led to their demise; the Pistons ended their season with an 89\u201381 loss. In what would ultimately be a bellwether moment in the franchise's history, Wallace refused to take any post-game questions, simply walking back to the locker room after, aware that Joe Dumars would likely start dismantling the team, saying only \"It's over, man.\"[185] After that, the Celtics went on to win the 2008 NBA Finals.[186] On June 3, 2008, the Pistons announced that Flip Saunders would not return as head coach.[187]\n
On June 10, 2008, the Pistons hired Michael Curry to be their new head coach.[188] On November 3, 2008, the Pistons traded key members Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson.[189][190] McDyess was later waived on November 10 and rejoined the Pistons on December 9.[191][192] The trade was marked as the start of a new rebuilding process due to Iverson's free agent status at the end of the season.[189] Indeed, Joe Dumars previously made it clear that no player on the team was guaranteed a position, bluntly saying they lost their sacred cow status.[193]\n
The season was marked with many controversies and injuries.[194][195] As a result of this and poor play, the Pistons dropped down the standings, only clinching a playoff berth on April 10, 2009.[196] The Pistons finished the season at 39\u201343, their first losing season in eight years.[197][198] The Pistons were then swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in four games in the first round of the 2009 NBA playoffs.[199] On June 30, 2009, Michael Curry was fired as head coach.[200] Iverson signed with the Memphis Grizzlies during the off-season.[201]\n
In the off-season, the Pistons reached an agreement with former Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon on a five-year/$55 million contract, as well as an agreement with former Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva on a five-year contract worth $35 million.[202][203] That same month, the Pistons lost their two key members during the last few years, veterans Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess.[204][205] On July 8, 2009, the Pistons hired former Cavaliers assistant coach John Kuester to be the new head coach.[206] The Pistons later re-signed Ben Wallace on August 12, 2009.[207]\n
Despite these changes, the team regressed even further, as they were hampered by setbacks and injuries.[208][209] On March 23, 2010, the Pistons were eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Indiana Pacers.[210] The Pistons finished with a 27\u201355 record, their worst since 1994.[211] Another 50-loss season, this time finishing at 30\u201352, led to the firing of Kuester at the end of the 2010\u201311 season.[212]\n
\n
2011\u20132015: New ownership; more struggling[edit]
Prior to the start of the 2011\u201312 season, the Pistons made several leadership changes, including appointing Dennis Mannion as president of the franchise and Palace Sports & Entertainment.[218] The team decided to hire Lawrence Frank as the head coach.[219] The 2011\u201312 season was an improvement from previous years for the Pistons, although they still posted a losing record. While they started the season 4\u201320, they won half their remaining games to finish a lockout-shortened season with a record of 25\u201341.[220] The team continued to build its young core with the drafting of the talented center Andre Drummond.[221]\n
Following the 2012\u201313 season, Frank was fired as head coach on April 18, 2013, after two losing seasons,[167][222] and on June 10, 2013, the Pistons hired former player and coach Maurice Cheeks.[223] His tenure lasted for just a bit more than half a season, as he was replaced by interim coach John Loyer.[224][225] In April, the Pistons announced that Joe Dumars would step down as president of basketball operations but remain as an advisor to the organization and its ownership team.[226] On May 14, 2014, Stan Van Gundy was hired. Van Gundy signed a 5-year, $35 million contract to become the head coach and president of basketball operations for the team.[227]\n
After starting the 2014\u201315 season with a 5\u201323 record, the Pistons waived Josh Smith, who was acquired in the summer of 2013.[228] The team went on a lengthy winning streak, but finished the season with a record of only 32\u201350 after Brandon Jennings' Achilles injury.[229][230]\n
The Pistons entered the All-Star break at 27\u201327.[240] The Pistons surpassed their win totals from the 2009\u201310 season to the 2014\u201315 season on March 9, 2016, when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks 102\u201396.[241] On April 6, 2016, following a 108\u2013104 win over the Orlando Magic, the Pistons reached 42 wins and were assured their first winning season since the 2007\u201308 season.[242] On April 8, 2016, the Pistons defeated the Washington Wizards 112\u201399 and clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2009.[243] The eighth-seeded Pistons faced the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 2016 NBA playoffs. They were swept in four games in a highly competitive series.[244][245]\n
\n
2017\u20132020: Returning to downtown Detroit[edit]
\nOpening tip of a Pistons game against the New York Knicks\n
Beginning with the 1978\u201379 season, the Pistons played their home games in suburban Oakland County, directly north of Detroit/Wayne County, first playing ten seasons at the Pontiac Silverdome and then playing at The Palace of Auburn Hills starting in the 1988\u201389 season.[22][246][247] Pistons owner Tom Gores, Palace Sports & Entertainment vice chairman Arn Tellum, and Olympia Entertainment, the Ilitch family's holding company that controls the Red Wings and Tigers, had been in negotiations over a partnership since the summer of 2015, with the Pistons possibly relocating to the new Little Caesars Arena as soon as the 2017\u201318 season. Talks intensified just as the Pistons were set to open their 2016\u201317 season, and as part of the terms of the agreement, there was discussion of a possible merger between Olympia and PS&E.[248] Also contingent on a finalized agreement, the Pistons were looking for a parcel of land in the arena's vicinity to build a new practice facility and team headquarters.[248][249] The leasing agreement/partnership needed both city and league approval to be finalized.[250][251]\n
On November 22, 2016, the Pistons officially announced their intention to move to Little Caesars Arena, and the site of The Palace of Auburn Hills was to be redeveloped and sold, with the arena likely to be demolished as part of the redevelopment.[252] The last remaining NBA franchise to play in a suburban location, the Pistons ended their 39 year stay in Oakland County.[253]\n
On June 20, 2017, Detroit City Council approved the Pistons' move to Little Caesars Arena.[254] On August 3, 2017, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the move, which made it official.[255][256] The move made Detroit the only U.S. city to have its Major League Baseball (MLB), National Football League (NFL), NBA, and NHL teams playing in its downtown district, and one of only two U.S. cities to have all their teams playing in one place, the other being Philadelphia.[257]\n
The Pistons finished the 2017\u201318 season with a 39\u201343 record. They missed the playoffs for the eighth time in ten years.[259] On May 7, 2018, the Pistons announced that Stan Van Gundy would not return as head coach and president of basketball operations.[260] On June 11, 2018, Dwane Casey was hired by the Pistons to be their new head coach, agreeing to a five-year deal.[261] The Pistons finished the 2018\u201319 season with a 41\u201341 record, clinching a playoff spot as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.[262] In the first round of the 2019 NBA playoffs, the Pistons were swept in four games by the Milwaukee Bucks, setting an NBA record for the most consecutive playoff losses with 14.[263][264]\n
On March 11, 2020, the 2019\u201320 season was suspended by the NBA after it was reported that Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.[265][266] On June 4, 2020, the season came to an end for the Pistons when the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan that would restart the season with 22 teams returning to play in the NBA bubble on July 31, 2020, which was approved by the National Basketball Players Association the next day.[267][268] The Pistons finished the season with a 20\u201346 record.[269]\n
\n
2020\u2013present: Continued struggles; historic losing streak[edit]
\n
The Pistons hired Troy Weaver as the new general manager in June 2020.[270] The Pistons finished the 2020\u201321 season with the second-worst record in the league at 20\u201352, missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season. The 20 wins were also tied for the second-fewest in franchise history at the time.[271][272] In the 2021 NBA draft, the Pistons selected Cade Cunningham with the first overall pick.[273] The Pistons finished the 2021\u201322 season at 23\u201359, missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season.[274]\n
With the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, the Pistons selected Jaden Ivey. Later in the first round, the Pistons acquired Jalen Duren via a trade with the New York Knicks.[275] The Pistons finished the 2022\u201323 season with the worst overall record in NBA and second-worst in franchise history at 17\u201365.[276] It was their first 60-loss season since 1993\u201394.[277] After the last game of the season on April 9, 2023, Dwane Casey stepped down as head coach to join the front office.[276] On June 2, 2023, Monty Williams was hired by the Pistons to be their new head coach.[278]\n
After the Pistons started the 2023\u201324 season with a 2\u20131 record, they lost a franchise-record 28 games in a row from October 30 to December 30, the longest single-season losing streak and tied for the longest losing streak in NBA history.[279] They became the 13th team in NBA history to have a winless month, going 0\u201315 in November.[280] On March 9, 2024, the Pistons were officially eliminated from playoff contention for the fifth consecutive season.[281]\n
After moving from Fort Wayne, to Detroit in 1957, the Pistons' uniforms remained largely unchanged for two decades, featuring the word \"Pistons\" in blue block lettering. In the 1978\u201379 season, the team featured a uniform with lightning bolts on the sides and in the wordmark on the front of the jerseys. The team discontinued the lightning bolt theme and returned to its classic block lettering and simple side panel pattern in 1981, staying with this look until 1996. That year, the Pistons changed their colors to teal, black, yellow and, red and unveiled a new logo with a horse's head and flaming mane. This color scheme lasted until 2001, when the team returned to the traditional red, white, and blue colors and a uniform pattern taking cues from the 1981\u201396 threads.[285] The horse's head and flaming mane logo lasted until 2005, when the team switched to a more classic logo design.[286]\n
On May 16, 2017, the Pistons unveiled a new logo, which is a modernized version of the previous \"Bad Boys\" era logo used from 1979 to 1996.[4][287]\n
Hooper is the mascot of the Pistons. He is depicted as a horse wearing a Pistons jersey. The symbolism is, that like the pistons they are named after, the team produces horsepower.[286][288] Hooper became a part of the team on November 1, 1996, replacing Sir Slam A Lot.[289][290]\n
Though Hooper was introduced during the \"teal era\" to coincide with the Pistons' new equestrian logo, his popularity as a mascot allowed him to remain a part of the team despite the Pistons returning to their previous colors and basketball logo only a few years later.[286]\n
At the start of the 1987\u201388 season, Al Davis, owner of the then Los Angeles Raiders, sent Raiders merchandise to the Pistons to acknowledge the shared view of the teams and their physical style of play. Dan Hauser, Pistons Vice-President of Marketing said, \"Al sent us Raiders sweaters, and when we played Golden State in Oakland, Al had Raiders warm-ups for us with our names and numbers on them. The rough bad-boy fighting style of the Raiders fits our image. That's why, at our home games at the Palace, you see a sea of black: black caps, black T-shirts, black sweatshirts\".[51][291]\n
The end of season video yearbook produced by the NBA was titled Bad Boys.[51][292] Due to these factors, the name and image was embraced by the players and fans.[51][291][293][294] Pistons guard Joe Dumars said, \"You can't be great in this league and have zero identity.\"[293]Hudson Soft would later develop and publish Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball, a futuristic basketball game released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System without rules, without fouls, and weapons are permitted.[295] \n
The positive view of the team was not universal with Michael Jordan declaring \"the Bad Boys are bad for basketball,\"[296] later adding \"I hated them. And that hate carries even to this day.\"[297]David Stern, Commissioner of the NBA at the time, said, \"If I had it to do over again, we would be more aggressive in regulating, shall we say, that style of play, because it led to our game becoming much more physical.\"[293]\n
Jalen Rose, who later starred as a member of the Fab Five at Michigan, embraced the Bad Boys brand as a teenager growing up in Detroit, stating \"I loved everything about the Bad Boys. I loved how they played and how they didn't back down. They just went out and kicked the other teams' butts.\"[51] Pistons announcer George Blaha said, \"I think the people of Detroit and all across Michigan loved the Pistons' don't-back-down-ever mentality. Detroit's a working person's town and that's the same type of fan that you have all across the state of Michigan from the big cities to the small towns. Never does a day go by that somebody that I talk to doesn't bring up the Bad Boys; they loved 'em.\"[294]\n
During the 1984\u201385 season, the Silverdome's roof collapsed, causing the team to temporarily relocate to the Joe Louis Arena for 14 of their remaining 15 home games of the season (March 6 through May 10).[59][305] The March 11 game was played at Cobo Arena.[306]
The Pistons hold the draft rights to the following unsigned draft picks who have been playing outside the NBA. A drafted player, either an international draftee or a college draftee who is not signed by the team that drafted him, is allowed to sign with any non-NBA teams. In this case, the team retains the player's draft rights in the NBA until one year after the player's contract with the non-NBA team ends.[307] This list includes draft rights that were acquired from trades with other teams.\n
1Reggie Jackson wore the number at the time it was retired (2015\u20132020).[314][315]
\n
2The number was originally retired in honor of Chuck Daly, who never played in the NBA, as it represented the two NBA championship teams he coached. However, the number was unretired on July 30, 2021 for Cade Cunningham after he received permission to wear it from Daly's daughter.[44][316]
\n
3Stanley Johnson wore the number at the time it was retired.[314][317]
^ abcdefghiPretzer, Ryan (October 16, 2007). \"Farewell, Fort Wayne\". Pistons.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.\n
^\"NBA LockerVision - Detroit Pistons - Association Edition - Story Guide\". LockerVision.NBA.com. NBA Properties, Inc. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2022. The Detroit Pistons Association Edition uniform is the traditional white-base uniform found in every team's uniform lineup. The Pistons core brand elements are brought to life using the teams classic red, white and blue colorway along with the \"Pistons\" jersey wordmark and classic stripes on the side inserts. The shorts feature the team's primary and secondary logos, while also maintaining the stripe detail found on the jersey.\n
^Maxwell, John (December 26, 2007). \"The First 2,000-Point Scorer\". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2019.\n
^ abLanglois, Keith (May 9, 2009). \"Chuck Daly, 1930-2009\". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2017.\n
^Langlois, Keith (May 31, 2011). \"NBA Approves Tom Gores\". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2017.\n
^\"Pistons waive Josh Smith\". NBA.com (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. December 22, 2014. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2016.\n
^ abc\"Detroit Pistons Radio\". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. October 28, 2015. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.\n
^Coon, Larry. \"NBA Salary Cap FAQ \u2013 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement\". Retrieved April 13, 2014. If the player is already under contract to, or signs a contract with a non-NBA team, the team retains the player's draft rights for one year after the player's obligation to the non-NBA team ends. Essentially, the clock stops as long as the player plays pro ball outside the NBA.\n
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\n 5 replies on \u201cHow the Detroit Pistons came to be known as the Bad Boys\u201c
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