49 Fun Facts About Detroit Pistons

The Pistons began as the company team of a piston foundry in which Midwestern city?

Fort Wayne, Indiana, was where Fred Zollner's foundry made pistons for car and truck engines. The city proved too small to support an NBA team, so he moved the club to Detroit in 1957.

Where, according to legend, did Fred Zollner broker the 1949 merger that created the NBA?

At his kitchen table, the story goes, Zollner got the rival BAA and NBL to agree to merge into the NBA. In 1952 he also bought a DC-3 airliner to fly his Pistons to road games.

Why did the Pistons keep their name after moving to Michigan in 1957?

It suited the Motor City: a name born in Fred Zollner's piston factory fitted the home of the American car industry. Detroit had gone a decade without a professional basketball team before the Pistons arrived.

Which Piston was the first NBA player to score 2,000 points in a season, in the team's first Detroit year?

George Yardley scored 2,001 points in 1957–58, breaking George Mikan's record of 1,932. A Stanford engineering graduate, he had put off turning pro in the hope of making the 1952 Olympic team.

Which team beat the Pistons by one point in Game 7 of the 1955 NBA Finals?

The Syracuse Nationals trailed by 17 points in the second quarter of Game 7, then rallied to win 92–91 on a late George King free throw.

Which Pistons forward, the NBA's youngest player-coach, was traded to the Knicks in 1968?

Dave DeBusschere was made player-coach at 24 and also pitched for baseball's Chicago White Sox. After the trade he won two NBA championships in New York.

Which Hall of Fame Pistons guard was elected mayor of Detroit in 2009?

Dave Bing built his own steel company in Detroit after his NBA career, then won a 2009 special election to replace Kwame Kilpatrick as mayor.

Which venue did the Pistons call home from 1978 to 1988?

The Silverdome was built for the NFL's Lions, and its size let the Pistons draw 61,983 fans for a 1988 game against Boston, an NBA record at the time.

Which glass magnate owned the Pistons from 1974 until his death in 2009?

Bill Davidson made his fortune with Guardian Industries, then bought the Pistons from founder Fred Zollner. In 2004 his Pistons and his Tampa Bay Lightning won the NBA and NHL titles in the same year.

The Pistons drafted Isiah Thomas second overall in 1981 out of which university?

Indiana had just won the 1981 national championship with Thomas, a sophomore, running the offence. He left school early for the draft and spent his whole NBA career in Detroit.

Which coach, hired in 1983, led the Bad Boys to back-to-back titles and later coached the Dream Team?

Chuck Daly reached the playoffs in all nine of his Detroit seasons, and the Pistons missed them the year after he left. He is in the Hall of Fame twice, as a coach and with the 1992 Olympic team.

Which future Finals MVP did the Pistons draft 18th overall in 1985?

Joe Dumars came out of little McNeese State and averaged 27 points in the 1989 Finals to win the MVP award. As team president he later assembled the 2004 championship roster.

Dennis Rodman was drafted 27th overall by the Pistons in 1986 out of which small school?

Southeastern Oklahoma State gave Rodman a scholarship after he shot up more than seven inches following high school, where he had failed to make the basketball team.

Whose steal of Isiah Thomas's inbound pass won Boston Game 5 of the 1987 East Finals?

Larry Bird stole the pass with Boston a point down and fed Dennis Johnson for the winning layup, turning defeat into a 108–107 win. Boston went on to take the series in seven games.

Isiah Thomas scored a Finals-record 25 points in a quarter in 1988 while playing on what?

A severely sprained ankle kept Thomas off the floor for only 35 seconds: he returned to finish the quarter 11-for-13. Detroit still lost Game 6 103–102 and then Game 7.

Who paid to build the Palace of Auburn Hills, which opened as the Pistons' home in 1988?

The team's owner and two developers paid for the Palace themselves, with no public money. Its 180 luxury suites, far more than any arena had then, became a model later arenas borrowed.

Which All-Star forward did the Pistons land in a blockbuster January 2018 trade?

Blake Griffin was traded to Detroit only six months after signing a five-year contract to stay with the Clippers. He made the 2019 All-Star team as a Piston.

Which Piston hit the jumper with 0.7 seconds left to win the 1990 Finals in Portland, earning the nickname '007'?

Vinnie Johnson, 'The Microwave', had already scored nine straight Detroit points earlier in the fourth quarter. His 15-footer finished a comeback from 90–83 down with two minutes left.

How did the Pistons react in the final seconds of their 1991 playoff sweep by Chicago?

Walked off without handshakes: with 7.9 seconds left, most of the Pistons filed past Chicago's bench to the locker room. Before the game Chicago's biggest star had called them 'undeserving champions'.

What was the Bad Boys Pistons' bruising defensive plan of the late 1980s called?

The Jordan Rules were drawn up after Michael Jordan scored 59 points against Detroit in April 1988: force him left, double-team him and hit him whenever he got past his man.

Which Bad Boys centre, a Notre Dame product, later coached the WNBA's Detroit Shock to three titles?

Bill Laimbeer took over the Shock when they were 0–10 in 2002 and won the WNBA title the very next season.

The Pistons' 1996 teal makeover came with a logo featuring what?

A horse's head with a flaming mane nodded to horsepower, the thing pistons produce. The teal look lasted only until 2001, when the team went back to red, white and blue.

Which Duke forward, taken third overall by the Pistons in 1994, shared Rookie of the Year with Jason Kidd?

Grant Hill left for Orlando in 2000 in a sign-and-trade, and the deal handed Detroit Ben Wallace, who became the defensive anchor of the 2004 champions.

Ben Wallace matched which centre's four Defensive Player of the Year awards?

Dikembe Mutombo won the award four times before Wallace matched him in 2006. Wallace got there after going undrafted out of Division II Virginia Union.

Which team did the Pistons upset in five games in the 2004 NBA Finals?

The Los Angeles Lakers fielded Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Gary Payton, yet Detroit held them to just 68 points in Game 3 and closed out the series in five.

Whom did the Pistons draft second in 2003, ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade?

Darko Miličić played so rarely for the 2004 champions that he was nicknamed the 'Human Victory Cigar', appearing only once games were decided. Detroit traded him to Orlando in 2006.

Which acquisition in February 2004 is credited with completing the Pistons' championship roster?

Rasheed Wallace reached Detroit in a three-team trade after playing just one game for Atlanta, which had acquired him ten days earlier. Four months later the Pistons were champions.

The 'Malice at the Palace' brawl in November 2004 involved the Pistons and which team?

The Indiana Pacers' Ron Artest charged into the stands after a fan threw a drink at him, and the NBA suspended him for the rest of the season.

Ben Wallace left Detroit in 2006 for which team on a four-year, $60 million deal?

The Chicago Bulls signed Wallace as a free agent but traded him to Cleveland less than two years later. By 2009 he was back with the Pistons.

Whom did the Pistons acquire from Denver in November 2008 in the trade that sent Chauncey Billups away?

Allen Iverson played only 54 games for Detroit before leaving as a free agent. Billups, meanwhile, led Denver to the Western Conference Finals that same season.

Which private-equity billionaire bought the Pistons in 2011?

Tom Gores came to Michigan from Israel as a small child and stocked shelves at a family grocery store near Flint. He went on to found Platinum Equity, the firm that bought the Pistons with him.

Which venue brought the Pistons back into Detroit in 2017?

Little Caesars Arena gave the Pistons a regular home in the city for the first time since 1978. The Palace of Auburn Hills, left without a team, was demolished in 2020.

Which Oklahoma State guard did the Pistons draft first overall in 2021?

Cade Cunningham led the Pistons from 14 wins in 2023–24 to 44 wins and the playoffs a year later, earning his first All-NBA selection along the way.

Which former Coach of the Year was in charge during the Pistons' 28-game losing streak in 2023–24?

Monty Williams had been named Coach of the Year with Phoenix only two seasons earlier. Detroit fired him after a single 14–68 season.

Which coach, hired in July 2024, tripled the Pistons' win total in his first season?

J. B. Bickerstaff had been fired by Cleveland only six weeks before Detroit hired him. He then turned a 14-win team into a 44-win playoff side.

What is the name of the Pistons' mascot, introduced in 1996?

Hooper replaced a knight called Sir Slam A Lot and proved popular enough to stay on long after the teal uniforms he arrived with were dropped.

Which Hall of Fame Pistons centre was known for his size 22 sneakers?

Bob Lanier's shoes were so famous that a bronzed pair went into the Hall of Fame before he did. He averaged just over 20 points a game across 14 NBA seasons.

Which future TV personality coached the Pistons in 1978–79 before being fired?

Dick Vitale was fired 12 games into his second season, and weeks later he called the first college basketball game ever shown on the new ESPN network.

By beating Portland in 1990, the Pistons became the first Finals team to do what?

Win all three middle games away: under the 2-3-2 format, Games 3, 4 and 5 were all in Portland, where Detroit had not won since 1974. The Pistons took all three to clinch the title.

Which centre, drafted ninth by the Pistons in 2012, led the NBA in rebounding four times?

Andre Drummond was fouled on purpose again and again by Houston in one 2016 game: he went 13-for-36 at the line, and his 23 misses set an NBA record.

Which trade did the Pistons make in February 1989, months before their first NBA title?

Adrian Dantley for Mark Aguirre brought a childhood friend of Isiah Thomas over from Dallas. Dantley, caught off guard by the deal, at first refused to report to his new team.

Which player did the Pistons lose to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1989 expansion draft?

Rick Mahorn was left unprotected and picked two days after the title was won, getting the news during the victory celebration. He never played for Minnesota, which traded him to Philadelphia.

Who coached the Pistons to their 2004 title?

Larry Brown had been in the job for only one season. Detroit hired him after firing Rick Carlisle, who had just won 50 games two years running.

Which NFL owner sent the Pistons his team's gear, fuelling their 'Bad Boys' image?

Al Davis of the Raiders adopted the Pistons as his favourite NBA team and sent sweaters and warm-ups with their names on. Home crowds were soon a sea of black caps and shirts.

Where did the Pistons host a 1960 playoff game when no arena in Detroit was free?

A high school gym in Grosse Pointe got the game because Olympia Stadium was booked for an ice show and the University of Detroit's arena was taken too. The Pistons lost by a single point.

What forced the Pistons out of their home stadium for the end of the 1984–85 season?

Its roof collapsed under the weight of an overnight snowfall in March 1985. The Pistons played out the season downtown at Joe Louis Arena, home of hockey's Red Wings.

Which team beat the Pistons in seven games in the 2005 NBA Finals?

The San Antonio Spurs won Game 7 81–74, denying Detroit back-to-back titles. The series had turned on Game 5, which the Pistons lost at home by one point in overtime.

Which former Duke guard was hired to run the Pistons' basketball operations in May 2024?

Trajan Langdon, nicknamed the 'Alaskan Assassin' as a Duke shooter, changed head coaches within weeks of arriving. The Pistons went from 14 wins to 44 in his first season.

Which team did the 60-win Pistons rally from 3–1 down to beat in the 2026 playoffs?

The Orlando Magic led the first-round series 3–1 before Detroit won three straight, its first playoff series win since 2008. Two years earlier the Pistons had lost 68 games.