Detroit Pistons

The Bad Boys of Detroit

via Wikipedia: Celtics–Pistons rivalry · see source

The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Little Caesars Arena, located in Midtown Detroit.

Quick Facts

Era of peak conflict

1987–1989 and 2008

Defining celtics figures

Larry Bird
Kevin McHale
Robert Parish
Paul Pierce
Antoine Walker
Kevin Garn

Defining pistons figures

Isiah Thomas
Bill Laimbeer
Dennis Rodman
Joe Dumars
Rick Mahorn
Ben Wallace

Lore & Background

The Pistons are one of the NBA's 'Original Eight' charter teams. They were founded as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, a semi-professional company basketball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1937. The club turned professional in 1941 as a member of the National Basketball League (NBL), where they won two NBL championships (1944 and 1945). The Pistons later joined the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1948. The NBL and BAA merged to become the NBA in 1949, and the Pistons became part of the merged league. In 1957, the franchise moved to Detroit. The Pistons have won three NBA championships: in 1989, 1990 and 2004.

Reader's Guide

The Pistons played in Olympia Stadium for their first four seasons in Detroit, then moved to Cobo Arena beginning in the 1961–62 season. In 1978, they moved to the Silverdome in Pontiac. The team's fortunes turned in 1981 when they drafted Isiah Thomas. Key acquisitions included Vinnie Johnson (1981), Bill Laimbeer (1982), and head coach Chuck Daly (1983). The 'Bad Boys' era began with the drafting of John Salley and Dennis Rodman and the trade for Adrian Dantley before the 1986–87 season.

Did You Know?

The Pistons won the World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1944, 1945 and 1946.
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.
The 1979–80 Pistons lost their last 14 games, which combined with seven losses at the start of 1980–81 set a then-NBA record losing streak of 21 games.