Each basketball team has their own story to tell. Just like any other teams, the Detroit Pistons history of frachise is worth sharing.
The Detroit Pistons’ History answers our questions about the team, how the team was formed, where it originated and the interesting stories that the people today still doesn’t know. The Detroit Pistons’ History:
Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League and the Basketball Association of America
The Detroit Pistons actually originated in Fort Wayne, Indiana and the name of the Detroit Pistons then was Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons. Wondering where the “Zollner” in the team’s name came from? The “Zollner” in the team’s name came from the team’s owner Fred Zollner, who owns the Zollner Corporation. The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons played for the National Basketball League in 1941 before joining the National Basketball Association.
In the NBL, the Pistons posted the NBL’s best record during 1943 to 1946. Aside from having the best records in the NBL , the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons won back to back NBL championships in 1944 and 1945. After seven years with the NBL, the team competed in the Basketball Association of America(BAA) playing as the Fort Wayne Pistons for the season 1948-1949.
Pistons enters NBA
Right after the 1949 season of the BAA, the National Basketball League and the Basketball Association of America decided to merge, forming the National Basketball Association. The Pistons, together with the Minneapolis Lakers and the Rochester Royals, were placed in the Central Divison which is the circuit’s toughest.
In 1957, the Pistons moved to Detroit which is a larger city than Fort Wayne and which had not seen professional basketball in a decade. Thus, the new team name was formed, the Detroit Pistons. For the first four seasons of the NBA, the Pistons played in Olympia Stadium then moved to Cobo Arena. For 40 years of franchise, the Detroit Pistons has never one NBA Championships.In the 1960’s to the 1970’s the Pistons struggled. Though the team is composed of strong and talented individuals, the team remained weak.
The Bad Boys Era
In 1981, the team drafted point guard Isiah Thomas, in the early 1982 the Pistons got the center Bill Laimbeer and the guard Vinnie Johnson. These three players led the Detroit Pistons to the top for ten years. During the 1985 Playoffs, the Pistons faced the defending champions, Boston Celtics, which was the beginning of the Celtics-Pistons Rivalry.
The Pistons’ first NBA championship was in 1989, beating the Los Angeles Lakers , 4-0, and Joe Dumars hailed as the NBA Finals MVP. The next year, the Pistons won the NBA Finals again, this time, winning against the Portland Trail Blazers, 4-1, and Isiah Thomas was named the NBA Finals MVP. Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars were two of the best players in Detroit Pistons’ history since franchise in 1941.
2000-Present
After winning the back to back NBA finals championship, the team never won NBA finals again until 2004. In the 2003-2004 season, the team composed of Chauncy Billups,the season’s Finals MVP, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and the new member of the team, Rasheed Wallace, and the other members. This season, 2010, the Detroit Pistons signed Tracy McGrady and re-signed Ben Wallace.