Detroit Pistons Basketball

Ever wonder how Detroit Pistons basketball came to be? The team was founded in 1941 by a man named Fred Zollner. Zollner's claim to fame was the manufacturing and sale of automotive pistons, so when it came time to name his basketball franchise, he of course took the product-placement route and dubbed them the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons. They joined the National Basketball League that season, and in their first year, they went 15-9 and reached the NBL finals where they were defeated by the Oshkosh All-Stars. They would go on to post the best record in the league every season from 1943 through 1946, winning a pair of NBL championships during that time. In 1950, the team joined the NBA. They moved to Detroit in 1957, and in 1974, Zollner sold the team to current Pistons owner Bill Davidson. The rest, as they say, is history, as under Davidson the team has won three NBA Championships and has since become one of the league's most popular clubs.

All-Time Greats of Detroit Pistons Basketball

Some of the NBA's greatest players rose to fame as members of the Detroit Pistons basketball team. There was Bob Lanier, an eight-time All-Star who still ranks among the NBA's top 20 in points (19,248) and rebounds (9,698) despite retiring over 20 years ago. There was Dave Bing, a seven-time All Star who averaged 20.3 points and 6 assists per game in 12 professional seasons. Both are Hall of Famers, as is Isiah Thomas. Thomas became legendary as the leader of the Pistons "Bad Boys" team during the 1980s, leading the club to a pair of titles while earning 12 trips to the NBA All-Star game. Unlike Lanier, Thomas spent his entire playing career with the Pistons, and remains the team's all-time leader in points scored (18,822) and assists (9,061). These are just three of the many names that have stood out among the Detroit rosters of the past.