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Detroit Pistons all-time roster: The best players in franchise history

By Zac Snyder

Feb 26, 2017; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; The jerseys of Detroit Pistons former players Ben Wallace and Chauncy Billups hang from the rafters before the game against the Boston Celtics at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 26, 2017; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; The jerseys of Detroit Pistons former players Ben Wallace and Chauncy Billups hang from the rafters before the game against the Boston Celtics at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /
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Detroit Pistons all-time great Bob Lanier.
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 30: (L-R) Former NBA players Bob Lanier, Tiny Archibald and Albert King attend the Autism Speaks Tip-off For A Cure 2015 on March 30, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Autism Speaks) /

Center: Bob Lanier

Ben Wallace may have gotten in at power forward on a technicality but there is a practical reason for it and that is to get both Wallace and Bob Lanier in the starting lineup. Lanier is one of just two players the Pistons have drafted with the first overall pick in their franchise history (Jimmy Walker being the other).

There can be no regrets about that pick. Lanier went on to have a Hall of Fame career and can now see his number 16 hanging in the rafters at Little Caesars Arena.

Lanier made seven All-Star teams as a member of the Pistons and was the franchise’s all-time leading scorer until he was eclipsed by Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars. Lanier remains in third place on the franchise’s all-time points list but is tops in terms of points per game at 22.7.

Unforunately, injury issues bagan to set in after Lanier’s sixth season in Detroit and he was limited to no more than 64 games in his next five seasons and was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. Lanier would go on to make his eighth and final All-Star appearance as a member of the Bucks but it was as a Piston that his legacy was cemented as one of the game’s greats.

While Lanier was not ultimately named to the Top 50 team named in honor of the NBA’s 50th anniversary, he was thought of enough to be one of the former players chosen to be a voter as part of the selection process.

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