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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
Dec 15, 2013; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons shooting guard Chauncey Billups (1) dribbles the ball around Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Wesley Matthews (2) during the second quarter at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /

Chauncey Billups, Dave Bing, Richard Hamilton

Billups – As Isiah Thomas was the heart and soul of the Pistons’ championship teams in the Bad Boys era, Chauncey was equally the leader of the group that won the 2004 NBA title – fittingly, against the Los Angeles Lakers. It was easy to overlook the free agent signing of Billups prior to the 2002-03 season since Billups was already joining his fifth team entering his sixth NBA season.

But by the time his (initial) run in Detroit came to an end, Billups was an NBA Champion, Finals MVP, five-time NBA All-Star and had earned the “Mr. Big Shot” nickname. Billups has the best career free throw percentage in Pistons history at 89.2% and is in the franchise’s top ten for three-point field goals (second), free throws (eighth) and assists (fourth).

Bing – Younger generations might know Dave Bing more for being the former mayor of the city of Detroit but older generations will remember him as one of the great scorers in Pistons history. Bing ranks just a tenth of a point per game behind Bob Lanier for tops in Pistons history at 22.6 points per game – and that was during a career that came entirely before the three-point shot was introduced at the NBA level.

Bing made six All-Star teams as a Piston and was named one of the NBA’s Top 50 players in celebration of the league’s 50th anniversary.

Hamilton – The mid-range jumper is a lost art in today’s NBA thanks to the analytics revolution showing that the risk-reward skews in favor of the three-point shot. That being the case, Rip Hamilton may go down as one of the last mid-range artists in league history.

Hamilton was known as one of the best-conditioned players of his era and made use of that by keeping defenders running, often running himself free on the baseline in half-court sets. It was then that Hamilton’s mid-range game became such a weapon for the early-aughts Pistons. Hamilton’s 18.4 points per game average as a Piston ranks tenth in franchise history.

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