Top 5 point guards in Detroit Pistons History
Feb 10, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Chauncey Billups walks by Isiah Thomas during his halftime retirement ceremony in the game between the Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Nuggets won 103-92. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
The Detroit Pistons have an extensive franchise history spanning all the way back to 1941 when they were the Fort Wayne Pistons playing in the National Basketball League.
As the offseason keeps chugging along we’ll be counting down the five best players at each position in the Detroit Pistons’ history.
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To kick things off we’ll be looking at the five best point guards to play for the Pistons.
The Pistons have had a number of great point guards over the years, with strong point guard play being a key factor in all three of the Pistons championships.
We all know of the championship heroes who led the team at the point, however there are a number of other great point guards who have pulled on a Pistons jersey and established themselves as one of the best at the position in franchise history.
Lindsey Hunter
Lindsey Hunter had two very different stints with the Detroit Pistons during his 12-season career.
He was drafted by the Pistons in 1993 with the 10th overall pick in the draft and he stayed with the team until 2000.
During this run he started 374 of his 499 games and averaged 11.2 points, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
He also shot 37 percent from the three-point line, which was scorching hot for the time.
These numbers are very solid, particularly his steals, however Hunter didn’t cement his spot as a great Pistons player until he returned to the team in 2003, after playing with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors.
In this stint he only started 12 of his 215 games and averaged just 3.7 points, 1.9 assists and 0.8 steals in 14.5 minutes per game.
What was most impressive about Hunter’s return was his lockdown defence, most notably during the Pistons’ back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals in 2004 and 2005.
Hunter had a defensive win share of 3.3 across these two seasons as well as a defensive box plus/minus of 3.6.
The Pistons team of the mid to early 2000s were built on the back of relentlessly tough defence, and Hunter was a crucial part of this, with his lockdown abilities off the bench being vital.
Apr 24, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (1) dribbles by Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) during the second quarter in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Reggie Jackson
This may sound slightly controversial, but Reggie Jackson has already established himself as one of the best point guards to play for the Detroit Pistons.
Huge question marks hovered over Jackson when Stan Van Gundy traded for him, particularly over whether he’d be cancerous to the locker room in Detroit just as he was in Oklahoma City.
However, Jackson has been the polar opposite, instead becoming a leader for the team and known for giving his all every single night.
He’s only spent just under one and a half seasons with the Pistons, but he has already made a huge impact.
Since being traded he has averaged 18.5 points, 7.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting 34.5 percent from three, the highest mark of his career so far.
His 18.5 points per game is good for the 10th highest average in the Pistons’ history, while his seven assists is the third highest average in team history.
Jackson’s 19.5 PER is the ninth highest in the Pistons’ history and is the second highest among point guards.
Looking beyond his stats, Jackson has already created a number of memorable moments in Detroit.
The most memorable of them all came against the Portland Trailblazers last season, where he scored 26 points in the final eight minutes of the game, sparking a 24-0 run that single handily won the game for the Pistons.
Dave Bing
Dave Bing’s career with the Detroit Pistons was incredible, and if it wasn’t for a pair of Finals MVP winning point guards, he’d be the best point guard in the franchise’s history.
Bing was drafted to the Pistons with the 2nd overall pick of the 1966 NBA Draft and immediately had a tremendous impact.
He averaged 20 points, 4.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds in his rookie season.
His second season was insane.
Bing averaged 27.1 points, 6.4 assists, 4.7 rebounds and won the league scoring title.
He played with the Pistons from 1966 until 1975, and during this time he averaged an incredible 22.6 points, 6.4 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals.
For a 6’3″ point guard, Bing could do it all.
During his nine seasons with the Pistons he made the All-Star team six times and made the All-NBA First Team twice.
Bing seemed ahead of his time with the way he could fill up an entire stat sheet as a point guard and is deservedly not only one of the best point guards to play for the Pistons, but one of the best players period.
Chauncey Billups
Chauncey Billups’ “Mr. Big Shot” nickname couldn’t be more apt.
He hit so many ridiculous game-winning shots over his career he has a legitimate claim to being one of the most clutch players in NBA history.
Billups was drafted with the third overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics, but couldn’t find his footing in the league, bouncing around to Toronto, Denver and Minnesota before finding himself on the Detroit Pistons in 2002.
This sparked the greatest patch of his career, which saw hm average 17 points, 6.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1 steal per game.
Billups also shot a scorching hot 40 percent during his first stay with the Pistons.
His run with the Pistons culminated in 2004 when the Detroit Pistons went up against the Los Angeles Lakers’ “super-team” of Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton and Karl Malone in the NBA Finals.
Not many people gave the Pistons a chance at the start of that series, but on the back of Billups’ incredible play they ran away with a dominant 4-1 series win and the franchise’s third NBA championship.
Billups had an incredible career, which saw him make five All-Star teams, two All-Defensive second teams, as well as ranking 10th in NBA history for three-point field goals made.
He is also 4th on the list of most assists by a Detroit Pistons (2,984), has the 4th highest three-point percentage (39.7), highest free throw percentage (89.2) and has the 6th highest PER in Pistons’ history (20.7)
Chauncey Billups and is an all-time Detroit Pistons great, and is very unlucky to not be the greatest point guard in the team’s history.
Isiah Thomas
To absolutely nobody’s surprise, Isiah Thomas is the greatest point guard in the Detroit Piston’s history, and the greatest player regardless of position.
Thomas was nothing short of incredible during his career.
Even ignoring how he played on the court, just by looking at his stats you know he was an all-time great.
In his 13 seasons with the Pistons he averaged 19.2 points, 9.3 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals.
He made the All-Star game in 12 consecutive years, only missing out in his final season in 1994.
Looking past the stats, Thomas had an innate ability to do whatever he wanted to with the ball.
Whether he was putting it on the floor, or making ridiculous layups and finger rolls, it seemed like Thomas always had the ball on a string.
Despite being just 6’1″, any time Thomas drove the ball into the teeth of the defence you always felt that he was going to find a way to score because of how easy he made the toughest of shots look.
Most importantly, Thomas was a driving force behind the Bad Boys run of the late 80s and early 90s, which saw the Pistons win their first ever NBA Championships in 1989 and 1990, with Thomas winning Finals MVP in the latter of the wins.
Thomas was also named in the All-NBA First Team three times and is seventh all time in assists (9,061) and 15th in steals (1,861).
Isiah Thomas is a legend of the game and the greatest to ever run the point for the Detroit Pistons.