The Detroit Pistons are on top of the Eastern Conference this season. This has come as a shock to some fans.
Detroit has not been a top team in the NBA in quite some time. Cade Cunningham has led the way, playing incredible basketball.
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Unfortunately, recent news of Cunningham suffering a collapsed left lung has caused concern for Pistons fans. Cunningham will miss at least two weeks and possibly more. This could affect Detroit’s chances of making a run in this year’s playoffs.
Since the Pistons are a contender once again, we at Ball Exclusives have decided to take a trip back in time to learn the history of the franchise known today as the Detroit Pistons.
Pistons’ Fort Wayne beginnings
In 1937, the franchise was founded as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons by Fred Zollner, the owner of a company that manufactured pistons for cars and trucks. The team began as a semi professional club before becoming a professional team in 1941 when it joined the National Basketball League (NBL).
The Pistons quickly found success in the NBL. They won back to back league championships in 1944 and 1945 and also captured the World Professional Basketball Tournament three straight times from 1944 through 1946.
In 1948, the team shortened its name to the Fort Wayne Pistons and joined the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which would eventually become the NBA. However, their dominance in the NBL did not immediately carry over into the new league.
Fort Wayne came close to winning an NBA title in 1955 when they reached the NBA Finals against the Syracuse Nationals. The Pistons lost the series 4 to 3 in a heartbreaking defeat.
The loss became controversial after Fort Wayne blew a 41 to 24 second quarter lead and committed costly mistakes in the final seconds of Game 7.
The Pistons returned to the NBA Finals again in 1956 but were defeated 4 to 1 by the Philadelphia Warriors. While the team remained competitive on the court, financial problems began to grow.
Fort Wayne was simply too small a market for the franchise to survive long term. Realizing the need for a larger audience, Fred Zollner decided to relocate the team after the 1956 to 57 season.
Welcome to Detroit
He chose Detroit, which at the time was the fifth largest city in the United States and a major center of the automobile industry. The Pistons name remained a perfect fit for the Motor City, and Detroit finally had a professional basketball team that would stay for decades.
Years later, the franchise would reach its greatest heights. During the late 1980s, many believed the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers would continue dominating the NBA. Instead, the Pistons disrupted that narrative.
Detroit won back to back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990. The team became known as the Bad Boys because of their extremely physical and aggressive style of play.
Led by Isiah Thomas, the Pistons hard nosed approach drew criticism from fans and players across the league, many of whom believed the Pistons style was too rough. Despite the criticism, Detroit stayed committed to its identity, and the results were clear with two championships.
The Pistons would again experience both triumph and controversy years later. In the 2003 to 04 season, Detroit, led by Chauncey Billups, shocked the basketball world by defeating the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers, led by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
The Pistons won the 2004 NBA Finals in five games, capturing the third championship in franchise history. However, the following season brought one of the darkest moments in NBA history.
Malice at the Palace
On November 19, 2004, a game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons turned into chaos after Ben Wallace shoved Ron Artest following a hard foul. As Artest lay on the scorer’s table moments later, a fan threw a drink at him.
Artest then ran into the stands to confront the fan he believed was responsible, leading to a massive fight between players and fans. The incident became known as The Malice at the Palace, and it remains one of the most infamous brawls in professional sports history.
Despite the incident, Detroit made it back to the Finals in 2005 and faced the San Antonio Spurs. The Pistons played a great series but ultimately fell in seven games.
That was essentially the end of the Pistons run in the 2000s, as they fell off as contenders in the next few years. Since their 2005 Finals appearance, Detroit has only made the postseason seven times, and four of those came in the first four years after the 2005 Finals.
Will the 2025-26 season be the Pistons return to the Finals?
