Top 5 power forwards in Detroit Pistons history
Dave DeBusschere
Dave DeBusschere played in a time that not many people watching basketball today were around for.
In fact, other than die-hard fans, most people have probably never heard of DeBusschere.
Despite his relatively unknown status among today’s fans, he was one of the best players to pull on a Pistons uniform.
He was taken in the 1962 NBA draft as a territorial selection and was used at both the small forward and power forward positions, so it might be a little controversial to place him on the power forwards list.
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However, because of the sheer weight of his rebounding I decided he fits as a power forward.
DeBusschere played in Detroit from 1963 to 1968, averaging 16.1 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
His averages would likely be far higher if he hadn’t gotten injured after just 15 games in his second season.
The loss of DeBusschere saw the Pistons slump to a disappointing record of 23-59 that season, which shows just how important he was to the team.
He was eventually traded to the New York Knicks for Walt Bellamy and Howard Komives. He went on to play for their 1970 NBA Championship winning team.
By the end of his seven seasons in Detroit he finished with 4,947 rebounds, good for 7th all time in Detroit Pistons history.