The Most Iconic Detroit Pistons Bench Players (Post-Teal Era)

CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 20: LeBron James
CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 20: LeBron James /
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BOSTON – MAY 28: Lindsey Hunter
BOSTON – MAY 28: Lindsey Hunter /

Lindsey Hunter – One of the Pistons’ first round picks from the 1993 draft, Lindsey Hunter spent the majority of his career playing in The Palace. He played on the ‘Teal Era’ Pistons from 1993 to 2000, starting in the last four seasons of that stint.

While he was a fun player during his first seven years with the team, he is remembered most fondly for his contributions coming off the Pistons’ bench during two championship runs.

The Pistons re-acquired Lindsey Hunter in a trade with the Raptors for Michael Curry in 2003. Backing up Chauncey Billups, Hunter became one of the team’s many heroes of the 2004 Finals. Not only did he hit some clutch shots, but he managed to irritate Kobe Bryant:

The playoff heroics became something of a theme for old Lindsey Hunter and the Pistons from there on out. In game four of the 2005 NBA Finals agains the San Antonio Spurs, Lindsey Hunter gave Pistons’ fans this gift of a performance:

I know what you’re thinking: “You couldn’t possibly have another legendary Lindsey Hunter highlight video to show me.” Well, if that was your assumption, you were wrong: Dead Wrong. I present one more Lindsey Hunter performance to the Piston Powered audience.

People forget just how good Dwayne Wade was in 2006. I would say Lindsey’s defense in that video was about as good as you can find on D-Wade at that time.

In total, Lindsey Hunter spent 10 seasons with Detroit. In the beginning, he was a solid starting point who played well with Grant Hill (he caught the ball when Grant Hill passed it to him). At the end, he became a sharpshooting playoff legend. Not a bad career for a point guard out of Jackson State.