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Locked On Pistons – An interview with Earl Cureton

By Duncan Smith

DETROIT, MI - FEBRUARY 29: Detroit Pistons Legend, Earl Cureton helps announce a new partnership that will directly impact Detroit Public School students at Osborn High School on February 29, 2016 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Allen Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - FEBRUARY 29: Detroit Pistons Legend, Earl Cureton helps announce a new partnership that will directly impact Detroit Public School students at Osborn High School on February 29, 2016 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Allen Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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I was joined on Tuesday by Earl Cureton, Detroit Pistons’ community ambassador. We talked about moving back to the city, championships and more.

I had the pleasure of speaking to Earl Cureton Tuesday night on Locked On Pistons. Earl is the Detroit Pistons’ community ambassador, and he has a resume matched by few in NBA history.

He was drafted in 1980 by the Philadelphia 76ers, joining a team led by players like Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Doug Collins and more. In his third season he won an NBA championship after the Sixers added Moses Malone.

Cureton won his second championship in 1993-94 with Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets, and in a 15-year career he played for not only the Sixers and Rockets, but the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers and had a brief stint with the Toronto Raptors.

He played with and against every legend of the 1980’s and 1990’s. All this from a man who grew up in East Detroit in the most trying times in the city’s history. Cureton was 10 years old when the riots of 1967 sprung up, and some of his most cherished memories are of the 1968 Detroit Tigers winning the World Series and bringing some healing back to the city ripped asunder along racial lines.

We spoke extensively about the Detroit Pistons’ efforts to be impactful in the local community, and we talked about his favorite memories of the Palace of Auburn Hills as the Pistons are poised to move back to Detroit.

Next: Best and worst-case scenarios for the Pistons

This was a great conversation, and I’ll be sure to have Earl back soon.

You can listen to the podcast below.

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