An ode to Detroit Pistons Rasheed Wallace

It’s Sept. 17, which means it’s Rasheed Wallace’s birthday. He’s my favorite player so here’s a few words about why he’s my favorite Detroit Pistons.

When I worked as a sports writer in the newspaper industry I was a strict believer in the motto “no cheering in the press box.” Well I know longer work for a paper and yesterday was Rasheed Wallace’s birthday.

So in honor of my favorite athlete of all-time, I’m going to let my fandom run wild.

The former Pistons big man celebrated his 45th birthday on Tuesday and I thought this would be a perfect time to run through what made him one of the coolest players – on and off the court – in NBA history.

Where to begin?

Of course everyone remembers Rasheed’s attitude. The technical fouls, the memorable sound bites, the facial expressions. Those are probably some of the first things casual NBA fans remember.

Pistons fans probably remember a few more specifics. Rasheed’s arrival cemented the 2004 title run. His ability to hit crowd erupting 3-pointers. Maybe the fact that he sometimes took those 3-pointers in lieu of posting up, where he was almost always a mismatch. The pregame dances. Yelling “ball don’t lie” to let everyone know the referee’s call was wrong.

The aforementioned moments are all important but let’s start this with a rundown of some of the other things that have made Wallace memorable. Some good, some questionable, but always memorable.

Rasheed Wallace only missed the playoffs once (his rookie season with Washington) during his 16-year career.

For as much as he was criticized by the media, Wallace knew how to win and he adjusted his style of play to make those around him better. Wallace finished with one NBA title, but he played in two Western Conference Finals and five Eastern Conference Finals. He arguably had the most accomplished career of anyone on the Detroit Pistons 2004 championship team.

Sheed is a man of the people. During the Flint water crisis he, along with a handful of former NBA players, went door-to-door delivering bottled water to residents in need. He could have just donated the water. He could have done nothing. Instead he showed up in person and lent a hand himself.

Wallace tried to fight former NBA referee Tim Donaghy following a game in which he ejected Wallace. You know Tim Donaghy? The snake who later admitted to fixing NBA games he worked. This isn’t an attempt to promote violence, but maybe Sheed was on to something. The incident landed him a seven-game suspension.

Rasheed hosted a hip-hop show on a Portland radio station during his early Trail Blazers days.

Since being out of the league Rasheed has authored a children’s book. 

He told Amir Johnson to drink beer if he wanted to gain weight.

He had a one-game stop in Atlanta before getting moved to Detroit. He casually dropped 20 points, six rebounds and five blocks in his Hawks debut.

There is of course the NBA record 41 technical fouls Rasheed accumulated during the 2000-01 season. This is a sports record that should be safe for a long time.

He accepted a high school coaching job in North Carolina last year. 

Rasheed has always had high praise from his NBA peers. Nazr Mohammed called him the second toughest player he ever had to guard behind Shaquille O’Neal.

He still drove his 1996 white Ford Bronco when he played in Detroit. Worth noting that he had made millions of dollars at this point.

Rasheed had a deep bag when it came to trick shots.

Which may have helped him save the day on one of the most bizarre endings in NBA history.

Sheed’s emotion is what drew me to his game. I would practice his fadeaway for hours in my driveway. I would pretend like I had the nerve to be as vocal as him (which never happened). He was the soul of the Pistons during their glory days of my childhood. I know they were good before him, but Wallace always seemed like the heart of the team. For better or for worse.

His career is somewhat of an enigma. At times he looked completely unstoppable on the offensive end. Yet his career average is 14.4 points per game. He was a four-time All-Star but was never named to an All-NBA team.

He was a master communicator defensively and battled some of the best power forwards in an era when dominant power forwards were plentiful, but he never made an NBA All-Defensive Team.

More from PistonPowered

• Which Detroit Pistons could save Team USA in the Olympics?
• Detroit Pistons could have major roster churn after 2023-24 season
• The best Detroit Pistons to wear each uniform number
• Full Detroit Pistons NBA 2K24 ratings
• Detroit Pistons: Who will sign the remaining NBA free agents?

Rasheed could seemingly get a post up on the block whenever he wanted and kill defenders with a baseline fadeaway that he shot above his head. The move was almost unblockable and the shot was effective, yet he wouldn’t venture into the paint for entire games.

Sometimes you would watch Pistons games and see Rasheed score six straight points on the block and then never look to shoot again for the rest of the night.

It seems like his game was almost ahead of his era. If Rasheed’s career started today he would have been the perfect NBA center. He could stretch a defense beyond the arc, and go to the block for mismatches. He played above the rim early in his career. He was a great helpside defender. He was a smart player who didn’t need to be the focal point of the offense.

Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered what era he played in. Perhaps he was destined to be the player who knew his role and contributed to a winning culture. He was a Hall-of-Fame level talent despite the fact he will probably never make it to Naismith.

From a fan’s perspective he was a hard player to figure out. But that’s okay. Rasheed Wallace was a key cog in a great run for Detroit. He is one of the most memorable NBA players of my lifetime. I don’t think his legacy needs to be boosted or tarnished. He was just authentic. And that will always be good enough.

Stay up to date with the latest Pistons news and analysis by liking the Piston Powered Facebook page and following us on Twitter @PistonPowered.