Detroit Pistons: Ranking the top-8 Pistons’ drafts of all-time
Detroit Pistons’ Top drafts of all time: No. 1
1981: Isiah Thomas/ Kelly Tripucka
It’s hard to ignore the draft that produced the greatest Piston of all-time, Isiah Thomas, who was the player who turned the entire franchise around, transforming them from laughing stock to perennial contender.
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The Pistons were mostly god-awful in the 70’s but look how the wins started piling up after 1981 and you can see the effect that Thomas had on the franchise. His toughness came to personify the Detroit Pistons and he is one of the greatest point guards of all-time by any measure, one of the first to lead his team in scoring as well as assists.
But don’t overlook Kelly Tripucka! He may look goofy (he does) but this guy was a player too. He averaged as many as 26.5 points per game for the Pistons in his six-year stint in Detroit and made two All-Star Teams himself, so he was no slouch.
There were certainly some big what-ifs from the 2020 NBA Draft, but it is shaping to be one of the best in Pistons’ history. Will it ever eclipse any of the ones ahead of it on the list? Let’s hope so, as fans of the Detroit Pistons have been waiting for a long time to feel hopeful again.
This is the draft that could finally bring some sustained success back to Detroit.
Next. NBA Mock Draft: Way too early lottery predictions. dark