The Detroit Pistons just completed a season in which they won 20 games, yet fans are more excited than they have been in a long time.
This is mostly because of the play of their five rookies, four of whom made an impact with the Pistons this season.
Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Saben Lee all outplayed their draft position, while 7th pick Killian Hayes showed signs of progress after returning from injury.
It was a great year for Pistons’ rookies, which made me wonder if any of them could crack the top rookies in franchise history.
It’s an interesting and debatable list, but here are the ten best rookies the Pistons have ever had in my humble opinion.
Detroit Pistons: Top-ten rookies in franchise history
No. 10- Andre Drummond
When the Pistons drafted Drummond with the 9th pick it looked like a bit of a reach to be honest.
But Drummond quickly established himself as one of the best rebounders of all time, averaging 7.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and a steal per game in his rookie season.
This was good enough to make the 2nd-team All-Rookie and finish 4th in the Rookie of the Year voting.
Drummond eventually fell out of favor with most Pistons’ fans, largely because his teams never had much success. The big problem with Drummond is that he was not good enough to be the best player on a playoff team.
The Pistons tried to make him that when he should have been viewed more as a complementary role player.
But that is all over now, so we can recognize Drummond for what he is, an elite rebounder who has a very limited offensive game and isn’t as good on defense as he should be for someone who is so athletic.
His rookie season brought promise, and Drummond somewhat fulfilled it, but his time in Detroit will mostly be remembered as a purgatory of mediocrity.
Detroit Pistons top ten rookies: No. 9, Brandon Knight
Here is another guy who would also be on top-ten list of biggest disappointments next to Drummond, but people tend to forget that Knight had a very productive rookie season.
He was drafted 8th by the Pistons (a common theme of Detroit never picking near the top of the NBA Draft) and at the time, it looked like they might have gotten a steal.
Knight averaged 12.8 points, 3.8 assists and shot 38 percent from the 3-point line, making the first-team All-Rookie in the process.
It was pretty much downhill from there, as Knight never fully worked out and ended up getting traded in the disastrous Brandon Jennings trade that also cost the Pistons Khris Middleton. OOPS.
Now Pistons’ fans just remember Knight as being the guy the Pistons drafted before Kemba Walker, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Vucevic and Jimmy Butler. OOPS AGAIN.
Knight’s time with the Detroit Pistons never worked out and he became a career bench player, but his rookie season was very good.
Detroit Pistons top ten rookies: No. 8, Saddiq Bey
Saddiq Bey just completed one of the better rookie seasons of all time for the Detroit Pistons, and narrowly missed setting the All-Time NBA rookie record for 3-point shots.
He still averaged 12.2 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 38 percent from long range on high volume. In fact, Bey put himself on top of an elite list of rookie shooters that includes several future Hall of Famers.
Bey didn’t just shoot 3-pointers though, he also played stout perimeter defense, proved himself to be tough and durable and didn’t make many mistakes.
If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought Bey had been in the league for ten years, as he carried himself with poise you don’t normally see in rookies.
You might think this is recency bias (MAYBE) and that Bey is ranked too high (WRITE YOUR OWN ARTICLE) but when you look at his stats and overall impact, there is an argument that he could be even higher.
The Detroit Pistons have to be excited about Saddiq Bey, who is not only one of their best rookies but one of the Pistons’ biggest draft steals of all time.
Detroit Pistons top ten rookies: No. 7, Dave DeBusschere
DeBusschere goes all the way back to 1962 when the NBA still had a “territorial” draft, which was actually pretty cool, as it ensured that teams had a chance to draft the top guy from their area.
He is mostly known as a New York Knick, as he won two titles there (they haven’t sniffed one since) and became one of the faces of their franchise, but he actually played more seasons and made more All-Star appearances with the Detroit Pistons.
DeBusschere averaged 12.7 points and 8.7 rebounds on his way to the All-Rookie team and by his third season he was not only their best player, but was coaching the team, something I doubt we will ever see again.
It’s easy to forget this era, as players were not the athletes that they are today, but DeBusschere was a hard-nosed and talented player who had a great rookie season in Detroit.
Detroit Pistons top ten rookies: No. 6, Bailey Howell
Bailey Howell’s rookie season probably would have gotten a lot more attention had he not been drafted the same year as Wilt Chamberlain.
Again, I highly doubt Howell would be flying around in today’s NBA, but he put together an amazing first season and career with the Detroit Pistons.
Howell finished averaging 17.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in an era where scoring was not nearly as prolific as it is now.
Howell would make four All-Star appearances for the Pistons starting the next season. Howell was eventually traded to the Baltimore Bullets and ended up making a couple of more All-Star appearances, but it all started in Detroit, where he was one of the team’s best rookies of all time.
Detroit Pistons top ten rookies: No. 5, Bob Lanier
Bob Lanier is considered one of the greatest Pistons of all time, so it might be somewhat surprising to see him this low on the list.
Lanier averaged 15.6 points and 8.1 rebounds in his rookie season after the Pistons selected him with the first overall pick.
He would go on to make seven All-Star games with the Detroit Pistons and be at or near the top of many of the team’s all time lists.
Lanier really set the bar for toughness when it comes to the Detroit Pistons, as he played his rookie season with a knee injury that he had just had surgery on and made the All-Rookie team even though he was never healthy.
In fact, Lanier’s whole career might have gone much differently had he just not played in his rookie season, as he undoubtedly did damage to his knee what would come back to haunt him later.
When fans think of tough Detroit Pistons, Lanier should be at the top of the list for what he did as a rookie.
Detroit Pistons top ten rookies: No. 4., Isiah Thomas
Isiah Thomas is the greatest Piston of all time in my opinion, but his rookie season only ranks fourth in the top ten.
Thomas averaged 17 points and 7.8 assists as a rookie, which is even more impressive when you consider the Pistons were terrible. Those numbers not only got him on the All-Rookie team, but Thomas also made the NBA All-Star team as a rookie, an achievement he would match in the first 11 seasons of his career.
Thomas was the pick that started turning things around for the Pistons and he eventually led them to their longest period of sustained excellence and two franchise titles.
“Zeke” came into the league as a lightning fast point guard who could score in bunches and played smothering on-the-ball defense.
It’s crazy to think of a rookie point guard making the All-Star team but Thomas came into the league ready to dominate after being taken second overall in the 1980 draft.
It’s tough to believe, but there are still three Pistons’ rookies who had better first seasons than Isiah, including one teammate.
Detroit Pistons top ten rookies: No. 3, Kelly Tripucka
It’s crazy to imagine, but Isiah Thomas wasn’t even the best rookie the Pistons drafted in 1981.
That honor goes to Kelly Tripucka, who is probably the greatest Piston that most fans have never heard of.
Not only was Tripucka an All-Rookie and All-Star selection (just like Thomas) but probably had the greatest head of hair of any Piston not named Ben Wallace. Just look at that magnificent helmet of greatness.
Tripucka averaged 21.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game in his rookie season after being selected 12th by the Pistons.
He would go on to make one more All-Star appearance with Detroit, although he probably should have made it in his second season after averaging over 26 points per game, which was a career high.
Obviously Thomas went on to have the much better career overall, but for one season, Tripucka was the best Pistons’ rookie and had one of the best rookie seasons of all time for the franchise.
Detroit Pistons top ten rookies: No. 2, Dave Bing
Dave Bing was drafted by the Pistons in 1966 and promptly won the Rookie of the Year award.
It is hard to compare players from different eras, and there is an argument that Isiah Thomas’ rookie season was actually better, but Bing’s all-around game gives him the edge.
Bing averaged 20 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists on his way to making the All-Rookie team and winning Rookie of the Year.
Bing is one of the guys from this era who would absolutely still be able to play now, as he could do a little bit of everything including score from all over, which he showed in his second season when he led the entire NBA in scoring.
Bing would end up making seven All-Star appearances for the Detroit Pistons and solidify himself as one of the greatest players in franchise history as well as a fixture in the community, eventually becoming a civil rights’ leader and the mayor of Detroit.
Bing isn’t just a Pistons’ legend but one for the city of Detroit.
Detroit Pistons top ten rookies: No. 1, Grant Hill
Few players entered the NBA with the type of resume Grant Hill had after his time at Duke, as he was one of the most successful college players of all time.
Hill was selected 3rd by the Detroit Pistons in 1994 and somehow exceeded those lofty expectations.
The prototype for today’s do-it-all wings, Hill averaged 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1.8 steals and a block per game in his rookie season on his way to All-Rookie honors.
Hill shared the Rookie of the Year award with Jason Kidd and became the first rookie to ever lead the league in All-Star votes, making the squad in his very first season.
Hill’s career with the Pistons was derailed by injury and there is probably no player whose career I’d like a “do-over” on than Hill, as he really was spectacular, a constant threat for a triple-double and arguably one of the greatest all-around players in NBA history.
His playmaking and rebounding set the standard for modern small forwards and he ended up making five All-Star appearances for Detroit before being traded in the deal that brought Hall-of-Famer Ben Wallace and a title to Detroit.
Hill will always be remembered for what could have been, but his rookie season was the best the Detroit Pistons ever had.