Detroit Pistons NBA Draft: What happened the last time Detroit picked 1-6

Detroit Pistons Draft History: With the sixth pick in the 1968 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons select Otto Moore

1968 is the last time the Pistons drafted at the sixth overall pick. The team selected Otto Moore, a 6-11 center out of the University of Texas-PanAmerican.

Moore spent three full with the Pistons. In his time in Detroit, the center averaged 9.6 points and 9 rebounds per contest. Moore was primarily rostered with Detroit between the 1968-69 and 1970-71 seasons. During that span, Moore and the Pistons had a winning percentage of just 43.9 percent.

On April 2nd, 1971, the Pistons traded Moore to the Phoenix Suns. The 6-11 big man would bounce around the league through various trades and free-agent contracts. Moore even re-signed with Detroit on November 18th, 1974. The team would cut him nine days later. During that time, Moore played in two games where he averaged 1.5 points and a single rebound while only seeing the floor for 5.5 minutes per game.

After finishing his nine-year NBA career, Moore had played for five different franchises. The center had his two stints in Detroit, a lone season in Phoenix, a season and 13 games with the Houston Rockets, a short stay with the Kansas City-Omaha Kings, and three years with the New Orleans Jazz.

At the age of 30, Moore’s NBA career was over. After the 1976-77 season, the Jazz placed the big man on waivers. He would not sign with another NBA team.

Moore spent the rest of his professional basketball career playing in Italy.

For Detroit, the selection of Moore was a “meh” pick. The big man was a serviceable center in the NBA, but nothing particularly special, hence why Moore bounced around the league his entire career.