It has been exactly 10 years since Ben Wallace hung up his uniform and stopped playing for the Detroit Pistons. However, he is still contributing to the team in many different ways.
As most people already know, the new member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame represented the Pistons at June’s NBA Draft Lottery. In the history of the lottery, Detroit had never moved up with its own draft choice, not even one slot.
The odds said Detroit would most likely end up with No. 5 overall, but they moved up … all the way to No. 1!
This was the first time since 1970 the Pistons had the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. When asked if brought a lucky charm to the lottery, Wallace said no, he would be the lucky charm … and he was right.
Most know the Ben Wallace story: He was undrafted out of a Division II college and came to Detroit as part of the Grant Hill trade in 2000. Despite being undersized for a center, through grit and hard work, he blossomed into a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and helped the Pistons stun the basketball world by beating the Shaq-Kobe Los Angeles Lakers for the championship in 2004.
Wallace is now the only undrafted player to make the Hall of Fame. With his blue-collar attitude, Wallace is a definite fan favorite, even 10 years after he last played a game for Detroit.
.With the reward for Wallace’s luck, Cade Cunningham, now in the fold, there is a lot of excitement over this year’s Pistons team.
And Wallace is not done lending a helping hand to Detroit. On the first day of training camp, Wallace was there.
Coach Dwane Casey said Wallace will spend the entire week at camp, helping the centers on defensive work, and providing guidance for the young team. When camp is over, Wallace will do some scouting for the team.
Casey has stated many times he is looking for improved defense this season. His goal is to have the Pistons become a top 10 defensive team. Who knows more about defense than Wallace?
Chief beneficiary will be second-year center Isaiah Stewart. Like Wallace, he is just 6-foot-9 and has a motor that never stops. Stewart is also not afraid to mix it up, witness his scuffle with former team Blake Griffin last season, when Detroit played the Nets.
Even though he attended Wallace’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Stewart said the first day of training camp was the first time he had a real discussion with him. After practice, Wallace worked with Stewart on positioning moves.
Another player who will definitely benefit from picking Wallace’s brain is rookie center Luka Garza.
While, unlike Stewart and Wallace, Garza has the size of a traditional center (6-11, 235 pounds), he does not have elite athleticism. Garza needs to rely on positioning and anticipation to be a reliable player on the defensive end.
Garza does have the on-court hustle in the style of Wallace. With his well-known desire to learn, Garza will, undoubtedly be an attentive pupil for Wallace. One of the top scorers in NCAA history, if Garza can be even adequate on defense, he can really contribute to the Pistons.
Obviously, there are no hard feelings between Wallace and the Pistons over their ending an agreement with the Grand Rapids Drive of the G-League, of which Wallace is a part-owner.
Even though the current Pistons administration has only been in power for a couple of years, it is good to see that they are embracing icons from the past. They know it is helpful for the current team.
For a center, learning defense from Ben Wallace is like learning writing from William Shakespeare.