Weird Pistons fact: They have never drafted fifth before

The Detroit Pistons have been a part of the NBA Draft since 1948, yet this will be the first time they have ever drafted out of the No. 5 spot.

The Pistons franchise will be participating in the NBA Draft for the 64th straight year on June 23. Detroit, barring a trade, will have the fifth pick in the draft, which will be conducted at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

In what is a definite oddity, this is the first time the Pistons will draft fifth … ever.

The fact the Pistons (who moved from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Detroit in 1958) have never been the fifth team in a draft is surprising.

First of all, the NBA was not always the successful multi-billion industry it is now. It started as a  regional league based in the East and Midwest for many years (Detroit was in the Western Conference  until 1978, due to the lack of NBA teams out there.)

In 1960, there were only eight teams in the NBA. The Pistons second round pick that year, Ron Johnson, was the 12th overall selection, which would be a lottery pick now. The NBA would not get to 10 teams until 1967 and would not crack the 20 team mark until 1976, when it merged with the ABA.

So, considering there were only 8 to 10 teams in the league for decades, the fact the Pistons never ended up drafting fifth is a bit shocking. Especially since the Pistons usually were not one of the top teams, it is weird they never finished fifth.

For some reason, Detroit had the fourth pick a lot, just one spot away from fifth.

Pistons draft history (1948-2020)

Times had the fourth pick: 11

Times had the fifth pick: 0

The difference some seasons might have been just a win or two between fourth and fifth, but the Pistons always ended up No. 4 (and tanking was not really a a thing in the NBA until the late 80s).

Between 1960-64, Detroit had the No. 4 pick in the draft every time. They got some good players (Dave DeBusschere, Eddie Miles, Ray Scott) out of it, although not good enough to make them a contender.

(A slight asterisk in respect to DeBusschere. Detroit had the No. 4 pick that season, but gave it up to make DeBusschere, an Austin Catholic High School and Detroit Mercy grad, its territorial draft pick).

Another statistical oddity is how rarely the Pistons have had the No. 1 pick in the draft. Remember, for the first 30 years in the league, there were less than 20 teams, and many seasons just 8-10. For a franchise that never won a title until 1989, it is remarkable how few times they had the worst record in the NBA.

Jimmy Walker in 1967 and Bob Lanier in 1970 were the only other times Detroit drafted first, until they got Cade Cunningham last year.

Does the fact the Pistons have never drafted at No. 5 before this season mean anything, or is it just a statistical anomaly? If it does mean something, probably that, throughout its history, the Pistons were bad, but not that bad (witness 11 times at No. 4) or were mediocre enough to draft later than fifth.

Whatever the reason, it is a little bit of history, as Pistons fans will see their team pick fifth for the first time.