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Building a lineup of Detroit Pistons fans’ most hated players

By Jonah Kubicek

Forward Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics sits on the bench during a game.
Forward Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics sits on the bench during a game. /
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Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons Blake Griffin and Sacramento Kings Marvin Bagley III. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /

Detroit Pistons: The All-time most hated team

Center: Blake Griffin

We finally enter this decade. In 2018, the Detroit Pistons decided not to tank, but to instead send Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, and the draft rights to Miles Bridges for aging, overpaid Griffin. After 2018, Griffin played two full seasons in Detroit before being waived in December of 2021 so he could ring chase in Brooklyn. How has that worked out?

To his credit, he made an All-Star game and All-NBA Third Team selection in 2019, so it’s not like he came to Detroit and suddenly stopped trying.

Towards the end of his Motown tenure, Griffin experienced a lot of injury issues that left him seemingly unable to dunk. Then, as soon as he signed with Brooklyn, he started jamming them again. That’s not a big issue, but it gets worse.

He goaded then-rookie and fan-favorite Isaiah Stewart into getting ejected for throwing an elbow. Unlike the time Stew chased LeBron James around the court, this ejection was not warranted. His play–in his first few Nets games–immediately got better upon leaving Detroit, to the point fans became suspicious.

Since leaving Detroit, Griffin became somewhat sassy, with comments directed towards the fanbase that offered some slight criticism towards him.

Next. 10 biggest draft steals in Pistons' history. dark

The Detroit Pistons and their fans hate a lot of players for differing reasons. Foul play, good play, off-court comments, and personal beef all come out. The most hated players form a title-worthy lineup. Bird and Jordan are all-time greats, Griffin and Artest were both very good, and Horry embodies winning. Now, would the most loved players in Piston history beat them?