The Detroit Pistons are finally joining forces with one of the most important cultural icons of the city.
For years the Pistons have leaned on the automotive angle when it comes to special edition uniforms and merchandise and the results have been, well, mostly awful.
The team finally gave in to the Teal Mob (still a lot of mixed feelings about that) and the city edition uniforms have left a lot to be desired.
Fans like me have long been clamoring for a Motown collaboration since music is such a big part of the cultural landscape of Detroit and has a lot more common ground with sports than car manufacturers that mostly left ages ago.
We finally got our wish, as the team announced a merchandise collaboration with Motown Records that will be unleashed into the team store on June 17th:
The Pistons unveiled a retail collab with Motown Records today. Will be available Saturday, June 17 at https://t.co/D5ksaqlRLz and at an event from 6-9 pm at Plum Market in Midtown, where the team will present its inaugural Detroit Pistons Black Music Month Award to Dej Loaf. pic.twitter.com/0cDlYH2h8T
— Offseason O (@omarisankofa) June 12, 2023
I’m still waiting for a city edition uniform based on the colors and font of the Motown Museum that says Hitsville, USA across the front, but may have to start my own black market merch business to get it.
Pistons news: 4 ex-Pistons win rings with the Nuggets
Ex-Pistons Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown, Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith all won a ring last night with the Denver Nuggets with KCP and Brown playing valuable roles.
It’s cool to see Ish Smith, a journeyman who has played on an NBA-record 13 teams, win the ultimate title, as he has been a great teammate everywhere he’s been.
You could definitely say that Brown and KCP were some of the players the Pistons gave up on too soon, especially when you consider what Detroit got in return for the two of them which was a second round pick and Dzanan Musa. Unfortunately the timing was wrong for the two role players in Detroit, but Brown is a guy the Pistons might pursue in free agency this summer after his evolution into more of a wing player who can defend the entire court.
Congratulations to the Denver Pistons, but let’s hope another title comes to Motown soon via the ones in Detroit.