The Detroit Pistons are a young team that we hope is on the verge of something special.
With talents like Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson, the future looks bright even though Detroit only won 17 games last season, worst in the NBA.
It’s far too early to tell if these guys are even going to be good, much less all-time greats, but several of them have a chance to ink their names in the Pistons all-time record books if they can stay healthy and play most of their careers in Detroit, two things that are certainly not a given.
It’s hard to see some of the Pistons all-time records ever being touched, as players these days tend to take more time off, don’t play through injuries as often and usually don’t spend their entire career with one team.
It will be tough for anyone on this team to topple guys like Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars or Bill Laimbeer, who played all (or close to all in Laimbeer’s case) of their careers in Detroit. But there are a few records that could fall at the hands of guys who are currently on the roster.
We’ve talked about Cade having a chance to head the Pistons all-time triple double leaderboard (he’s already on it), and Ausar Thompson could eventually find himself in the top-10 for steals.
But here are some other records that could be in jeopardy if the future works out for these Detroit Pistons.
Which all-time Pistons records will be broken by this team?
3-point attempts and makes
It’s almost certain (barring calamity) that someone on the Pistons current roster will end up leading the team in 3-point attempts and makes.
The game has changed so much that just about every team will have these records toppled by an onslaught of 3-point shooting.
The Pistons current leader in attempts and makes is Joe Dumars with 2,592 and 990 respectively. Dumars only averaged 2.5 attempts from long range per game for his career, even after shooting more of them later in his career.
Jaden Ivey made 120 from deep last season and attempted 350 total. At that rate, it would take him around 7-8 seasons to break the Pistons all-time records for attempts and makes, and that’s if he stays at this rate. He may take more next season with Cade Cunningham back.
Cade shot 363 in his rookie season and made 114 of them, so he too has a good chance to break this record. It will really just come down to health and how long these two stay in Detroit. If they play all or most of their careers with the Pistons, these records will be broken.
But it shows you two things: It’s difficult to break all-time records. It takes longevity, health and staying with one team. It also shows that Dumars was a very good shooter, as he shot 38 percent for his career, so owns these all-time records even though he wasn’t jacking a lot of 3-point shots. In his final season, he shot 5.8 per game and hit 40 percent of them, numbers we would love to see from Cade and Ivey.
Which all-time Pistons records will be broken by this team?
Offensive rebounds and total rebounds
Landing at the top of the Pistons all-time rebounder list will be a little more difficult, and will require some longevity with the team. The guy who has a chance at it is Jalen Duren, who is still just 19-years-old and is already putting up some impressive numbers, especially on the offensive glass.
The all-time leader in total offensive rebounds is Andre Drummond, who has 2,834, which averages out to 4.8 per game in his time as a Piston, which is outstanding. Jalen Duren averaged 3.4 per game last season, but if you compare him to rookie Drummond (2.8) he’s actually ahead.
Bill Laimbeer owns the total rebounds records with 9,430, which averages to 9.7 per game. Duren averaged 8.9 in his rookie season, better than Laimbeer’s 8.6 per game in his rookie campaign. Laimbeer was also 23-years-old when he joined the league, so Duren has a big head start.
But Laimbeer barely ever missed games, so it’s going to take a long, healthy career for Duren. But if he has it, these records could be broken.
Which all-time Pistons records will be broken by this team?
2-point percentage and overall FG percentage
This is another record that Jalen Duren has a chance to smash if he plays enough games with the Detroit Pistons.
The current leaders in 2-point percentage for the Pistons all-time are Dennis Rodman and Hamidou Diallo, who are tied at 55.8 percent.
Jalen Duren shot 65.2 percent from 2-point range last season and there is no reason to think that is going to change, as most of his shots are going to be dunks.
It’s funny that Andre Drummond is 4th (behind Isaiah Stewart) in 2-point percentage considering that he rarely shot outside of five feet from the rim. It really drives home how bad his offensive game really was.
But Drummond does hold the Pistons all-time record for field goal percentage at 54.1 another number that Duren will own as soon as he’s played enough games, as he shot 64.8 percent overall last season and there is no sign that he’s going to start jacking step-back 3-pointers anytime soon.
One notable name on his list is Adrian Dantley, who is 4th all time at 52.5 percent, impressive considering he was only 6-foot-5. I’ve often said that Dantley was the best post player the Pistons ever had even though he was not a center.