The Detroit Pistons have had some all-time greats over the years, but also plenty of forgettable players, most of whom wore high numbers.
A player’s uniform number is a superficial but important part of their career, as it’s the number we identify them with, and in some cases, like Michael Jordan’s #23, it becomes an iconic and powerful marketing tool.
The best players have a say which number they wear, while the others get stuck with whatever is left over, which is why you can usually (not always) tell how good a player is simply by the number they wear.
Here are the best Detroit Pistons to wear each uniform number, starting with #97 and working our way down to zero.
The best Detroit Pistons to wear each uniform number
Scrub and veteran one-offs
These players were the only ones to wear their particular number, which is the only way they were going to make it onto a “best player” list:
#97: Eugene Omoruyi
Briefly won over Pistons fans with his hustle, but then undid all of that good will by taking a group photo with his former teammates on the Thunder after they had just handed Detroit a tough loss, not a good look.
#91: Deividas Sirvydis
#88: Markieff Morris
#84: Chris Webber
One of many players the Pistons signed who were past their prime, Webber wore this number because the Detroit Pistons had already retired Joe Dumar’s #4, which was his preferred jersey number.
#81: Jose Calderon
Did play for Detroit for very long, but did have one amazing stretch of shooting.