Prior to last season, the Detroit Pistons had a long stretch of mediocrity and awfulness that fans would rather forget, which is apparent in a recent selection of their top four players of the century.
Bleacher Report put together a Mount Rushmore of every team’s most meaningful four players since the year 2000 and it wasn’t surprising that all of Detroit’s came from the same team:
-Ben Wallace
-Chauncey Billups
-Richard Hamilton
-Tayshaun Prince
You can certainly make an argument for all of these guys, especially if you factor in achievement as much as talent, as they all won a title in Detroit, something the Pistons haven’t sniffed since the Goin’ to Work era.
Andre Drummond has a case as an individual player, but his teams never won anything, and he came to represent the type of big man the league ultimately left behind.
I would have put Cade Cunningham on this list, as I think he is better than three of the players on it, but he’s only made the playoffs once and was on some of the worst teams in franchise history, including one that won 14 games.
I still would have put Cade on the list, as Billups, Hamilton and Prince were never franchise guys and the Pistons are currently building their present and future around Cunningham.
But I totally get it, as B/R was factoring in winning as much as talent, something the Pistons didn’t do much of until last season.
Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham marks the end of a painful stretch
When the Pistons drafted Cade Cunningham with the first overall pick, they set themselves on a path to climbing out of the cellar. It didn’t happen until last season for a variety of reasons, but Cunningham is clearly the face of the franchise and its best hope to bring another title to Detroit.
There was precious little hope before last season, as the Pistons had gone an incredible 466-804 (a .367 winning percentage) from 2009-2024, which was good for the worst in the NBA by nearly 30 games.
It’s no coincidence that the Pistons chosen for the Mt. Rushmore of this century all come from the only sustainably successful era Detroit has had since the century began.
Cade Cunningham hopes to be the next player to guide this team to sustained success and when he does, his name will be on this list, and he’ll arguably be the best player on it.