Isaiah Stewart and the Detroit Pistons have been all the rage on social media over the last few days as fans debate what was ultimately a big nothing in Minnesota.
Fair or not, Stewart now has a reputation in the NBA among refs, opposing players and fans as a guy who isn’t afraid to stir the pot.
Those of us who have actually watched the Pistons this season know that Stewart is much more than just an enforcer who delivers hard fouls and get in the faces of the other team.
He’s one of the best rim protectors in the league and his offensive game has evolved, as he’s added a little floater and mid-range to his game.
But social media rewards conflict (almost exclusively) so fans who don’t watch the Pistons mostly see Stewart getting into fights, which has led to some overblown (and hilarious) takes about him, which just makes Pistons fans love him more.
Stewart is a guy you love if he’s on your team, but hate if he isn’t, following in a rich tradition the Pistons have had on all of their championship teams.
Dennis Rodman
Rodman is one of several Bad Boys Pistons you could put on this list, as opposing fans pretty much hated the entire team.
But The Worm was particularly good about aggravating everyone with his non-stop motor, intensity, hustle and refusal to back down from anyone. He was a guy opposing teams and fans loved to hate.
Ask the Bulls, who hated Rodman when he was blanketing Scottie Pippen (and shoving him into the stands, whoops) but loved him when he was doing the same as a huge part of their title teams.
Rasheed Wallace
Pistons fans know very well how you can go from hating a player to loving him, as that is what happened with Rasheed Wallace.
No one liked Wallace even before he came to the Pistons, as he was brash, talked a lot of smack and routinely got into it with officials.
The league liked him even less when he was doing it for a title team, where he backed up the talk by helping to anchor one of the greatest team defenses of all time.
Wallace’s antics were annoying until he was traded to the Pistons, at which time I bought a Sheed jersey, and he became my favorite player on the team.
The Pistons have a long tradition of having players other teams and their fans love to hate, but there isn’t a GM in the league who wouldn’t have taken one of these guys, as all of them could play and gave their respective teams an edge.
Let’s hope Isaiah Stewart is the next hated anchor of a title team in Detroit.