With the 2024 NBA Draft approaching, it’s a good time to revisit an old topic, which is draft busts for the Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons have plenty to choose from, as drafting poorly has been the hallmark of this decade plus run of futility. If you want to know why the Pistons haven’t won a playoff game since Barack Obama was president, the draft is the answer.
Nearly two years ago, I chose a draft-bust starting lineup for the Pistons, a group I was hoping wouldn’t have any new members.
But things have changed since 2022 that made me rethink a couple of the entries and add some new names to the list.
Detroit Pistons all-time draft bust starting five
Center: Darko Milicic (2nd pick, 2003)
Given where he was drafted and the Hall of Famers all around him, it’s going to be difficult for anyone to ever take this spot from Darko.
Some point to the Darko draft as where things started to go wrong for the Pistons, but the truth is that they were drafting poorly before that.
Darko was certainly not the worst player the Pistons have ever drafted, as he did have a 10-year career and made plenty of money, but when you consider the ripple effects of this pick, it’s hard to argue for anyone else.
Darko only played 2+ seasons with the Pistons and was pretty much a human victory cigar, as he only played in blowouts.
The Pistons ended up trading him for the pick that became Rodney Stuckey, so it wasn’t a complete loss, but considering they could have had Carmelo Anthony, Milicic will always be remembered as a dynasty killing pick.