Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit.
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44 Facts About Fort Wayne Pistons
2.
The Fort Wayne Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Little Caesars Arena, located in Midtown.
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3.
The Fort Wayne Pistons later joined the Basketball Association of America in 1948.
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4.
The Fort Wayne Pistons have won three NBA championships: in 1989,1990 and 2004.
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5.
In 1941, the Zollner Fort Wayne Pistons shed their works team roots and joined the National Basketball League.
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6.
In 1948, the team became the Fort Wayne Pistons and jumped to the Basketball Association of America.
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7.
Zollner decided to keep the Fort Wayne Pistons name, believing it made sense given Detroit's status as the center of the automobile industry.
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8.
Yardley, Lanier, and Bing all ended their Fort Wayne Pistons tenure being traded away, frustrated with the direction and opportunities with Detroit.
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9.
In November 1981, the Fort Wayne Pistons acquired Vinnie Johnson in a trade with the Seattle SuperSonics.
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10.
The 1989 Fort Wayne Pistons completed the building of their roster by trading Adrian Dantley for Mark Aguirre, a trade that Fort Wayne Pistons fans criticized heavily initially, but later praised.
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11.
Fort Wayne Pistons successfully defended their title in 1990, despite losing Rick Mahorn to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the expansion draft.
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12.
The Fort Wayne Pistons won all three games in Portland, becoming the first NBA team to sweep the middle three games on the road.
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13.
Fort Wayne Pistons' championship run came to an end in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, as they were swept by the eventual NBA champion Chicago Bulls in four games.
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14.
The Conference Finals is best remembered for the Fort Wayne Pistons walking off the court in the last game just before it ended, willingly letting the final seconds tick away, unwilling to shake hands with the Bulls.
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15.
Fort Wayne Pistons quickly faced what appeared to be a setback for the franchise, as Grant Hill elected to leave for the Orlando Magic.
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16.
The Fort Wayne Pistons posted consecutive 50-win seasons and advanced to the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1991.
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17.
The Fort Wayne Pistons now had another big man to pose a threat from all parts of the court.
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18.
The Fort Wayne Pistons then defeated the Pacers, coached by Rick Carlisle, in six tough games to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1990.
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19.
However, the Fort Wayne Pistons won the series in dominating fashion, defeating Los Angeles in five games for the team's third NBA championship.
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20.
The Fort Wayne Pistons posted double-digit wins in three of their four victories and held the Lakers to a franchise-low 68 points in Game 3.
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21.
The Fort Wayne Pistons fought back to win Game 6 in San Antonio, setting up the first NBA Finals Game 7 since 1994.
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22.
The Fort Wayne Pistons then lost a hard-fought, low-scoring game to the Spurs, who won their third NBA championship since 1999.
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23.
Concerned about Brown's health and angered over his alleged pursuit of other jobs during the season, the Fort Wayne Pistons bought out his contract soon after the 2005 NBA Finals.
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24.
Brown was promptly named head coach of the New York Knicks, while the Fort Wayne Pistons hired Flip Saunders, formerly of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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25.
Four of the five Fort Wayne Pistons starters were named to the All-Star team, and Flip Saunders served as the Eastern Conference All-Star team coach.
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26.
Fort Wayne Pistons struggled to fill the team's void at center and the team began looking for additional help.
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27.
The Fort Wayne Pistons rolled out to a Game 1 romp, and won a tight Game 2 amid mild controversy.
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28.
On June 3,2008, the Fort Wayne Pistons announced that Flip Saunders would not return as head coach.
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29.
On November 3,2008, the Fort Wayne Pistons traded key members Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson.
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30.
The Fort Wayne Pistons were then swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in four games in the first round of the 2009 NBA playoffs.
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31.
That same month, the Fort Wayne Pistons lost their two key members during the last few years, veterans Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess.
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32.
On July 8,2009, the Fort Wayne Pistons hired former Cavaliers assistant coach John Kuester to be the new head coach.
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33.
On March 23,2010, the Fort Wayne Pistons were eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Indiana Pacers.
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34.
Fort Wayne Pistons's tenure lasted for just a bit more than half a season, as he was replaced by interim coach John Loyer.
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35.
The eighth-seeded Fort Wayne Pistons faced the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 2016 NBA playoffs.
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36.
Also contingent on a finalized agreement, the Fort Wayne Pistons were looking for a parcel of land in the arena's vicinity to build a new practice facility and team headquarters.
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37.
On November 22,2016, the Fort Wayne Pistons officially announced their intention to move to Little Caesars Arena, and the site of The Palace of Auburn Hills was to be redeveloped and sold, with the arena likely to be demolished as part of the redevelopment.
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38.
On January 29,2018, the Fort Wayne Pistons announced they had acquired all-star forward Blake Griffin along with Willie Reed and Brice Johnson from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, a 2018 first-round draft pick, and a 2019 second-round draft pick.
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39.
On May 7,2018, the Fort Wayne Pistons announced that Stan Van Gundy would not return as head coach and president of basketball operations.
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40.
On June 11,2018, Dwane Casey was hired by the Fort Wayne Pistons to be their new head coach, agreeing to a five-year deal.
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41.
Later in the first round, the Fort Wayne Pistons acquired Jalen Duren via a trade with the New York Knicks.
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42.
That year, the Fort Wayne Pistons changed its colors to teal, black, yellow and red and unveiled a new logo with a horse's head and flaming mane.
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43.
On May 16,2017, the Fort Wayne Pistons unveiled a new logo, which is a modernized version of the previous "Bad Boys" era logo used from 1979 to 1996.
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44.
Fort Wayne Pistons hold the draft rights to the following unsigned draft picks who have been playing outside the NBA.
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