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Indiana Pacers Detroit Pistons
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana.  The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first established in 1967 as a member of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and became a member of the NBA in 1976 as a result of the ABA–NBA merger. They play their home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The team is named after Indiana's history with the Indianapolis 500's pace cars and with the harness racing industry. 

The Pacers have won three championships, all in the ABA. The Pacers were Eastern Conference champions in 2000. The team has won nine division titles. Five Hall of Fame players – Reggie Miller, Chris Mullin, Alex English, Mel Daniels, and Roger Brown – played with the Pacers for multiple seasons. 

Franchise history

1967–1976: ABA dynasty

In early 1967, a group of six investors (among them attorney Richard Tinkham, John DeVoe, Chuck DeVoe, entrepreneur Lyn Treece, sports agent Chuck Barnes and Indianapolis Star sports writer Bob Collins) pooled their resources to purchase a franchise in the proposed American Basketball Association.

For their first seven years, they played in the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum. In 1974, they moved to the plush new Market Square Arena in downtown Indianapolis, where they played for 25 years.

Early in the Pacers' second season, former Indiana Hoosiers standout Bob "Slick" Leonard became the team's head coach, replacing Larry Staverman. Leonard quickly turned the Pacers into a juggernaut. His teams were buoyed by the great play of superstars such as Mel Daniels, George McGinnis, Bob Netolicky, Rick Mount and Roger Brown. The Pacers were – and ended – as the most successful team in ABA history, winning three ABA Championships in four years. In all, they appeared in the ABA Finals five times in the league's nine-year history: a feat that was never bettered by any other ABA franchise. 

1976–1987: Early NBA struggles

The Pacers were one of four ABA teams that joined the NBA in the ABA-NBA merger in 1976. For the 1976–77 season the Pacers were joined in the merged league by the Denver Nuggets, New York Nets, and San Antonio Spurs.

The league charged a $3.2 million entry fee for each former ABA team.  Since the NBA would only agree to accept four ABA teams in the ABA-NBA merger, the Pacers and the three other surviving ABA teams also had to compensate the two remaining ABA franchises which were not a part of the merger, the Spirits of St. Louis and Kentucky Colonels. As a result of the merger, the four teams dealt with financial troubles. Additionally, the Pacers had some financial troubles which dated back to their waning days in the ABA; they had begun selling off some of their star players in the last ABA season.  The new NBA teams also were barred from sharing in national TV revenues for four years. 

The Pacers finished their inaugural NBA season with a record of 36–46. Billy Knight and Don Buse represented Indiana in the NBA All-Star Game. However, this was one of the few bright spots of the Pacers' first 13 years in the NBA. During this time, they had only three non-losing seasons and only two playoff appearances.

A lack of continuity became the norm for most of the next decade, as they traded away Knight and Buse before the 1977–78 season even started. They acquired Adrian Dantley in exchange for Knight, but Dantley (who was averaging nearly 27 points per game at the time) was traded in December, while the Pacers' second-leading scorer, John Williamson, was dealt in January.

The early Pacers came out on the short end of two of the most one-sided trades in NBA history. In 1980, they traded Alex English to the Nuggets in order to reacquire former ABA star George McGinnis. McGinnis was long past his prime, and contributed very little during his two-year return. English, in contrast, went on to become one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. The next year, they traded a 1984 draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for center Tom Owens, who played one year for the Pacers with little impact. In 1983–84, the Pacers finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference, which would have given the Pacers the second overall pick in the draft—the pick that the Blazers used to select Sam Bowie while Michael Jordan was still available. As a result of the Owens trade, they were left as bystanders in the midst of one of the deepest drafts in NBA history—including such future stars as Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton.

Clark Kellogg was drafted by the Pacers in the 1982 and finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting, but the Pacers finished the 1982–83 season with their all-time worst record of 20–62, and won only 26 games the following season. After winning 22 games in 1984–85 and 26 games in 1985–86, Jack Ramsay replaced George Irvine as coach and led the Pacers to a 41–41 record in 1986–87 and their second playoff appearance as an NBA team. Chuck Person, nicknamed "The Rifleman" for his renowned long-range shooting, led the team in scoring as a rookie and won NBA Rookie of the Year honors. Their first playoff win in NBA franchise history was earned in Game 3 of their first-round, best-of-five series against the Atlanta Hawks, but it was their only victory in that series, as the Hawks defeated them in four games.

1987–2005: The Reggie Miller era

Reggie Miller was drafted by the Pacers in 1987, beginning his career as a backup to John Long. Many fans at the time disagreed with Miller's selection over Indiana Hoosiers' standout Steve Alford.  The Pacers missed the playoffs in 1987–88, drafted Rik Smits in the 1988 NBA draft, and suffered through a disastrous 1988–89 season in which coach Jack Ramsay stepped down following an 0–7 start. Mel Daniels and George Irvine filled in on an interim basis before Dick Versace took over the 6–23 team on the way to a 28–54 finish. In February 1989, the team traded veteran center Herb Williams to the Dallas Mavericks for future NBA Sixth Man-of-the Year Detlef Schrempf.

From 1989 to 1993, the Pacers would play at or near .500 and qualify for the playoffs, in 1989–90, the Pacers parlayed a fast start into the team's third playoff appearance. But the Pacers were swept by the Detroit Pistons, who would go on to win their second consecutive NBA Championship. Reggie Miller became the first Pacer to play in the All-Star Game since 1976 on the strength of his 24.6 points-per-game average. Despite four straight first round exits, this period was highlighted by a first round series with the Boston Celtics in 1991 that went to Game 5. The next season, the Pacers returned to the playoffs in 1992 and met the Celtics for the second year in a row. But this time, the Celtics left no doubt who was the better team, as they swept the Pacers in three straight games. Chuck Person and point guard Micheal Williams were traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the offseason, and the Pacers got Pooh Richardson and Sam Mitchell in return. For the 1992–93 season, Detlef Schrempf moved from sixth man to the starter at small forward and was elected to his first All-Star game. Miller, meanwhile, became the Pacers' all-time NBA era leading scorer during this season (4th overall). The Pacers returned to the playoffs with a 41–41 record, but lost to the New York Knicks in the first round, three games to one.

1994–1997: The Larry Brown era

Larry Brown was brought aboard as Pacers' coach for the 1993–94 season, and Pacers' general manager Donnie Walsh completed a then highly criticized trade as he sent Schrempf to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for Derrick McKey and little known Gerald Paddio. But the Pacers won their last eight games of the season to finish with an NBA-era franchise-high 47 wins. They stormed past Shaquille O'Neal and the Orlando Magic in a first-round sweep to earn their first NBA playoff series win, and pulled off an upset by defeating the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks in the Conference semifinals.

With the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals tied going into Game 5 in New York, and the Pacers trailing the Knicks by 15 points early in the fourth quarter, Reggie Miller scored 25 points in that quarter, including five 3-point field goals. Miller also flashed the choke sign to the Knicks' number one fan, Spike Lee, while leading the Pacers to the come from behind victory.  The Knicks ultimately came back to win the next two games and the series.  Miller was a tri-captain and leading scorer of the USA Basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1994 FIBA World Championship. 

Mark Jackson joined the team in an off-season trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, giving the team a steady hand at the point guard position that had been lacking in recent years. The Pacers enjoyed a 52–30 campaign in 1994–95, giving them their first Central Division title and first 50+ win season since the ABA days. The team swept the Hawks in the first round, before another meeting with the rival Knicks in the Conference semifinals. Again, it was up to Miller to provide some fireworks. This time, with the Pacers down six points with 16.4 seconds remaining in Game 1, Miller scored eight points in 8.9 seconds to help secure a two-point victory.  The Pacers beat the Knicks in seven games. They pushed the Magic to seven games before falling in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

The Pacers duplicated their 52–30 record in 1995–96, but were hurt severely by an injury to Reggie Miller's eye socket in April, from which he was not able to return until Game 5 of their first-round series against the Hawks. Reggie scored 29 points in that game, but the Hawks came away with a two-point victory to put an early end to Indiana's season. This 1995–96 team did manage to go down in history as the only team to defeat the Chicago Bulls twice that year, a Bulls team which made history with a then all-time best 72–10 record. The Pacers could not withstand several key injuries in 1996–97, nor could they handle the absence of Mark Jackson, who had been traded to the Denver Nuggets before the season (though they did re-acquire Jackson at the trading deadline). The Pacers finished 39–43 and missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years, after which coach Larry Brown stepped down.

1997–2000: The Larry Bird era

In the 1997–98 NBA season Larry Bird coached the team, under whom they posted a new franchise record, finishing 58–24, a 19-game improvement from the previous season. Chris Mullin joined the team in the off-season and immediately became a valuable part of the Pacers lineup—and starting small forward. Assistant coaches Rick Carlisle, in charge of the offense, and Dick Harter, who coached the defense, were key in getting the most out of the Pacers' role players such as Dale Davis, Derrick McKey and a young Antonio Davis. Miller and Rik Smits both made the All-Star team that year, and in the playoffs, the Pacers breezed past the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks before falling to the Chicago Bulls in a seven-game Eastern Conference Final.

In the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season, the Pacers won the Central Division with a 33–17 record and swept the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers before falling to the Knicks in a six-game Eastern Conference finals. The Pacers traded forward Antonio Davis to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for first-round draft choice Jonathan Bender, which remains to this day a subject of controversy among Pacers fans. But in the 2000 NBA Playoffs, after a 56–26 regular season, the Pacers survived the upset-minded Milwaukee Bucks in round one, handled the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round and finally broke through to the NBA Finals by virtue of a six-game East Finals victory over the New York Knicks.

Their first NBA Finals appearance was against the Los Angeles Lakers, who ended Indiana's championship hopes in six games. However, the Pacers dealt Los Angeles their worst playoff defeat up to that time by a margin of 33 points in game five. 

2000–2005: Second run of contending for a championship

The offseason brought sweeping changes to the Pacers' lineup, as Rik Smits and coach Larry Bird retired, Chris Mullin returned to his old Golden State Warriors team, Mark Jackson signed a long-term contract with Toronto, and Dale Davis was traded to Portland for Jermaine O'Neal, who went on to average 12.9 points per game in his first year as a starter. It was a rebuilding year for the Pacers under new head coach Isiah Thomas, but the team still managed to return to the playoffs, where they lost to the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in four games. In the midseason of 2001–02, the Pacers made a blockbuster trade with the Chicago Bulls that sent Jalen Rose and Travis Best to Chicago in exchange for Brad Miller, Ron Artest, Kevin Ollie and Ron Mercer. Miller and Artest would, in the next few years, go on to be All-Stars for the Pacers. The trade bolstered a team that had been floundering, and the Pacers managed to return to the playoffs, where they pushed the top-seeded New Jersey Nets to five games before losing Game 5 in double overtime. Jermaine O'Neal made his first of what would be several All-Star appearances in his Pacers career.

The Pacers got off to a 13–2 start in 2002–03, but hit the wall after the All-Star break thanks in no small part to Ron Artest's multiple suspensions and family tragedies befalling Jermaine O'Neal, Jamaal Tinsley and Austin Croshere. O'Neal and Brad Miller both made the All-Star team and the Pacers made a substantial improvement as they finished 48–34, but they suffered a loss to the underdog Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. In the 2003 offseason, the Pacers managed to re-sign O'Neal for the NBA maximum and inked Reggie Miller to a modest two-year deal, but they could not afford to keep their talented center, Brad Miller. He was dealt to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Scot Pollard, who spent much of the following year watching from the bench and backing up Jeff Foster. The Pacers also signed Larry Bird as team president, and Bird wasted little time in dismissing coach Isiah Thomas and replacing him with Rick Carlisle. The Pacers responded to Carlisle extremely well, and had a breakthrough 2003–04 season in which they finished 61–21, earning the best record in the NBA as well as a franchise record. O'Neal and Artest made the All-Star team, and Artest was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year, the Pacers swept the Boston Celtics easily in the first round, and squeezed by a scrappy Miami Heat team in the conference semifinals. But the Detroit Pistons proved an impediment to Indiana's championship aspirations, as they defeated the Pacers in six games on their way to the NBA Championship.

Al Harrington, a small forward who had established himself as one of the best sixth-men in the NBA, was dealt in the offseason to the Atlanta Hawks in return for Stephen Jackson after Harrington allegedly demanded that the Pacers start him or trade him. Nevertheless, the Pacers started off the 2004–05 season in extremely strong fashion–until the infamous events of November 19, 2004. Toward the end of a Pacers victory over the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills on November 19, 2004, the Pacers' Ron Artest committed a hard foul against Ben Wallace. Wallace retaliated with a hard push, and the situation escalated to a full-scale brawl, with fans and several Pacers taking part. While Artest defiantly laid atop the scorer's table, Pistons fan John Green threw a cup of Diet Coke at Artest, causing him to charge into the stands. Stephen Jackson followed him into the stands while Jermaine O'Neal struck a fan who came onto the court. The game was called off with 46 seconds left on the clock and the Pacers left the floor amid a shower of beer and other beverages that rained down from the stands.

Several of the involved players were suspended by NBA Commissioner David Stern. Artest was suspended for the rest of the regular season and playoffs, a total of 73 games—the longest suspension for an on-court incident in NBA history. Other suspensions included Jackson (suspended for 30 games), O'Neal (25 games), Wallace (6 games) and the Pacers' Anthony Johnson (5 games) (O'Neal's suspension was later reduced to 15 games by arbitrator Roger Kaplan, a decision that was upheld by U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels). O'Neal was charged with two counts of assault and battery, while Artest, Jackson, Johnson and David Harrison were charged with one count each.

After the brawl and suspensions that followed, the Pacers fell downward into the Central Division. They went from a legitimate title contender to a team that hovered around .500 in winning percentage. The Pistons eventually became the Central Division champions. Despite the difficulties with the suspensions and injuries, the Pacers earned a sixth seed in the playoffs with a record of 44–38. An important reason for their strong finish was the re-acquisition of Dale Davis, who had been released by the New Orleans Hornets after being traded there by the Golden State Warriors. He played the final 25 games of the regular season and every playoff game, contributing a strong presence at center. And Davis' signing coincided with an injury to Jermaine O'Neal that would knock him out for virtually the remainder of the regular season—indeed, O'Neal's first missed game due to his injury was Davis' first game back with the Pacers.

Despite the adversity they had gone through, the Pacers made the playoffs for the 13th time in 14 years. In the first round, Indiana defeated the Atlantic Division champion Boston Celtics in seven games, winning Game 7 in Boston by the decisive margin of 97–70, just the third time the Celtics had dropped a Game 7 at home. The Pacers then advanced to the second-round against the Detroit Pistons, in a rematch of the previous year's Eastern Conference Finals. The series featured games back at The Palace of Auburn Hills, the scene of the brawl that many assumed at the time had effectively ended the Pacers' season. After losing Game 1, the Pacers won the next two games to take a 2–1 lead. However, the Pacers could not repeat their victories against the Pistons and lost the next 3 games, losing the series 4–2. The final game (Game 6) was on May 19, 2005; Reggie Miller, in his final NBA game, scored 27 points and received a huge standing ovation from the crowd. Despite Miller's effort, the Pacers lost, sending Miller into retirement without an NBA Championship in his 18-year career, all with the Pacers. Miller had his No. 31 jersey retired by the Pacers on March 30, 2006 when the Pacers played the Phoenix Suns. 

2005–2010: Post-Reggie Miller & Danny Granger era

Despite the loss of Reggie Miller, the Artest saga, and many key injuries the Pacers made the playoffs in 2006 for the 14th time in 15 years. They also were the only road team to win Game 1 of a first-round playoff series. However, New Jersey won game 2 to tie the series at 1–1 heading back to Indiana. In game 3 Jermaine O'Neal scored 37 points, as the Pacers regained a 2–1 series lead. The Nets, however, won games four and five to take a 3–2 series lead. In Game 6 Anthony Johnson scored 40 points but the Pacers' season came to an end as the Nets won 96–90.

The Pacers finished the 2006–07 season as one of the worst seasons in team history. For the Pacers, who finished with a 35–47 record, nearly everything that could have gone wrong did. The turning point of the season would be an 11-game losing streak that started around the all-star break. Injuries to Jermaine O'Neal and Marquis Daniels, a lack of a solid back up point guard, the blockbuster trade midway through the season that interrupted the team chemistry, poor defensive efforts, and being the NBA's worst offensive team were the main reasons leading to the team's struggles. The April 15 loss to New Jersey Nets knocked the Pacers out of the playoffs for the first time since the 1996–97 season.

On April 10, 2007, the Pacers announced the firing of coach Rick Carlisle, with the Pacers' first losing record in ten seasons being the main reason for the coach's dismissal. Pacers President Larry Bird noted that Carlisle had the opportunity to return to the Pacers franchise in another role. Later, Carlisle opted to leave and took a broadcasting job with ESPN before returning to coach the Dallas Mavericks in 2008 (where he would win a championship in 2011). On May 31, 2007, Jim O'Brien was named Carlisle's successor. O'Brien made it clear that he intended to take the Pacers back to the playoffs in the 2007–08 season, but he didn't, and didn't in his tenure. He also made it known that he favored a more up-tempo, fast-paced style as opposed to Carlisle's slower, more meticulous style of coaching. Many people have taken note that this style, while exciting at times, failed to produce a winning record and O'Brien's inability to change his style to better suit his talent available has hurt the team.

Despite missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 1980s, the 2007–08 season displayed many signs of growth in the team, especially towards the end of the season. Off-court legal distraction from Jamaal Tinsley, Marquis Daniels, and Shawne Williams in the middle of the season did not help the Pacers struggles, and injuries to Tinsley and Jermaine O'Neal damaged the Pacers' already weak defense and left almost all point guard duties to recently acquired Travis Diener, who saw minimal minutes on his previous NBA teams. Despite this, and a 36–46 record, the Pacers had a very strong finish to the season, which included a desperate attempt to steal the 8th seed from the Atlanta Hawks, and dramatic improvement in forwards Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy. Both Granger and Dunleavy were involved in the voting for Most Improved Player, with Dunleavy finishing in the top 10. The two were also the first Pacers players to score 1500 points each in a single season since Reggie Miller and Detlef Schrempf did it in the early 1990s.

In April of the 2007–08 season, Donnie Walsh, Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO & President, left the Indiana Pacers to join the New York Knicks. All of Walsh's basketball-related duties were given to Pacers' President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. Walsh's business-related roles were given to co-owner Herb Simon and Jim Morris, who was promoted to President of Pacers Sports & Entertainment.

During the 2009–10 season, Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough (drafted in 2009) suffered a season-ending ear injury and without center Jeff Foster, the Pacers again fell into another season under .500 and missed the playoffs for 4 years in a row. Despite another disappointing season, the Pacers managed to sweep the waning Detroit Pistons for the first time in 5 years, and the abysmal New Jersey Nets for the first time in 20. The team showed signs of life near the end of the season, winning nearly all of their last 14 games.

In May 2010, after completing his rookie season, guard A. J. Price suffered a knee injury during a charity pick-up game that would require surgery. His expected rehabilitation was to last between 4–6 months, to be back just in time for training camp.

2010–present: The rise of Paul George

In the 2010 NBA draft, the Pacers selected forward/guard Paul George with the 10th overall pick. In the second round, they drafted guard Lance Stephenson, as well as forward Ryan Reid. The draft rights to Reid were traded on draft night to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange to the rights to forward/center Magnum Rolle. The Pacers signed George to his rookie contract on July 1, 2010. Stephenson signed a multi-year contract with the team on July 22. Just before training camp, Rolle was signed, along with big man Lance Allred. Both were cut before the regular season began.

On August 11, 2010, the Pacers acquired guard Darren Collison and swingman James Posey from the New Orleans Hornets in a four-team, five-player deal. Troy Murphy was dealt to the New Jersey Nets in that trade.

In the 2010–11 season, the team went 2–3 in the first five games. On November 9 in a home game against Denver, the team scored 54 points in the 3rd quarter alone, shooting 20–21 in the process, on the way to a 144–113 rout of the Nuggets. Led by Mike Dunleavy's 24 points in the period, the team set a franchise record for most points in a quarter and was only four points short of the all-time NBA record for points in a quarter (58) set in the 1970s.

On January 30, 2011, the Pacers relieved Jim O'Brien of his coaching duties and named assistant coach Frank Vogel interim head coach.

On the NBA's trade deadline on February 24, 2011, numerous sports news outlets, including ESPN, reported that the Pacers had agreed to a three-team trade that would have sent Josh McRoberts to the Memphis Grizzlies and Brandon Rush to the New Orleans Hornets, while the Pacers would have received O.J. Mayo from the Grizzlies in return, and the Hornets would have sent an unidentified player to the Grizzlies. However, the trading period expired at 3:00 pm EST, and the trade paperwork did not reach the NBA's main offices for approval until 3:02 pm. Thus, the trade was canceled and all aforementioned players remained with their original teams.

With a victory over the Washington Wizards on April 6, 2011, the Pacers clinched their first playoff berth since 2006.  In the first round, they were defeated by the No. 1 seed Chicago Bulls in five games. Despite a lopsided comparison in terms of the two teams' win-loss records, three of the four Pacers losses were close, losing games 1–3 by an average of five points.

The Pacers named Vogel their permanent head coach on July 7, 2011. They acquired George Hill from the San Antonio Spurs on draft night. After the lockout, the Pacers signed former two-time All-Star power forward David West to a two-year deal. These new players contributed to the Pacers' record of 21-12 at the All Star break. The Pacers acquired another key piece in Leandro Barbosa from the Toronto Raptors at the trade deadline, mid-season.

At the end of the 2011–12 season, the team, led in scoring by Danny Granger, clinched the playoffs as the third seed in the Eastern Conference. They finished with a 42-24 record, their best record since their 2003–04 season. On May 8, 2012, the Pacers defeated the Orlando Magic 105-87 to win their first playoff series since 2005 and would go on to play the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. On May 15, 2012 they defeated Miami to tie the second round series at 1-1. On May 17, they again beat Miami 94-75 to take the series lead 2-1. However, despite a hard fought series between the two, the Heat won Game 6 to close the series at 4-2.

The following season, Granger was sidelined by a knee injury and managed to only play 5 games. Granger made his return during the 2013–14 season, however failed to regain his form of the previous seasons, Granger was then traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for guard Evan Turner and forward Lavoy Allen in a swap that took place approximately 30 minutes before the trade deadline. 

On June 26, 2012, general manager, David Morway officially resigned.  The following day, president of basketball operations, Larry Bird stepped down. Bird and Morway were officially replaced by Donnie Walsh and Kevin Pritchard, respectively.  Walsh returned to the organization after spending the previous three seasons in the Knicks' front office. Pritchard was promoted by the Pacers after serving as the team's director of player personnel. In the 2012 NBA draft, the Pacers selected Miles Plumlee with the 26th pick and acquired Orlando Johnson, the 36th pick from the Sacramento Kings.

On April 7, 2013, the Pacers clinched their first Central Division championship since the 2003–04 season. They finished the 2012–13 season with a 49-32 record, the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference and beat the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs. The Pacers then beat the New York Knicks in six games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2004 to face the defending champs, the Miami Heat.  The Pacers lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 22, 2013 in overtime 103-102.  On May 24, 2013 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers were victorious by a score of 97-93. The game was clinched for Indiana, after David West was able to deflect a pass from LeBron James. The team headed home to Indianapolis where they had been a perfect 6-0 in the playoffs. The Heat won Game 3 in Indianapolis on May 26, 2013, with contributions from role players Udonis Haslem and Chris Andersen, and won 114-96.  The Pacers bounced back in Game 4 - with a strong contribution from Lance Stephenson - and won 99-92. The Pacers lost Game 5 in Miami on May 30, but won Game 6 at home on June 1, extending the series to Game 7. The Pacers were defeated by Miami, 99-76.

One year after stepping down, Larry Bird returned as president of basketball operations. Donnie Walsh, who was brought back to hold the position for Bird, was named a consultant for the Pacers.  In the 2013 NBA draft, the Pacers selected Solomon Hill with the 23rd overall pick. During the 2013 off-season, the Pacers made strengthening their bench a priority, resulting in the acquisitions of point guard C. J. Watson, and forwards Chris Copeland and Luis Scola, the latter being acquired via trade with the Phoenix Suns.

The 2013–14 season saw the Pacers jump to an explosive first half of a season, as they started the season 33-7 thanks to the rise of Paul George and Lance Stephenson.. There were talks about the Pacers becoming the next team to hit the 70 win mark, which had only been achieved by the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls. Paul George and Roy Hibbert were selected for the All Star Game. However, after the All Star Break, the Pacers collapsed. After starting the season 40-11, the Pacers crashed and stumbled to a 16-15 finish, with rumors of fighting in the locker room being a potential cause for the meltdown. Regardless, they managed to hold onto their first seed in the East, finished the season with a 56-26 record.

The Pacers started off the playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks, whom managed to secure an eighth seed in the playoffs with a 38-44 record. In Game 1, the Pacers suffered a devastating loss at home to the Hawks, 101-93. The Pacers bounced back in Game 2, winning 101-85. With the series shifting to Atlanta, the Hawks won Game 3 by 13 points. Indiana then took back the homecourt advantage in the series, winning Game 4 by 3 points in Atlanta. Back in Indianapolis, the Pacers jumped out to an early lead, but the Hawks had a monstrous second quarter, outscoring the Pacers 41-19. With the hometown crowd behind their backs, the Pacers cut the once 30-point lead to 9 late in the fourth quarter, but the rally wasn't enough to win Game 5, losing 107-97. Three days later in Atlanta, the Hawks jumped out to an early 10 point lead, but Indiana led at the half by five. The Pacers got the lead up to nine in the third quarter, but the Hawks came back and had a three-point lead at the end of the quarter. The game was back and forth throughout the fourth quarter. With three minutes remaining and the Pacers down five, it looked as if their season would come to an end. Then, behind David West, the Pacers ended the game on a 16-4 and won the game by seven to extend the series to a seventh game in Indianapolis. On May 3, 2014, the Pacers hosted a Game 7 at home for the first time in franchise history. A sellout crowd of 18,165 came to watch the Pacers and Hawks play in a win or go home situation. Atlanta led by as many as six in the first quarter, but the Pacers had the lead at the end of the first by a point. Throughout the second and third quarters, the Pacers went on a 24-6 run to give the Pacers a 17-point lead, and Indiana never turned back, winning the game 92-80. The Pacers then defeated Washington in 6 games in the semifinals, then a rematch with the second-seeded and defending champion Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers surprised many critics, taking Game 1 in the Eastern Conference Finals with a score of 107-95. Unfortunately for the Pacers they ended up losing the next 3 to the Heat before managing to avoid elimination in Game 5 with a close win over the Heat. In the game, LeBron James got into early foul trouble and played less than 30 minutes, while Paul George exploded in the second half to finish the night with 37 points. The game was notable for the infamous incident where Lance Stephenson blew into LeBron James' ear. Despite the win, the Pacers were eliminated in Game 6 by the Miami Heat for the third straight year.

2014–2015: George out for the season

On August 1, 2014, Paul George, who was playing in a Team USA scrimmage in preparation for the FIBA World Cup, suffered a catastrophic open fracture to his right leg (tibia and fibula) while trying to defend James Harden on a fast break. As he tried to defend Harden from advancing to the rim, George's leg caught on the stanchion of the hoop, and fractured. He was stretchered off of the court. Many described his injury as one of the worst and most graphic injuries they'd seen since the Kevin Ware incident. A day later, George successfully underwent surgery. He was expected to miss the entire 2014–2015 season. On April 5, 2015 Paul George returned from his injury to play in a game against the Miami Heat. George shot 5 of 12 from the field and tallied two steals, two rebounds and two assists in a winning effort. He played 15 minutes.

On January 14, 2014, Vogel was named the Eastern Conference head coach for 2014 NBA All-Star Game. 

2015–2016 

Paul George fully recovered and made the Eastern Conference All-star team.  Despite making the playoffs, on May 5, 2016, Pacers' president Larry Bird announced that Vogel's contract would not be renewed, citing a need for "a new voice" to lead the players.   In May 2016, after former head coach Frank Vogel's contract was not extended, Nate McMillan was promoted to replace Vogel as the Pacers' coach. 

Arena history

* Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum (1967–1974)
* Market Square Arena (1974–1999)
* Bankers Life Fieldhouse (1999–present) (Known as Conseco Fieldhouse prior to December 22, 2011)

The Indiana Pacers play their home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, which opened in 1999.  Bankers Life Fieldhouse is located in downtown Indianapolis. It is owned and operated by the Capital Improvement Board, City of Indianapolis, Indiana and its groundbreaking was on July 22, 1997 by Ellerbe Becket Architects & Engineers. Originally known as Conseco Fieldhouse, the arena officially opened on November 6, 1999 and adopted its current name on December 22, 2011.  It presently seats 18,165 for basketball games, down from the original 18,345 due to removal of bleacher seats at the south end in favor of adding a premium club area known as Legends. Bankers Life Fieldhouse is also the home of the WNBA's Indiana Fever, who are also owned by Herb Simon via Pacers Sports & Entertainment (PS&E). Additionally, it hosts the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament and hosted the 2011 NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four.  It hosts concerts and other events as well. The Fieldhouse is considered one of the best arenas in the NBA, being rated the No. 1 venue in the NBA according to the Sports Business Journal/Sports Business Daily Reader Survey.  Before moving into Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the Pacers played their games at Market Square Arena from 1974 to 1999 and at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum from 1967 to 1974.

Uniforms

The Indiana Pacers colors are (navy) blue, yellow (gold), cool gray and white. The original team colors of blue and yellow, using a more medium shade of blue, came from those on the Indiana state flag. The Pacers wear the usual white home uniform with blue and yellow trim. Their road uniform is blue with yellow trim. They also have a third uniform which is yellow with blue trim, which is worn occasionally at home or on the road. During the 1983 season, they wore the gold home uniform with blue and white trim at home.  From 1997 to 2005 the Pacers sported pinstripe uniforms. One of their most iconic uniforms, worn from 1990 to 1997, and the uniform that launched Reggie Miller into superstardom, was designed by American track and field athlete Florence Griffith-Joyner, and featured a modern typeset that resembled Helvetica. The jerseys were often referred to as the "Flo-Jos" by Pacers fans.

On September 29, 2005, the Indiana Pacers unveiled the club's current uniform set. 

On July 21, 2015, the Indiana Pacers, in collaboration with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios, unveiled a new uniform based on the 1986 motion picture Hoosiers. The Pacers wore these maroon and gold "Hickory" (the name and colors of the fictional High School from the film) uniforms for several home games and a few select road contests during the 2015-2016 season. It is the first time a major North American pro sports team wore a uniform based on a film.  

Rivalries

Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls and the Indiana Pacers rivalry in the National Basketball Association (NBA) begins with the two playing in the Central Division. This rivalry is best known from the match-ups in the 1990s in which Michael Jordan and Reggie Miller would go head-to-head. The rivalry was renewed when the two teams faced each other in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs.

Detroit Pistons

The Pacers and Pistons met for the first time in the 1990 Playoffs, the Pistons swept the Pacers in three straight games on their way to their second straight NBA championship. But the rivalry truly began in the 2003-04 season. The Pacers finished with a league best 61 wins and were led by Jermaine O'Neal, Ron Artest, and Reggie Miller, and coached by Rick Carlisle. Carlisle had been fired by Detroit at the end of the previous season. Detroit was led by Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Richard Hamilton, and coached by Larry Brown. Indiana won the first 3 matchups in the regular season, before being defeated by the Pistons in the final regular-season meeting at the Palace. That was also the first time the two met after Rasheed Wallace was traded to Detroit.

They met in the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals. Indiana narrowly won Game 1, thanks to some late heroics from Miller. Rasheed, unimpressed, stated "They Will Not Win Game 2" during an interview before the second game (locally known as the "Guaran-Sheed" victory). Late in Game 2, Detroit held a two-point lead, Billups turned over the ball, and Miller appeared to have an uncontested lay-up that would have tied the game. However, before Miller could score, he was chased down by Prince, who leapt from behind and blocked the shot. Near the end of Game 6, when Detroit held a slight lead, Artest committed a flagrant foul on Hamilton, which nearly caused tempers to boil over. Detroit won the series 4-2, and went on to win the NBA title.

On November 19, 2004, at The Palace of Auburn Hills, what has become known as the Pacers–Pistons brawl took place. All involved were suspended for varying lengths. Artest, who started it, carried the longest penalty: the entire season.

That year teams split the four regular season meetings. They met in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and split the first two games. The Pacers blew an 18-point lead, but still won Game 3 in Indianapolis. However, just as he did a year earlier, Rasheed promised a win in Game 4 saying, "When we return, we will be tied at 2." The Pistons won Games 4 and 5. The Pacers, knowing a loss would lead to Miller's retirement, fought hard, but fell to the Pistons 88–79.

New York Knicks

During the 1990s, the Knicks and Pacers were perennial playoff teams. They met in the playoffs 6 times from 1993 to 2000, fueling a rivalry epitomized by the enmity between Miller and prominent Knick fan Spike Lee. The rivalry was likened by Miller to the Hatfield–McCoy feud,  and described by The New York Times, in 1998 as being "as combustible as any in the league". 

Miami Heat

A recent rivalry with the Miami Heat was triggered with the team in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs. The two previously met in the 2004 NBA Playoffs (when Indiana won 4–2). , the only two players still left from either team are Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem of the Heat. Both head coaches were fined for statements made relating to the officiating: Frank Vogel accused the Heat of flopping before the series started, while Erik Spoelstra took offense to what he perceived to be deliberate head-hunting of his players on the part of the Pacers. Indiana took a 2–1 lead after Miami's Chris Bosh was sidelined with an abdominal strain. Powered by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, Miami won three straight games to take the series, 4–2. The series was marked by several suspensions, flagrant fouls, and confrontations between the players: Tyler Hansbrough's flagrant foul on Dwyane Wade (which drew blood), Udonis Haslem's retaliatory flagrant foul on Hansborough (which led to Haslem's Game 6 suspension), Wade colliding with Darren Collison in transition, Juwan Howard confronting Lance Stephenson over the latter's flashing of the choke sign to James, and Dexter Pittman elbowing Stephenson in the neck (which led to his own three-game suspension). Indiana's Danny Granger received technical fouls in three consecutive games for his confrontations with Heat players; he stripped James of his headband in Game 2 while attempting to block a shot, pulled the back of James' jersey in Game 3 while trying to stop a fast-break, and chest-bumped Wade in Game 4 after the latter was fouled by Roy Hibbert.

The following season saw improvements for both teams, from Miami's acquisition of Ray Allen and Chris Andersen, to the emergence of Paul George and Lance Stephenson. Notably, it was after the Heat lost to the Pacers that they compiled a 27-game winning streak; the last time the Heat lost two in a row in the year were the games against Indiana and Portland. During the waning minutes of Game 6 in the Semifinals between the Pacers and the New York Knicks, the Pacers' fans were chanting "Beat The Heat" as their team beat their old New York rivals. True to form, the Heat and the Pacers met in the Conference Finals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs on May 22, 2013. Several instances of physicality became prominent in the series: Shane Battier received an offensive foul for throwing his knee at Hibbert's midsection; Hibbert claimed that it was intentional dirty play on the part of Battier. Andersen suffered a bloodied nose after colliding with David West. Ian Mahinmi received a retroactive flagrant foul for a grab of James' arm. Norris Cole latched a hand on West's groin area as he tried to slip through West. Wade received a retroactive flagrant foul for hitting Stephenson in the head, another incident that the Pacers, notably Paul George, felt was a dirty play. The Heat survived Game 1 on a James game-winning layup, while the Pacers came back to tie the series at 1–1 after forcing James into two late fourth-quarter turnovers for Game 2. In Game 3, the Heat set a team record for points in a postseason half with 70. It was the first time the Pacers had given up 70 points since 1992. Allen's single turnover was the least ever suffered by the Heat in a first half. Their five total turnovers is tied for the fewest in franchise history. The Game 3 victory marked the first time that an NBA team had won five straight road games by double digits. The Heat won the series 4–3, with a 99–76 win in game 7.  In 2014, the Pacers and Heat renewed their rivalry in a second consecutive East Finals match up with the Heat eliminating the Pacers again.

Players

Current roster

Retained draft rights

The Pacers hold the draft rights to the following unsigned draft picks who have been playing outside the NBA. A drafted player, either an international draftee or a college draftee who isn't signed by the team that drafted him, is allowed to sign with any non-NBA teams. In this case, the team retains the player's draft rights in the NBA until one year after the player's contract with the non-NBA team ends.  This list includes draft rights that were acquired from trades with other teams.

Retired numbers

Hall of Famers

;Notes:
* 1 Played for the team during its time in ABA.
* 2 In total, Mullin and Bird were inducted into the Hall of Fame twice – as players and as members of the 1992 Olympic team.
* 3 Inducted as player. He also coached the Pacers (1988).
* 4 Inducted posthumously.
* 5 Inducted as player. Never played for the Pacers.
* 6 Started coaching for the team during its time in ABA.

Draft picks

Head coaches

There have been 13 head coaches for the Pacers franchise. Larry Staverman was the first coach of the team in 1967, when the team was in the ABA. Coach Bobby Leonard has the most wins in franchise history, with 529 in his 12 seasons with the team. After Leonard, Jack McKinney, George Irvine, and Dr. Jack Ramsay. When Ramsay abruptly resigned in 1988 after the team got off to a horrid start, Pacers legend George McGinnis took over on an interim basis for two games, before Irvine returned for 20 more. Dick Versace then led the Pacers through another sub-par stretch before Bob Hill got the Pacers back to the playoffs and into contention. Then in 1993, Larry Brown joined the Pacers franchise and led the team to many playoff appearances as Reggie Miller blossomed into a superstar and eventual Hall of Famer. Larry Bird took over the team in 1997 and coached until 2000. Bird took the Pacers to their only NBA Finals appearance in the 1999–2000 season. Isiah Thomas, Rick Carlisle, and Jim O'Brien were next up as the Pacers top coach. The most recent head coach of the Pacers was Frank Vogel, until May 5, 2016 when his contract was not renewed after the number 7 seeded Pacers lost game 7 of the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs to the number two seeded Toronto Raptors. Subsequently, associate head coach Nate McMillan was promoted to the top spot.

Statistics

Franchise leaders

Career

*Games: Reggie Miller (1,389)
*Minutes Played:  Miller (47,621)
*Field Goals Made:  Miller (8,241)
*Field Goal Attempts:  Miller (17,699)
*3-Point Field Goals Made:  Miller (2,560)
*3-Point Field Goal Attempts: Miller (6,486)
*Free Throws Made:  Miller (6,237)
*Free Throw Attempts:  Miller (7,026)
*Offensive Rebounds: Dale Davis (2,276)
*Defensive Rebounds: Mel Daniels (5,461)
*Total Rebounds:  Daniels (7,643)
*Assists:  Miller (4,141)
*Steals:  Miller (1,505)
*Blocked Shots: Jermaine O'Neal (1,247)
*Turnovers:  Miller (2,409)
*Personal Fouls: Rik Smits (3,011)
*Points:  Miller (25,279)

Per game

*Minutes Played: Mel Daniels (37.07)
*Field Goals Made: Chuck Person
*Field Goal Attempts: Person (16.33)
*3-Point Field Goals Made: Reggie Miller (1.84)
*3-Point Field Goal Attempts: Stephen Jackson (4.73)
*Free Throws Made: Detlef Schrempf (5.31)
*Free Throw Attempts: George McGinnis (7.05)
*Offensive Rebounds: Daniels (4.56)
*Defensive Rebounds: Daniels (11.40)
*Total Rebounds: Daniels (15.96)
*Assists: Mark Jackson (8.13)
*Steals: Don Buse (2.55)
*Blocked Shots: Jermaine O'Neal (2.46)
*Turnovers: Ricky Sobers (4.10)
*Personal Fouls: James Edwards (4.04)
*Points: Danny Granger (25.8)

Per 48 minutes

*Field Goals Made: Billy Knight (11.41)
*Field Goal Attempts: George McGinnis (23.53)
*3-Point Field Goals Made: Chris Mullin (2.74)
*3-Point Field Goal Attempts: Reggie Miller (6.54)
*Free Throws Made: Detlef Schrempf (7.57)
*Free Throw Attempts: McGinnis (10.33)
*Offensive Rebounds: Mel Bennett (6.38)
*Defensive Rebounds: Mel Daniels (14.76)
*Total Rebounds: Daniels (20.66)
*Assists: Mark Jackson (13.09)
*Steals: Dudley Bradley (4.89)
*Blocked Shots: Granville Waiters (3.55)
*Turnovers: McGinnis (5.77)
*Personal Fouls: Greg Dreiling (10.57)
*Points: Knight (29.09)

Individual awards

NBA Defensive Player of the Year
*Ron Artest – 2004

NBA Rookie of the Year
*Chuck Person – 1987

NBA Sixth Man of the Year
*Detlef Schrempf – 1991, 1992

NBA Most Improved Player of the Year
*Jalen Rose – 2000
*Jermaine O'Neal – 2002
*Danny Granger – 2009
*Paul George – 2013
NBA Coach of the Year
*Jack McKinney – 1981
*Larry Bird – 1998

NBA Executive of the Year
*Larry Bird – 2012

J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award
*Reggie Miller – 2004

All-Star East Head Coach
*Larry Bird – 1998
*Isiah Thomas – 2003
*Rick Carlisle – 2004
*Frank Vogel – 2014

ABA Most Valuable Player Award
*Mel Daniels - 1969, 1971
*George McGinnis - 1975

ABA Playoffs Most Valuable Player
*Roger Brown - 1970
*Freddie Lewis - 1972
*George McGinnis - 1973

ABA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
*Mel Daniels - 1971

NBA All-Star selections
*Billy Knight – 1977
*Don Buse – 1977
*Reggie Miller – 1990, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000
*Detlef Schrempf – 1993
*Rik Smits – 1998
*Dale Davis – 2000
*Jermaine O'Neal – 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
*Brad Miller - 2003
*Ron Artest – 2004
*Danny Granger – 2009
*Roy Hibbert – 2012, 2014
*Paul George – 2013, 2014, 2016

All-NBA Second Team
*Jermaine O'Neal – 2004

All-NBA Third Team
*Reggie Miller – 1995, 1996, 1998
*Jermaine O'Neal – 2002, 2003
*Ron Artest – 2004
*Paul George – 2013, 2014, 2016

All-ABA First Team
*Mel Daniels - 1969, 1970, 1971
*Roger Brown - 1971
*George McGinnis - 1974, 1975
*Billy Knight - 1976

All-ABA Second Team
*Roger Brown - 1968, 1970
*Bob Netolicky -1970
*George McGinnis - 1973
*Mel Daniels - 1973
*Don Buse - 1976

NBA All-Defensive First Team
*Don Buse – 1977
*Ron Artest – 2004, 2006
*Paul George - 2014

NBA All-Defensive Second Team
*Dudley Bradley – 1981
*Micheal Williams – 1992
*Derrick McKey – 1995, 1996
*Ron Artest – 2003
*Paul George – 2013, 2016
*Roy Hibbert – 2014

ABA All-Defensive Team
*Don Buse - 1975, 1976

NBA Rookie First Team
*Clark Kellogg – 1983
*Steve Stipanovich – 1984
*Chuck Person – 1987
*Rik Smits – 1989

NBA Rookie Second Team
*Jamaal Tinsley – 2002
*Danny Granger – 2006
*Paul George – 2011
*Myles Turner – 2016

ABA All-Rookie Team
*Bob Netolicky - 1968
*George McGinnis - 1972
*Billy Knight - 1975

NBA Slam Dunk Contest
*Fred Jones - 2004

Mascot

Boomer, the Pacers panther, has been the official team mascot since the 1991-1992 season.

Dance Squad

Founded in 1967, same year as the Pacers franchise, the Indiana Pacemates were one of the original professional sports dance squads and the first such entity in the NBA. Originally known in the ABA era as the Marathon Scoreboard Girls, then later as the Paul Harris Pacesetters, the Pacemates name has been used since the 1972-1973 season. The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team plays its home games at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The team was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons in 1941, a member of the National Basketball League (NBL). The Pistons joined the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1948. In 1949, the NBL and BAA merged to become the NBA, and the Pistons became part of the merged league.  Since moving to Detroit in 1957, the Pistons have won three NBA championships in 1989, 1990 and 2004.

Franchise history

1941–1957: The Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons

The Detroit Pistons' franchise was founded as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, a National Basketball League (NBL) team, playing in the gym of North Side High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Owners Fred Zollner and his sister Janet's Zollner Corporation was a foundry, manufacturing pistons, primarily for car, truck and locomotive engines. Fred Zollner, who currently owns a professional softball team known as the Zollner Piston softball team, was eventually persuaded to start a basketball team due to the fact that Indiana was so basketball minded. The Zollner Pistons were NBL champions in 1944 and 1945. They also won the World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1944, 1945 and 1946.
 
In 1948, the team became the Fort Wayne Pistons, competing in the Basketball Association of America (BAA). In 1949, Fred Zollner brokered the formation of the National Basketball Association from the BAA and the NBL at his kitchen table. 

There are suggestions that Pistons players conspired with gamblers to shave points and throw various games during the 1953–54 and 1954–55 seasons. In particular, there are accusations that the team may have intentionally lost the 1955 NBA Finals to the Syracuse Nationals.  In the decisive Game 7, the Pistons led Syracuse 41–24 early in the second quarter, then the Nationals rallied to win the game.  Syracuse won on a free throw by George King with twelve seconds left in the game. The closing moments included a palming turnover by the Pistons' George Yardley with 18 seconds left, a foul by Frankie Brian with 12 seconds left that enabled King's winning free throw, and a turnover by the Pistons' Andy Phillip with three seconds left which cost Fort Wayne a chance to attempt the game-winning shot. 

1957–1979: Decades of struggle

Though the Pistons enjoyed a solid local following, Fort Wayne's small size made it difficult for them to be profitable, especially as other early NBA teams based in smaller cities started folding or relocating to larger markets.  After the 1956–57 season, Zollner decided that Fort Wayne was too small to support an NBA team and announced the team would be playing elsewhere in the coming season.  He ultimately settled on Detroit.  Although it was the fifth largest city in the United States at the time, Detroit had not seen professional basketball in a decade. In 1947, they had lost the Detroit Gems of the NBL (whose remnants became the Minneapolis Lakers), and the Detroit Falcons of the BAA.  Zollner decided to keep the Pistons name, believing it made sense given Detroit's status as the center of the automobile industry.

The new Detroit Pistons played in Olympia Stadium (home of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings at the time) for their first four seasons, then moved to Cobo Arena. The franchise was a consistent disappointment, struggling both on the court and at the box office.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the Pistons were characterized by very strong individuals and weak teams.  In fact, in their first 27 years in Detroit, they only had three winning seasons. Some of the superstars who played for the team included Dave DeBusschere, Dave Bing, Jimmy Walker, and Bob Lanier.
At one point DeBusschere was the youngest player-coach in the history of the NBA. Unfortunately, an ill-timed trade during the 1968 season sent the popular home grown DeBusschere to the New York Knicks for Howard Komives and Walt Bellamy, both of whom were in the later stages of their careers. DeBusschere became the key player that then led the Knicks to two NBA titles. The Dave Bing and Bob Lanier era did have some solid and exciting years but they were handicapped by being in the same division as the Milwaukee Bucks, which had a young Lew Alcindor and the Chicago Bulls, which likewise had some very strong players.

In 1974, Zollner sold the team to glass magnate Bill Davidson, who remained the team's principal owner until his death on March 14, 2009.  Davidson was displeased with Cobo Arena, but opted not to follow the NHL's Detroit Red Wings to the under-construction Joe Louis Arena.  Instead, Davidson moved them to the suburb of Pontiac in 1978, where they played in the mammoth Silverdome, a structure built for professional football (and the home of the Detroit Lions at the time).

1979–1994: The Bad Boys era

The Pistons stumbled their way out of the 1970s and into the 1980s, beginning with a 16–66 record in 1979–80 and following up with a 21–61 record in 1980–81. The 1979–80 team lost its last 14 games of the season which, when coupled with the seven losses at the start of the 1980–81 season, comprised a then-NBA record losing streak of 21 games (since broken).

The franchise's fortunes finally began to turn in 1981, when it drafted point guard Isiah Thomas from Indiana University. In early 1982, the Pistons acquired center Bill Laimbeer in a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers and guard Vinnie Johnson from the Seattle SuperSonics. The three would remain together for a decade, forming much of the core of a team that would rise to the top of the league.

Initially the Pistons had a tough time moving up the NBA ladder. In 1984, the Pistons lost a tough five-game series to the underdog New York Knicks, three games to two. In the 1985 playoffs, Detroit won its first-round series and faced the defending champion Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals. Though Boston would prevail in six games, Detroit's surprise performance promised that a rivalry had begun. In the 1985 NBA draft, the team selected Joe Dumars 18th overall, a selection that would prove very wise. They also acquired Rick Mahorn in a trade with the Washington Bullets.  However, the team initially took a step backward, losing in the first round of the 1986 playoffs to the more athletic Atlanta Hawks. After the series, Coach Chuck Daly and team captain Thomas decided that their best chance to seize control of the Eastern Conference would be through a more aggressive style of play.

Prior to the 1986–87 season, the Pistons acquired more key players: John Salley (drafted 11th overall), Dennis Rodman (drafted 27th) and Adrian Dantley (acquired in a trade with the Utah Jazz). The team adopted a physical, defense-oriented style of play, which eventually earned them the nickname "Bad Boys". In 1987, the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals—the first time it had advanced that far since 1961—against the Celtics.  After pushing the defending champions to a 2–2 tie, the Pistons were on the verge of winning Game 5 at the Boston Garden with seconds remaining. After a Celtics' turnover, Thomas attempted to quickly inbound the ball and missed Daly's timeout signal from the bench (the NBA had not yet instituted the rule that allowed coaches to call timeout themselves). Larry Bird stole the inbound pass and passed it to Dennis Johnson for the game-winning layup. While the Pistons would win Game 6 in Detroit, they would lose the series in a tough Game 7 back in Boston.

Motivated by their loss to the Celtics, the 1988 Pistons, aided by midseason acquisition James Edwards, improved to a then-franchise-record 54 victories and the franchise's first division title in 33 years. In the postseason, the Pistons avenged their two previous playoff losses to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, defeating them in six games and advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since the franchise moved to Detroit.

The Pistons' first trip to the Finals in 33 years saw them face the Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. After taking a 3–2 series lead back to Los Angeles, Detroit appeared poised to win their first NBA title in Game 6. In that game, Isiah Thomas scored an NBA Finals record 25 points in the third quarter while playing on a severely sprained ankle. However, the Lakers won the game, 103–102, on a pair of last-minute free throws by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar following a controversial foul called on Bill Laimbeer, referred to by many Piston supporters, and Laimbeer himself, as a "phantom foul". With Isiah Thomas unable to compete at full strength, the Pistons narrowly fell in Game 7, 108–105.

Prior to the 1988–89 season, the Pistons moved to Auburn Hills to play at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The 1989 Pistons completed the building of their roster by trading Dantley for Mark Aguirre, a trade that Piston fans would criticize heavily initially, but later praise. The team won 63 games, shattering their one-year-old franchise record, and steamrolled through the playoffs and into an NBA Finals rematch with the Lakers. This time the Pistons came out victorious in a four-game sweep to win their first NBA championship. Joe Dumars was named NBA Finals MVP.

The Pistons successfully defended their title in 1990, despite losing Mahorn to the Timberwolves in the expansion draft. After winning 59 games and a third straight division title, the Pistons cruised through the first two rounds of the playoffs before playing a tough Eastern Conference Finals series against Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and the Chicago Bulls. Facing each other for the third straight season, the Pistons and Bulls split the first six games before the Pistons finished the series with a decisive 93–74 victory in Game 7.  Advancing to their third consecutive NBA Finals, the Pistons faced the Portland Trail Blazers. After splitting the first two games at The Palace, the Pistons went to Portland, where they had not won a game since 1974, to play Games 3, 4 and 5. The Pistons summarily won all three games in Portland, becoming the first NBA team to sweep the middle three games on the road. The decisive game came down to the final second. Trailing 90–83 with two minutes remaining, the Pistons rallied to tie the game, then took a 92–90 lead when Vinnie Johnson sank an 18-foot jumper with 00.7 seconds left in the game; this shot earned Johnson a new nickname in Detroit, "007", to go with his original, "The Microwave". Isiah Thomas was named NBA Finals MVP.

The Pistons' championship run came to an end in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, as the Pistons were swept by the eventual NBA champion Chicago Bulls, 4 games to 0. The most critical Piston injury belonged to Isiah Thomas who had surgery on his wrist just prior to the NBA Playoffs. The Conference Finals were best remembered for the Pistons walking off court in the last game just before it ended, unwilling to shake hands with the Bulls. After the series, Jordan said he was "shocked that Isiah didn't play as hard". Following this, the franchise went through a lengthy transitional period, as key players either retired (Laimbeer in 1993 and Thomas in 1994) or were traded (Edwards, Johnson, Salley and Rodman among others). The team quickly declined, bottoming out in the 1993–94 season when they finished 20–62.

1994–2000: The Grant Hill era

The team's fortunes improved after that season, but the rebuilding process soon sputtered. As a result of the poor finish in the 1994 season, the Pistons were able to draft Grant Hill, a promising small forward.  However, this period also saw the team make numerous questionable personnel decisions, such as the loss of free agent Allan Houston to the New York Knicks,  the signing of free agent wash-outs Christian Laettner, Loy Vaught, Cedric Ceballos, and Bison Dele; and head coaching changes from Ron Rothstein to Don Chaney to Doug Collins to Alvin Gentry to George Irvine in an eight-year span. Of those coaches, only Collins had any sort of success with the Pistons, winning 54 games in the 1996–97 season. The franchise even changed its team colors in 1996 from its traditional red and blue to teal, burgundy, gold and black in what proved to be a highly unpopular move with fans. The white is the only team color that did not change after all. This period has become known, often derisively, as the "teal era".

2000–2008: Return to championship contention

2000–2002: Building a contender

After being swept by the Miami Heat in the 2000 playoffs, Joe Dumars (who had retired following the 1999 season) was hired as the team's president of basketball operations. He quickly faced what appeared to be a setback for the franchise, as Grant Hill elected to leave the team for the Orlando Magic. However, Dumars managed to work a sign and trade with Orlando that brought the Pistons Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins in exchange for Hill. Both quickly entered the Pistons' starting lineup, and Wallace would develop into an All-Star in the coming years. Conversely, Hill would play only 47 games in the following four seasons due to a recurring ankle injury.

The Pistons suffered through another tough season in 2000–01, going 32–50 despite Jerry Stackhouse averaging 29.8 points a game. After the season, Dumars fired Irvine and hired Rick Carlisle, a widely respected assistant coach who had been a tough substitute contributor for the Celtics during the mid-1980s. In 2001, the franchise also adopted a modified version of its traditional red-white-and-blue scheme.

Carlisle helped lead the Pistons to their first 50-win season since 1997, and their first playoff series victory since 1991 by defeating the Toronto Raptors in five games, they would however lose to the Boston Celtics five games.

2003–2008: Six consecutive Eastern Conference Finals

In the 2002 offseason, Dumars revamped the Pistons' roster by signing free agent Chauncey Billups, acquiring Richard "Rip" Hamilton from the Washington Wizards, and by drafting Tayshaun Prince from Kentucky. The Pistons posted consecutive 50-win seasons and advanced to the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals, for the first time since 1991. There, however, they were swept in four games by the New Jersey Nets.

Despite the team's improvement, Carlisle was fired in the 2003 off-season. There were believed to be five reasons for the firing: first, that Carlisle had appeared reluctant to play some of the team's younger players, such as Prince and Mehmet Okur, during the regular season, which had upset Dumars; second, that some of the players (notably Wallace) had not gotten along with Carlisle; third, that Carlisle's offense was thought to be conservative; fourth, that Hall of Famer Larry Brown had become available; and finally fifth, that Carlisle was rumored to be interested in the Pacers head coaching job during the Pistons' 2003 playoff run. Brown accepted the job that summer and Carlisle landed the job in Indiana as expected.

Image:Pistons starting 5.jpg|400px|thumb|left|The starting five of the Pistons' 2004 championship team. (Left-to right: Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, and Tayshaun Prince).
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rect 1962 107 2437 934 Tayshaun Prince
rect 67 328 392 1000 Richard Hamilton
poly 766 1002 756 654 1182 210 1300 211 1484 662 1475 1001 Rasheed Wallace
rect 424 357 628 999 Ben Wallace
default none Pistons' Starting five (2004).
desc bottom-left

The Pistons' transformation into a championship team was completed with the February 2004 acquisition of Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons now had another big man to pose a threat from all parts of the court. The Pistons finished the season 54–28, recording their best record since 1997. In the 2004 playoffs, after defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in five games, they defeated the defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets in seven games after coming back from a 3–2 deficit. Detroit then defeated the Pacers, coached by Carlisle, in six tough games to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1990. Many analysts gave the Pistons little chance to win against their opponents, the Los Angeles Lakers, who had won three out of the previous four NBA championships, and who fielded a star-studded lineup that included Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton and Karl Malone. However, the Pistons won the series in dominating fashion, defeating Los Angeles in five games for the team's third NBA Championship. The Pistons posted double-digit wins in three of their four victories, and held the Lakers to a franchise-low 68 points in Game 3. Chauncey Billups was named NBA Finals MVP. With the win, Bill Davidson became the first (and to this date, the only) owner to win both NBA and NHL championships in the same year, having won the Stanley Cup as owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Despite losing key members of their bench during the off-season (including Okur, Mike James and Corliss Williamson), the Pistons were considered a strong contender to win a second consecutive title in 2005. They won 54 games during the regular season, their fourth consecutive season of 50 or more wins. During the 2005 playoffs, they easily defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 4–1 and then rallied from a 2–1 deficit to finish off the Indiana Pacers, 4–2. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons faced the Miami Heat. Once again, Detroit fell behind, but won the Eastern Conference Championship in seven games. In the NBA Finals, the Pistons faced the San Antonio Spurs.  In the first NBA Finals Game 7 since 1994, the Pistons lost a hard-fought game with the Spurs, who won their third NBA championship since 1999.

The Pistons' 2004–05 season was marked by a major controversy, as well as distracting issues involving Larry Brown. In the first month of the season, a Pacers–Pistons brawl erupted, one of the largest fan-player incidents in the history of American sports. It resulted in heavy fines and suspensions for several players, and a great deal of NBA and media scrutiny.  Meanwhile, Brown was forced to leave the team on two occasions due to health concerns, and also became involved in a series of rumors linking him to other job openings. Concerned about Brown's health, and angered over his alleged pursuit of other jobs during the season, the Pistons bought out his contract soon after the 2005 NBA Finals. Brown was promptly named head coach of the New York Knicks, and the Pistons hired Flip Saunders, formerly of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

During the 2005–06 season, the Pistons recorded the NBA's best overall record. Their 37–5 start exceeded the best start for any Detroit sports franchise in history  and tied for the second-best 42-game start in NBA history. Four of the five Piston starters, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace, were named to the All-Star team, and Flip Saunders served as the Eastern Conference All-Star team coach. The Pistons finished the regular season with a record of 64–18, setting new franchise records for both overall and road victories (27). In addition, the team set an NBA record by starting the same lineup in 73 consecutive games from the start of the season.

The top-seeded Pistons defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 4–1 in the first round of the 2006 NBA Playoffs, but struggled in the second round against the Cleveland Cavaliers, falling behind 3–2 before winning in seven games. Things did not improve against second-seeded Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Miami defeated the Pistons in six games en route to the 2006 NBA championship.

During the 2006 off-season, the Pistons offered Ben Wallace a four-year, $48 million contract which would have made him the highest-paid Piston ever. However, Wallace agreed to a 4-year, $60 million contract with the Chicago Bulls. 

To replace Ben Wallace, the Pistons signed Nazr Mohammed as a center. He struggled to fill the team's void at center, however, and the team began looking for additional help. On January 17, the Pistons signed Chris Webber, who had become a free agent. The Pistons quickly began playing better basketball and, according to Newsday, started "to get their swagger back".   The Pistons were only 21–15 before Webber was acquired; with him, the team went 32–14. On April 11, the Pistons clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference, which guaranteed them home-court advantage for first three rounds of the playoffs.

The Pistons opened the 2007 NBA Playoffs with a 4–0 victory over the Orlando Magic, their first playoff series sweep since 1990. The team advanced to face the Chicago Bulls, marking the first time that the Central Division rivals had met in the postseason since 1991. After winning the first two games by 26 and 21 points, the Pistons overcame a 19-point deficit to win Game 3, 81–74. Chicago avoided elimination by winning Games 4 and 5, but the Pistons closed out the series, 95–85, in Game 6. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive time (equaling their streak from 1987–1991)— three short of the NBA record set by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons won games 1 and 2, but lost 4 in a row to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In the 2007 NBA draft the Pistons selected Rodney Stuckey as the 15th overall pick and Arron Afflalo as the 27th overall pick.   They also re-signed Chauncey Billups to a long-term contract, as well as re-signing top prospect Amir Johnson and key reserve Antonio McDyess. This season marked the 50th anniversary of the franchise in Detroit.

At the start of the 2008 season, Rasheed Wallace became the Pistons' new center. Upon entering his third season as Pistons coach, Saunders became the longest-tenured Pistons coach since Chuck Daly's nine-year tenure (1983–92). Detroit finished the season 59–23, with the second-best record in the league. The Boston Celtics held the first seed, and many speculated that Boston was their main competition in the Eastern Conference. In the 2008 NBA Playoffs, Detroit started out poorly with a Game 1 loss to the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers and found themselves in a 2-games-to-1 deficit.  But the Pistons rallied to defeat the Sixers in six games.

Meanwhile, in the 2008 NBA Playoffs, Detroit rolled out to a Game 1 romp of the Orlando Magic, and won a tight Game 2 amid mild controversy.  At the very end of the third quarter, Chauncey Billups hit a three-point field goal that gave the Pistons a three-point lead.  However, the clock had stopped shortly into the play. League rules currently prohibit officials from using both instant replay and a timing device to measure how much time has elapsed when a clock malfunctions, nor is a replay from the time of the malfunction onward allowed.  The officials estimated that the play took 4.6 seconds, and since there were 5.1 seconds remaining when it began, the field goal was counted.  The NBA later admitted that the play actually took 5.7 seconds and the basket should not have counted. 

In addition to losing Game 3 badly, 111–86, the Pistons also lost all-star point guard and team leader Chauncey Billups to a hamstring injury.  Despite his absence, the Pistons rallied from 15 down in the third quarter to win Game 4 90–89, on a field goal by Tayshaun Prince with just 8.9 seconds to play, taking a 3–1 series lead. Again with Billups sitting on the sideline, they then proceeded to win Game 5 in Detroit, winning the series 4 games to 1.

Detroit advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the sixth straight season, squaring off against the Boston Celtics. This put the Pistons second on the all-time list of most consecutive conference final appearances, only behind the Los Angeles Lakers who appeared in 8 straight conference finals from the 1981–82 to 1988–89 seasons.   They lost Game 1 88–79, but won in game two on the road, 103–97 (marking Boston's first home court loss in the 2008 postseason). Immediately following that, the Celtics won their first road playoff game of the post-season, 94–80, in game three. Game four saw the Pistons win 94–75.  In the pivotal fifth game, they lost 106–102, despite rallying from 18 points down late in the game. In Game 6, the Pistons entered the fourth quarter leading 70–60, but a lack of focus, a poor game from Rasheed Wallace, and a rally-killing turnover by Tayshaun Prince ultimately led to their demise; the Pistons ended their season with an 89–81 loss. The postgame interview was notable for Wallace, possibly knowing Dumars would soon break up the core of the team, saying simply, "It's over, man." After that, the Celtics went on to win the 2008 NBA Finals. On June 3, 2008, the Pistons announced that head coach Flip Saunders would not return as head coach for the 2008–09 regular season. 

2008–2011: Failed express rebuilding

In November 2008, the Pistons traded its key members Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess for Allen Iverson.  McDyess was later waived on November 10 and rejoined the Pistons on December 9, 2008. This Billups/Iverson trade was marked as a start of a new rebuilding process because of Iverson's free agent status at the end of the season.

The season was marked with many controversies and injuries. As a result of that, and poor play, the Pistons dropped down the standings, only clinching a playoff berth on April 10, 2009, good for the #8 seed at 39–43, their first losing season in 7 years. The Pistons were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in four games in the first round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs. It was the first time the Pistons had been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs since 2000. Iverson left the team at the end of the season.

In the 2009/2010 offseason, Dumars reached an agreement with the former Bulls guard Ben Gordon on a 5 year/$55 million contract, as well as an agreement with former Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva on a 5-year contract worth $35 million. That same month, the Pistons lost their two key members during the last few years, veterans Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess. On July 8, 2009, Dumars hired former Cavaliers assistant coach John Kuester to be the Pistons new head coach.  Kuester was, same as his predecessor Michael Curry, a debutant on the NBA head coach position.

The Pistons signed back their former player and former defensive player of the year, center Ben Wallace, before the 2009–2010 season. 

Despite these changes, the team regressed even further, hampered by injuries to key players. On March 23, 2010, the Pistons were eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Indiana Pacers, assuring their first Draft Lottery appearance and their first 50-loss season since 2001. The Pistons finished with a 27–55 record, and were last in the Central Division. It was their worst record since 1994. Another 50-loss season, this time finishing at 30–52, led to the firing of Kuester at the end of the 2010–11 season.

2011–2015: New ownership; more struggling

On April 7, 2011, the Detroit Pistons reached a long awaited agreement to sell the NBA franchise to billionaire Tom Gores. The deal was granted by NBA in June and also included The Palace of Auburn Hills and DTE Energy Music Theatre.   According to Crain's Detroit Business, the final sale price was $325 million, far lower than expected. 

Prior to the 2011–12 season, the team decided to hire a new coach, Lawrence Frank, former head coach of the New Jersey Nets and an assistant coach of the Boston Celtics. The 2011–12 season was an improvement from previous years for the Pistons, although they still posted a losing record. While they started the season 4–20, they managed to win half their remaining games to finish a lockout-shortened season with a record of 25–41. The team continued to build its young core with the drafting of the talented center Andre Drummond.

Following the 2012–13 season, coach Lawrence Frank was fired on April 18, 2013, after two losing seasons,[http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9186721/lawrence-frank-fired-detroit-pistons-sources Lawrence Frank fired by Detroit Pistons – ESPN] and on June 10, 2013, the Pistons hired former player and coach, Maurice Cheeks. His tenure lasted for just a bit more than half a season, and he was replaced with interim coach John Loyer.  In April the Detroit Pistons announced that Joe Dumars would step down as President of Basketball Operations, yet remain as an advisor to the organization and its ownership team,  and on May 14, 2014, Stan Van Gundy was hired.  The former Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic coach, signed a 5-year, $35 million contract to become the head coach and President of Basketball Operations for the team. 

After starting the 2014–15 season with a 5–23 record, the Pistons waived Josh Smith,  who was acquired in summer of 2013. The team went on a lengthy winning streak, but would only finish the season with the 32-50 record after Brandon Jennings' Achilles injury.

2015–2016: Return to the playoffs

In the 2015 offseason, Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy began to change the roster to his liking by making such acquisitions as Ersan Ilyasova, Steve Blake, Aron Baynes, Marcus Morris and drafting rookie Stanley Johnson with the 8th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and re-signed point guard Reggie Jackson.  The Pistons entered the 2015–16 season with a stronger roster than the previous season, although losing starter Greg Monroe to the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency. Andre Drummond started the season on fire earning himself the honor of consecutive Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards for the weeks of November 1 and November 8. 

The Pistons entered the All-Star break with a 50% win-loss record at 27–27. The Pistons did surpass their win totals from the 2009–10 NBA season to the 2014–15 NBA season on March 9, 2016, when Detroit defeated the Dallas Mavericks 102–96. On April 6, 2016, following a 108–104 win over the Orlando Magic giving the Pistons their first winning season since the 2007–08 NBA season when they went 59–23. On April 8, 2016, the Pistons defeated the Washington Wizards 112–99 and clinched a playoff berth, ending a six-year drought that started from the 2009–10 NBA season. The eighth-seeded Pistons faced the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs. They were swept in 4 games in a highly-competitive series.

Media coverage

Radio

The Pistons flagship radio station is WMGC-FM Detroit Sports 105.1 FM. They took over from WXYT-FM starting with the 2014-15 season. There are several affiliate stations throughout Michigan. 
The regular radio announcers are Mark Champion with play-by-play and Rick Mahorn with color commentary.

TV

The Pistons' current exclusive local television rights holder is Fox Sports Detroit. 
The regular TV announcers are George Blaha with play-by-play, Greg Kelser with color commentary, Grant Long with studio analysis and Grant Long, Johnny Kane or Matt Shepard with sideline reports.

Uniforms

After moving from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Detroit in 1957, the Pistons' uniforms remained largely unchanged for two decades, featuring the word "Pistons" in blue block lettering. In the 1978–79 season, the team featured a uniform with lightning bolts on the sides and in the wordmark on the front of the jerseys. The team ditched the lightning bolt theme and returned to its classic block lettering and simple side panel pattern in 1981, staying with this look until 1996. That year, the Pistons changed its colors to teal, black, yellow and red, and unveiled a new logo with a horse's head and flaming mane. This uniform pattern lasted until 2001, when the team returned to the traditional red, white and blue colors, and a uniform pattern taking cues from the 1981–96 threads. 

On August 14, 2013, the Pistons unveiled a new alternate uniform, with navy blue and red colors. It featured the words "Motor City" across the front and mark the club’s first alternative look since the 2005-06 NBA season. The uniforms are the first of their kind, designed to celebrate the pride and character of metro Detroit while paying homage to the region’s automotive roots. The team said in its press release that it "worked in consultation with adidas and the NBA in development of the uniforms. Lettering and numbering style on the jersey is consistent with the team’s current home and away uniforms. To contrast the navy blue and red accents, lettering and numbers on the jerseys and shorts are white with hair-line red and blue trim. The club’s secondary logo appears on the shorts – similar to the primary home and away uniforms." 

On October 4, 2015, the Pistons unveiled a new alternate pride uniform, intended to be worn during the 2015–16 NBA season. The team said in a press release that "the inspiration for the Detroit Chrome jerseys came about as a way to honor our coolest cars from the past and the cars of the future. Detroit is universally known as the auto capitol of the world, where chrome leaves an indelible mark on the cars we create. The uniforms feature a matte chrome base color with clean simple lines inspired by the classic muscle cars that have roared up and down Woodward Avenue for decades. The navy trim and Detroit emblazoned across the chest represent the blue collar work ethic that the auto industry and region was built on."  

Mascots

Image:Sir_Slam_A_Lot.jpg|Sir Slam A Lot(1994–1996)
Image:Hooper.jpg|Hooper(1996–present)

Season-by-season records

Home arenas

Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons:
*North Side High School Gym (1948–1952)
*Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (1952–1957)

Detroit Pistons:
*Olympia Stadium (1957–1961)
*Memorial Building (University of Detroit) (1957-1961; used an alternate when Olympia Stadium was occupied)  
*Cobo Arena (1961–1978)
*Pontiac Silverdome (1978–1988)
*The Palace of Auburn Hills (1988–present)

Notes:
*March 12, 1960, the Pistons hosted a playoff game against the Minneapolis Lakers at Grosse Pointe High School when no other facility (including Olympia Stadium, which was booked for Ice Capades, and the University of Detroit) was available. 
*April 27, 1984, the Pistons played Game 5 of their playoff series against New York in Joe Louis Arena due to a scheduling conflict.
*During the 1984–85 season, the Silverdome's roof collapsed, causing the team to temporarily relocate to Joe Louis Arena (for 15 home games) and back to Cobo Arena (for one game).

Players

Current roster

Recent NBA draft selections

* 2016: Henry Ellenson (Round 1, pick 18); Michael Gbinije (Round 2, pick 49)
* 2015: Stanley Johnson (Round 1, pick 8); Darrun Hilliard (Round 2, pick 38)
* 2014: Spencer Dinwiddie (Round 2, pick 38)
* 2013: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Round 1, pick 8); Tony Mitchell (Round 2, pick 37); Peyton Siva (Round 2, pick 56)
* 2012: Andre Drummond (Round 1, pick 9); Khris Middleton (Round 2, pick 39); Kim English (Round 2, pick 44)
* 2011: Brandon Knight (Round 1, pick 8); Kyle Singler  (Round 2, pick 33); Vernon Macklin  (Round 2, pick 52)
* 2010: Greg Monroe (Round 1, pick 7); Terrico White (Round 2, pick 36)
* 2009: Austin Daye (Round 1, pick 15); DaJuan Summers (Round 2, pick 35); Jonas Jerebko (Round 2, pick 39); Chase Budinger (Round 2, pick 44) 
Note: The rights to Budinger were traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for the rights to future second round draft pick and cash considerations

* 2008: D. J. White (Round 1, pick 29); Deron Washington (Round 2, pick 59)
Note: The rights to White were traded to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for the rights to Seattle's draft picks Walter Sharpe (round 2, pick 32) and Trent Plaisted (round 2, pick 46)
* 2007: Rodney Stuckey (Round 1, pick 15); Arron Afflalo (Round 1, pick 27); Sammy Mejia (Round 2, pick 57)
* 2006: Will Blalock (Round 2, pick 60)
* 2005: Jason Maxiell (Round 1, pick 26); Amir Johnson (Round 2, pick 56); Alex Acker (Round 2, pick 60)

Retired numbers

All of the Pistons retired numbers are currently hanging in the rafters of The Palace of Auburn Hills.

* 1 Never played in the NBA; number represents the two NBA championship teams he coached.
* 2 Also President of the team from 2000–2014.
* 3 Banner raised to honor his 35 years with the team.
* 4 Banner raised to honor his 13 years as the team's general manager.
* 5 Greg Monroe wore the number at the time of the announcement (2010–2015).
* 6 Stanley Johnson wore the number at the time of the announcement (2015).
* 7  Reggie Jackson wore the number at the time of the announcement (2015).

Basketball Hall of Fame members

 

On April 4, 2016, Iverson was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He will be inducted in September 2016. 

* 1Lloyd was inducted as a contributor as the first African-American player and bench coach in the NBA.
* 2Vitale was inducted as a contributor for his career as a college basketball broadcaster.

Michigan Sports Hall of Fame

Head coaches

General managers

*Fred Delano (1957–58)
*W. Nicholas Kerbawy (1958–61)
*Fran Smith (1961–64)
*Don Wattrick (1964–66)
*Edwin Coil (1966–75)
*Oscar Feldman (1975–79)
*Jack McCloskey (1979–92)
*Billy McKinney (1992–95)
*Rick Sund (1995–2000)
*Joe Dumars (2000–14)
*Jeff Bower (2014–present)

Records

Franchise leaders

*Career leaders
**Games: Joe Dumars, 1,018
**Minutes played: Isiah Thomas, 35,516
**Field goals made: Isiah Thomas, 7,194
**Field-goal attempts: Isiah Thomas, 15,904
**3-point field goals made: Joe Dumars, 990
**3-point field-goal attempts: Joe Dumars, 2,592
**Free throws made: Isiah Thomas, 4,036
**Free-throw attempts: Isiah Thomas, 5,316
**Offensive rebounds: Bill Laimbeer, 2,429
**Defensive rebounds: Bill Laimbeer, 7,001
**Total rebounds: Bill Laimbeer, 9,430
**Assists: Isiah Thomas, 9,061
**Steals: Isiah Thomas, 1,861
**Blocked shots: Ben Wallace, 2,001
**Turnovers: Isiah Thomas, 3,682
**Personal fouls: Bill Laimbeer, 3,131
**Points: Isiah Thomas, 18,822
*Per-game averages
**Minutes played:  Gene Shue, 39.52
**Field goals made:  Bob Lanier, 9.22
**Field-goal attempts:  Dave Bing, 19.44
**3-point field goals made:  Chauncey Billups, 2.01
**3-point field-goal attempts:  Chauncey Billups, 4.88
**Free throws made:  Jerry Stackhouse, 6.71
**Free-throw attempts:  Jerry Stackhouse, 8.13
**Offensive rebounds:  Dennis Rodman, 4.36
**Defensive rebounds:  Ben Wallace, 8.97
**Total rebounds:  Ben Wallace, 12.87
**Assists:  Kevin Porter, 10.11
**Steals:  Alvin Robertson, 2.13
**Blocked shots:  Ben Wallace, 2.76
**Turnovers:  Bob McAdoo, 4.00
**Personal fouls:  Walter Dukes, 4.21
**Points:  Bob Lanier, 22.74

*Per 48 minutes
**Field goals made:  Bob Lanier, 12.23
**Field-goal attempts:  Don Kojis, 25.35
**3-point field goals:  Jon Barry, 2.89
**3-point field-goal attempts:  Chucky Atkins, 7.39
**Free throws:  Adrian Dantley, 9.93
**Free-throw attempts:  Adrian Dantley, 11.89
**Offensive rebounds:  Dennis Rodman, 7.03
**Defensive rebounds:  Ben Wallace, 11.80
**Total rebounds:  Walter Dukes, 20.78
**Assists:  Kevin Porter, 15.37
**Steals:  Ron Lee, 4.29
**Blocked shots:  Chuck Nevitt, 5.79
**Turnovers:  Greg Kelser, 5.57
**Personal fouls:  Chuck Nevitt, 12.70
**Points:  Bob Lanier, 30.17

Individual awards

NBA Finals MVP
*Joe Dumars – 1989
*Isiah Thomas – 1990
*Chauncey Billups – 2004

NBA Defensive Player of the Year
*Dennis Rodman – 1990, 1991
*Ben Wallace – 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006

NBA Rookie of the Year
*Don Meineke – 1953
*Dave Bing – 1967
*Grant Hill – 1995

NBA Sixth Man of the Year
*Corliss Williamson – 2002

NBA Coach of the Year
*Ray Scott – 1974
*Rick Carlisle – 2002

NBA Executive of the Year
*Joe Dumars – 2003

NBA Sportsmanship Award
*Joe Dumars – 1996

J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award
*Bob Lanier – 1978
*Kent Benson – 1982
*Isiah Thomas – 1987
*Joe Dumars – 1994
*Chauncey Billups – 2008

All-NBA First Team
*Larry Foust – 1955
*George Yardley – 1958
*Gene Shue – 1960
*Dave Bing – 1968, 1971
*Isiah Thomas – 1984–1986
*Grant Hill – 1997

All-NBA Second Team
*Fred Schaus – 1950
*Larry Foust – 1952
*George Yardley – 1957
*Gene Shue – 1961
*Bailey Howell – 1963
*Dave Debusschere – 1969
*Dave Bing – 1974
*Isiah Thomas – 1983, 1987
*Joe Dumars – 1993
*Grant Hill – 1996, 1998–2000
*Ben Wallace – 2003, 2004, 2006
*Chauncey Billups – 2006

All-NBA Third Team
*Joe Dumars – 1990, 1991
*Dennis Rodman – 1992
*Ben Wallace – 2002, 2005
*Chauncey Billups – 2007
*Andre Drummond – 2016

NBA Eastern All-Star Game head coach
* Chuck Daly – 1990
* Doug Collins – 1997
* Flip Saunders – 2006

NBA All-Defensive First Team
*Joe Dumars – 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993
*Dennis Rodman – 1989–1993
*Ben Wallace – 2002–2006

NBA All-Defensive Second Team
*M.L. Carr – 1979
*Joe Dumars – 1991
*Clifford Robinson – 2002
*Chauncey Billups – 2005, 2006
*Tayshaun Prince – 2005–2008

NBA All-Rookie First Team
*Dave Debusschere – 1963
*Joe Caldwell – 1965
*Tom Van Arsdale – 1966
*Dave Bing – 1967
*Bob Lanier – 1971
*Terry Tyler – 1979
*Isiah Thomas – 1982
*Kelly Tripucka – 1982
*Joe Dumars – 1986
*Grant Hill – 1995
*Brandon Knight – 2012

NBA All-Rookie Second Team
*Lindsey Hunter – 1994
*Željko Rebrača – 2002
*Rodney Stuckey – 2008
*Jonas Jerebko – 2010
*Greg Monroe – 2011
*Andre Drummond – 2013
*Kyle Singler – 2013

Rivalries

Chicago Bulls

Boston Celtics

Los Angeles Lakers
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WikipediaEntity
A: Basketball
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