The Detroit Pistons have had a gamut of quality big men stride through the franchise, but there are only a handful that can be considered the best power forwards in team history. Let's take a look at the five best.
5. Greg Monroe
Monroe was drafted out of Georgetown with the seventh overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. He came to a Pistons team that was descending from the high of making six straight Eastern Conference Finals during the 2000s and beginning to retool its roster.
That retooling soon became a rebuild with stars like Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton no longer in the picture. Monroe was a capable lefty with a deft touch around the basket and a good nose for the ball.
His passing instincts were a bonus, but most of those nifty passes went to waste with a poor roster around him. His luck didn't get any better as he matured, as Andre Drummond (drafted in 2012) began to surge as the team's franchise player, which only rendered the lefty as someone who would stunt his growth.
During his five seasons in The Motor City, Monroe averaged 14.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
4. Dave DeBusschere
DeBusschere's name is one that only rings a bell for old-school fans of the franchise and historians of the game. “Big D” was the trusty double-double man for the franchise in the 1960s, averaging slightly better numbers than the aforementioned Monroe with 16.1 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game.
Though he's more known for his feats as a member of the Knicks during the second half of his career, he posted a double-double average in four of his six seasons with the Pistons — a formidable combo of offense and rebounding that kept the team afloat during some difficult times.
He played a hybrid of small forward and power forward during his time with the Pistons but trended toward the latter midway through his career. DeBusschere was eventually traded to the New York Knicks for Walt Bellamy and Howard Komives, as the Pistons went down to a 23-59 mark after losing him.
Big D would arrive in The Big Apple just in time for the Knicks' 1970 NBA title. He was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history for the league's 50th anniversary in 1996.
3. Rasheed Wallace
Rasheed Wallace came to Detroit as maybe one of the most vital trade deadline deals of all time. Wallace was coming off being bounced around, first traded by the Portland Trail Blazers, only to spend a lone game with the Atlanta Hawks before getting traded to the Pistons.
While he took a step back in terms of opportunities, he immediately jelled with other veterans in Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, along with enforcer Ben Wallace as a trusty last line of defense.
The Pistons had smart, even-keeled players, but they needed a firecracker to spark them to a long playoff run. Rasheed Wallace was just that, as his fiery persona and versatile skill set propelled them to a 2004 NBA title in a surprise 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
Wallace is best known for his record of 41 technical fouls in a season, but he was also the first player to amass 1,000 3-pointers and 1,000 blocks for his career.
2. Dennis Rodman
Before he became “Rodzilla,” Dennis Rodman was known as “The Worm,” a slithery, sneaky-good offensive rebounder with a natural nose for the ball.
Rodman didn't become a full-fledged starter until midway through his Pistons career, which saw a sound jump in his minutes right as Detroit mounted what would be back-to-back titles.
He made his big jump during the 1991-92 season, going from an average of 8.2 points and 12.5 rebounds to a beastly 9.8 points and 18.7 rebounds per game, which was the start of his reign as the league's leading rebounder for seven straight seasons.
Oddly enough, Rodman never averaged more than a steal or a block in any of his 14 seasons as a pure rebounding specialist, but he left his mark on the game as a two-time Defensive Player of the Year (1990, 1991) and a seven-time All-Defensive First-Team member.
Rodman is undoubtedly the most gifted rebounder in franchise history, challenged only by Andre Drummond. Despite his offensive shortcomings, his two titles with the Pistons (1989, 1990) put him above some of the power forward royalty on this list.
1. Bailey Howell
Howell was one of the heroes of yesteryear. The second overall pick of the 1959 NBA Draft, Howell was a versatile forward who played at both positions, averaging double-doubles in each of his first six seasons.
The Tennessee native enjoyed five fruitful seasons with Detroit, though no hardware came from it. He averaged a studly 21.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists with The Motor City franchise, making the All-Star Game every season after his rookie year.
As a 24-year-old, Howell put up 23.6 points and 14.4 rebounds per game, a line he would never match again in his career.
His sheer numbers are enough to make him the greatest Pistons power forward, based on how he dominated his competition though an early stage of the sport.
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