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Detroit Pistons: 25 Best Players To Play For The Pistons

By Phil Watson

Oct 8, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; A general view of The Palace of Auburn Hills prior to the game between the Detroit Pistons and the Brooklyn Nets. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 8, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; A general view of The Palace of Auburn Hills prior to the game between the Detroit Pistons and the Brooklyn Nets. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Basketball: NBA Finals: Detroit Pistons Joe Dumars (4) in action vs Los Angeles Lakers James Worthy (42). Game 4. Inglewood, CA 6/13/1989 CREDIT: Richard Mackson (Photo by Richard Mackson /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X38472 TK2 R9 F31 )
Basketball: NBA Finals: Detroit Pistons Joe Dumars (4) in action vs Los Angeles Lakers James Worthy (42). Game 4. Inglewood, CA 6/13/1989 CREDIT: Richard Mackson (Photo by Richard Mackson /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X38472 TK2 R9 F31 ) /

5. player. 64. <strong>How acquired:</strong> 18th overall pick from McNeese State, 1985 NBA Draft.. SG-PG. . Joe Dumars

Between his time in uniform and his stint in the front office, no one spent more time with the Detroit Pistons than Joe Dumars.

Dumars grabbed the attention of scouts by averaging almost 26 points a game as a senior at McNeese State and the Pistons selected the young guard with the 18th overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft.

DET_05_DUMARS
DET_05_DUMARS /

Any questions about how his mid-major skills would translate to the NBA were answered quickly, as Dumars was a first team All-Rookie selection in 1985-86.

He would go on to be named All-NBA three times, be placed on five All-Defensive squads and earn six  All-Star appearances.

Dumars was third in the NBA in three-pointers in 1997-98 and fourth in three-point percentage in 1996-97, while also finishing fourth in free-throw shooting in 1989-90.

Dumars put up 13.4 points, 4.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 33.3 minutes per game in the 1988 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, shooting .513/1-for-2/13-for-14 in a seven-game loss for Detroit.

He upped the ante considerably in 1989, earning Finals MVP honors after averaging 27.3 points and 6.0 assists in 36.8 minutes per game on .576/0-for-2/.868 shooting in a four-game sweep of the Lakers that brought the franchise its first title.

Dumars averaged 20.6 points, 5.6 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 42.0 minutes per game in the 1990 NBA Finals, shooting .415/2-for-7/.892 as the Pistons beat the Portland Trail Blazers in five games.

He retired in April 1999 after spending his entire career with the Pistons.

In 14 seasons in Detroit, Dumars averaged 16.1 points, 4.5 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 34.5 minutes per game while shooting .460/.382/.843.

Dumars was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

But his tale in Detroit didn’t end there. Named vice president of player personnel in May 1999, he was promoted to president of basketball operations in June 2000 and retained that post until resigning in April 2014.

It was Dumars who assembled the Pistons teams that won a title in 2004 and reached the NBA Finals in 2005 during a string of six consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals that stretched from 2003-08.

Next: Mr. Big Shot Made His Rep In Motown

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