Detroit Pistons: Top 10 NBA Draft picks in franchise history

The NBA 2K18 All-Time team announcement gives us a chance to revisit the top 10 draft picks by the Detroit Pistons in franchise history.

The makers of NBA 2K18  recently announced this year’s update would include an All-Time Team for all 30 NBA teams.

Starting for the Detroit Pistons on the NBA 2K18 All-Time Team are Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Grant Hill, Bob Lanier and Ben Wallace. The announcement spurred a discussion on the 10 best draft selections by the franchise.

The Pistons have made a total of 437 NBA draft selections in 69 seasons. Their 2017 draft pick was Luke Kennard  A first round draft pick and stand-out from Duke University, Kennard hopes he and Andre Drummond, the team’s 2012 first round selection, can lead the team back to prominence.

It’s easy to say championships are the best method for evaluating the success of a pick on draft night. Hanging a championship banner might seal a player’s legacy as a great draft pick, but it shouldn’t be the only measurement of a great player or draft pick.

Darko Milicic, for example, is legendary, but for all the wrong reasons. When the Pistons won the NBA championship in 2004, he became the youngest player to ever win a championship. He is also widely considered the WORST draft pick by the Pistons in franchise history.

There have been a lot of Darkos in the Pistons’ storied history, but now and then the team pulls it all together and manages to make a pick that changes the trajectory of the team for the better.

Most of the time, Detroit tries to get too cute. The front office tries to “shock the world” with a creative and innovative pick, like drafting Milicic over Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. Here are 10 times in franchise history the Detroit Pistons got the draft absolutely right.