Creating the perfect Detroit Pistons player

Legs: Rip Hamilton

Rip Hamilton could run all day. Rip can probably still run all day today, as a 40-year-old who has been retired from basketball for five years.

That’s because Rip — who ranks sixth in total points and 10th in points per game (18.4) in Pistons’ franchise history — wasn’t just a basketball player who ran. He was a runner who played basketball.

Hamilton competed in track and field in high school and rarely lost in his specialty, the one-mile race. As a pro ballplayer, his training regimen included taking his pet dogs outside and running until they got tired.

That stamina and speed was the signature of Hamilton’s game, as he was known for moving without the ball and running his defenders ragged on his way to getting buckets. He wasn’t particularly strong or physical above the waist, so Hamilton used his legs to wear down opponents.