15 stars you forgot played for the Detroit Pistons

4. Bob McAdoo

Considering that he accomplished just about everything you could hope for in an NBA career, Bob McAdoo is often underrated and overlooked when it comes to discussions of the game’s greatest players.

Yes, McAdoo is in the Basketball Hall of Fame. But he was one of the biggest names left off the NBA’s historic “50 Greatest” list back in 1997, and to this day he’s not talked about as much in comparison to other greats from his era.

McAdoo was Rookie of the Year in 1973 with the Buffalo Braves. He was league MVP in 1975, when he averaged 34.5 points and 14.1 rebounds per game. The 6’9″ forward/center led the league in scoring three times with the Braves and was a two-time All-NBA pick. He made five All-Star Game appearances with the Braves and the New York Knicks. He won two NBA championships in 1982 and 1985 with the Los Angeles Lakers.

In between his individually dominant stretch early in his career and his championship victories in the latter part, McAdoo played parts of two seasons with the Pistons. The most noteworthy things about his time in Detroit is that, like Iverson, it was with the Pistons that McAdoo’s game took a noticeable dip.

After being traded to Detroit from the Boston Celtics in 1979, McAdoo averaged 21.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game on a bad Pistons team that went 16-66. (Fun fact: Dick Vitale coached the Pistons for 12 games that year.)

Injuries limited McAdoo to just six games for Detroit the following season, during which time he was waived. In late 1981, he landed with the Lakers but he was viewed as a washed up afterthought.

That was until McAdoo rediscovered some of that past superstar form and became a valuable double-digit scorer off the bench who was an instrumental part of two title teams.