15 stars you forgot played for the Detroit Pistons
By Amaar Burton
15. Max Zaslofsky
Before the NBA was known as the NBA, the late Max Zaslofsky was a star who set records that stood for decades before being broken.
Zaslofsky was one of the top players in the BAA in that league’s first three years of existence before it merged with the NBL to form the NBA.
More from Detroit Pistons
- NBA Trades: Spurs can add a recent lottery pick in this deal with Pistons
- Detroit Pistons draft odds: What are the chances of landing the #1 pick?
- Were the Golden State Warriors right to give up on James Wiseman?
- Ranking the top 18 shooters available on NBA trade market
- Jalen Duren has all the tools to be a star for the Detroit Pistons
When he led the league in scoring (21.0 points per game) as a 22-year-old in 1947-48, “Slats” became the youngest player to accomplish that feat, and he remained the youngest until Kevin Durant finally edged him out in 2010.
When Zaslofsky earned his first all-league first team selection as a 21-year-old rookie in 1946-47, he was the youngest to do it, until LeBron James set the new mark in 2006.
Zaslofsky was all-league first team for his first four seasons as a pro with the now-defunct Chicago Stags. In his sixth season, he made the 1952 NBA All-Star Game with the Knicks. (The NBA didn’t create the All-Star Game until 1951.)
By the time he joined the Fort Wayne Pistons in 1953, Zaslofsky was past his prime. He averaged 11.0 points in parts of three seasons for the Pistons. In his last playoff run, he helped the Pistons advance to the NBA Finals, where they lost in seven games to the Syracuse Nationals (now the 76ers). He retired in 1956 as the league’s No. 3 all-time scorer.