2018 Hall of Fame: 4 inductees with ties to the Detroit Pistons
By Amaar Burton
The 2018 Hall of Fame class includes one of the Detroit Pistons’ all-time greatest players, along with some other members with ties to the franchise.
Friday’s induction ceremony at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame could inspire some bittersweet feelings among Detroit Pistons fans.
The sweet would come from the induction of Grant Hill, whose six-year stint with the Pistons included five All-NBA and five All-Star nods, a Rookie of the Year trophy, and four playoff appearances. Hill averaged 21.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game for the Pistons.
The bitter would come from the thoughts of what could have been.
Hill left the Pistons in 2000 to sign with the Orlando Magic, but not before he suffered a serious ankle injury that would effectively end his prime years. He continued to play in the league until 2013 — he even put together another All-Star season in 2004-05 after missing all of the previous season — but he was never as dynamic as he was before that initial injury.
Hill is the member of this year’s Hall of Fame class who is most closely associated with the Pistons, but he’s not the only one with ties to the team from Motown.