2018 Hall of Fame: 4 inductees with ties to the Detroit Pistons

Grant Hill

Hill was undeniably great as a member of the Pistons. The question marks looming over his career exist because he could’ve been one of the greatest basketball players of all time if he hadn’t suffered the injuries.

While it could be argued that Hill leaving Detroit helped build the foundation of the Pistons’ 2004 title team — Ben Wallace came to the Motor City in the sign-and-trade sending Hill to Orlando — it could also be argued that the team could’ve won multiple titles building around a healthy Hill.

A lot of people forget just how serious Hill’s health issues became. What began as a sprained ankle at the tail-end of the regular season got worse as he continued to play on it during the 2000 playoffs. He was forced to sit out the Olympics that summer, and after signing with the Magic, was only able to play 47 of a possible 246 games in his first three seasons with the team.

During that time, Hill actually almost died when he developed an infection following one of his many ankle surgeries. He missed all of the 2003-04 season.

Hill’s comeback in 2004-05 was one of the most inspiring sports stories of that year, as he showed flashes of his Detroit style and averaged 19.7 points per game on his way to an All-Star selection.

Various injuries persisted, however, and Hill continued to miss large chunks of time. He signed with the Phoenix Suns in 2007, where he reached two career accomplishments: making it past the first round of the playoffs for the first time, and playing all 82 games in a season for the first time.

Hill played his final season with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2012-13 and retired at 40 years old.

While he played less than half of his pro career with the Pistons — and a significant chapter of his Hall of Fame resume is his college career at Duke — Hill is primarily associated with Detroit. His presenter for Friday’s ceremony will be Isiah Thomas.