Detroit Pistons: 10 best power forwards in team history
By Amaar Burton
3. Rasheed Wallace (2004-09)
The legacy of Rasheed Wallace falls somewhere between the hot head who earned a ton of technical fouls and delivered some classic press conference lines, and the supreme talent who many coaches and teammates claim could’ve been one of the best players in the world if he’d been more focused.
After coming to Detroit via midseason trade in 2004, Wallace helped the Pistons win the franchise’s third NBA championship that year. He helped them make four straight Eastern Conference Finals after that, including an NBA Finals trip in 2005 where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs.
Sheed averaged 13.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game for the Pistons, making the All-Star Game twice. In 2006, he joined Ben Wallace, Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups to give the Pistons four All-Stars in the same year, tying an NBA record.
Wallace also hit one of the most improbable shots in franchise history.
In a game against the Denver Nuggets in 2007, the Pistons were down by three points with less than one second remaining and Denver had the ball. Wallace stole the inbounds pass and heaved a shot from beyond half-court that went in. Detroit went on to win the game in overtime.
Wallace went on to play for the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks before retiring, and he helped Boston make it to the 2010 Finals. Prior to Detroit, he had a couple of All-Star seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, but he’s still best known for his time in Detroit as the voice of the “Bad Boys” sequel squad.