10 players you may have forgot played for the Detroit Pistons

Larry Drew

Another former NBA coach, Larry Drew actually began his playing career with the Detroit Pistons. He was drafted by the Pistons with the 17th overall pick in the 1980 NBA draft and only played one year with the team. He played in 76 games for the team averaging only 6.6 points per game with no starts.

Drew proceeded to spend the bulk of his playing career with the Kansas City Kings and was with them when they moved to Sacramento. He would also play with the Clippers and the Lakers.

The more notable portion of Larry Drew’s basketball career came as a coach. Following his retirement from the Lakers he would stay with them as an assistant for most of the rest of the decade. Drew returned to Detroit as an assistant coach for the 1999-2000 season before heading to Washington, New Jersey and Atlanta.

After serving as an assistant in Atlanta from 2004 to 2010 he was named the Hawks head coach starting in the 2010-2011 season. He made the playoffs in each of his seasons with the team, making it out of the first round in his first season. His contract expired after the 2012-2013 season and he was replaced by Mike Budenholzer.

Drew was hired as the coach of the Bucks later that summer in what would be Giannis Antetokounmpo’s rookie season. Other young players on this team included John Henson, Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton, names Pistons fans are all too familiar with.

Drew led them to the worst record in the league and was replaced by Jason Kidd that summer in controversial fashion. He would go on to win a title as an assistant with the Cavaliers in 2016 and was named their head coach after Ty Lue was let go in 2018. He finished the season and has not returned to coaching since.