Detroit Pistons

History

1937–1957: Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons

Fred Zollner owned the Zollner Corporation, a foundry that manufactured pistons, primarily for car, truck, and locomotive engines in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1937, Zollner sponsored a semi-professional company basketball team called the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons after he received a request from his workers. In addition to the basketball works team, Zollner also hosted a championship 12 inch, fast-pitch softball team, with players from both the softball and basketball teams being employed in the Zollner Corporation. In 1941, the Zollner Pistons more or less shed their works team basketball roots and joined the National Basketball League (NBL) after competing in the 1941 World Professional Basketball Tournament as an independent team. The Zollner Pistons were NBL champions in 1944 and 1945. They also won the World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1944, 1945 and 1946.

In 1948, the team became the Fort Wayne Pistons and jumped to the Basketball Association of America (BAA). In 1949, Fred Zollner brokered the formation of the National Basketball Association from the BAA and the NBL at his kitchen table.

There are suggestions that Pistons players conspired with gamblers to shave points and throw various games during the 1953–54 and 1954–55 seasons. In particular, there are accusations that the team may have intentionally lost the 1955 NBA Finals to the Syracuse Nationals. In the decisive Game 7, the Pistons led 41–24 early in the second quarter before the Nationals rallied to win the game. The Nationals won on a free throw by George King with 12 seconds left in the game. The closing moments included a palming turnover by the Pistons' George Yardley with 18 seconds left, a foul by Frank Brian with 12 seconds left that enabled King's winning free throw, and a turnover by the Pistons' Andy Phillip in the final seconds which cost them a chance to attempt the game winning shot. In the following season, the Pistons made it back to the NBA Finals. However, they were defeated by the Philadelphia Warriors in five games.

1957–1981: Move to Detroit; decades of struggles

Though the Pistons enjoyed a solid local following, Fort Wayne's small size made it difficult for them to be profitable, especially as other early NBA teams based in smaller cities started folding or moving to larger markets. After the 1956–57 season, Fred Zollner decided that Fort Wayne was too small to support an NBA team and announced the team would be playing elsewhere in the coming season. He ultimately settled on Detroit. Although it was the fifth largest city in the United States at the time, Detroit had not seen professional basketball in a decade. They lost the Detroit Eagles due to World War II, both the Detroit Gems of the NBL (who became the Minneapolis Lakers) and the Detroit Falcons of the BAA in 1947, and the Detroit Vagabond Kings in 1949. Zollner decided to keep the Pistons name, believing it made sense given Detroit's status as the center of the automobile industry. George Yardley set the NBA single-season scoring record in the Pistons' first season in Detroit, becoming the first player to score 2,000 points in a season.

The Pistons played in Olympia Stadium (home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL) at the time) for their first four seasons, then moved to Cobo Arena beginning in the 1961–62 season.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the Pistons were characterized by talented players including George Yardley, Bailey Howell, Dave Debusschere, Dave Bing, and Bob Lanier, questionable trades, and frequent coaching changes. At one point, DeBusschere was the youngest player-coach in the history of the NBA. Then a trade during the 1968–69 season sent DeBusschere to the New York Knicks for Howard Komives and Walt Bellamy, both of whom had their best seasons behind them. DeBusschere became a key player in leading the Knicks to two NBA titles. Howell had previously been dealt to the Baltimore Bullets in 1964 and former Pistons guard Gene Shue, who was the head coach of the Bullets at the time, assessed the Pistons thusly: "Detroit has the worst management in the league." Howell would go to win two championships as a member of the Boston Celtics. Yardley, Lanier, and Bing all ended their Pistons tenure being traded away, frustrated with the direction and opportunities with Detroit.

In 1974, Zollner sold the team to glass magnate Bill Davidson, who remained the team's principal owner until his death in 2009.

1981–1994: The Isiah Thomas era

The franchise's fortunes finally began to turn in 1981, when they drafted point guard Isiah Thomas from Indiana University. In November 1981, the Pistons acquired Vinnie Johnson in a trade with the Seattle SuperSonics. They later acquired center Bill Laimbeer in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers in February 1982. Another key move by the Pistons was the hiring of head coach Chuck Daly in 1983.

Initially, the Pistons had difficulty moving up the NBA ladder. In 1984, the Pistons lost a tough five-game series to the underdog New York Knicks, 3–2. In the 1985 playoffs, Detroit won its first-round series and faced the defending champion Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals. Though Boston prevailed in six games, Detroit's surprise performance promised that a rivalry had begun. In the 1985 NBA draft, the team selected Joe Dumars 18th overall, a selection that proved to be very wise. They also acquired Rick Mahorn in a trade with the Washington Bullets. However, the team took a step backwards, losing in the first round of the 1986 playoffs to the more athletic Atlanta Hawks. After the series, changes were made in order to make the team more defensive-minded.

Before the 1986–87 season, the Pistons acquired more key players: John Salley (drafted 11th overall), Dennis Rodman (drafted 27th) and Adrian Dantley (acquired in a trade with the Utah Jazz). The team adopted a physical, defense-oriented style of play that would earn them the nickname "Bad Boys".

In 1987, the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics. After pushing the defending champions to a 2–2 tie, the Pistons were on the verge of winning Game 5 at the Boston Garden with seconds remaining. After a Celtics turnover, Isiah Thomas attempted to quickly inbound the ball and missed Chuck Daly's timeout signal from the bench. Larry Bird stole the inbound pass and passed it to Dennis Johnson for the game-winning layup. The Pistons won Game 6 in Detroit, but lost the series in a tough Game 7 back in Boston.

Motivated by their loss, the Pistons, aided by midseason acquisition James Edwards, improved to a then-franchise-record 54 victories and the franchise's first division title in 32 years. In the postseason, the Pistons avenged their two previous playoff losses to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, defeating them in six games and advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since the franchise moved to Detroit.

1994–2000: The Grant Hill era

Following the 1993–94 season, they were able to draft Grant Hill, a promising small forward, with the third overall pick. However, this period also saw the team make numerous questionable personnel decisions, such as the loss of free agent Allan Houston to the New York Knicks, the signing of free agent washouts Loy Vaught and Bison Dele; and head coaching changes from Ron Rothstein to Don Chaney to Doug Collins to Alvin Gentry to George Irvine in an eight-year span. Of these coaches, only Collins had any sort of success with the Pistons, winning 54 games in the 1996–97 season. The franchise even changed its team colors in 1996 from its traditional red and blue to teal, burgundy, gold and black in what proved to be a highly unpopular move with fans. The only color that did not change was white. This period has become known, often derisively, as the "teal era".

2000–2008: "Goin' to Work" era

After being swept by the Miami Heat in the 2000 playoffs, Joe Dumars, who had retired following the 1998–99 season, was hired as the team's president of basketball operations. He quickly faced what appeared to be a setback for the franchise, as Grant Hill elected to leave for the Orlando Magic. However, Dumars worked a sign and trade with Orlando that brought the Pistons Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins in exchange for Hill. Both quickly entered the Pistons' starting lineup. Wallace in particular developed into a defensive stalwart in the coming years. However, Hill played only 47 games in the following three seasons due to a recurring ankle injury.

The Pistons suffered through another tough season in 2000–01, going 32–50 despite Jerry Stackhouse averaging 29.8 points a game. After the season, the Pistons fired George Irvine as head coach and hired Rick Carlisle, a widely respected assistant coach who had been a contributor for the Celtics during the mid-1980s. The franchise also returned to its traditional red, white, and blue colors.

Carlisle helped lead the Pistons to their first 50-win season since 1997, and their first playoff series victory since 1991 by defeating the Toronto Raptors in five games. They lost, however, to the Boston Celtics in five games.

In the 2002 off-season, Joe Dumars revamped the roster by signing free agent Chauncey Billups, acquiring Richard "Rip" Hamilton from the Washington Wizards, and drafting Tayshaun Prince from Kentucky. The Pistons posted consecutive 50-win seasons and advanced to the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1991. There, however, they were swept in four games by the New Jersey Nets.

Despite the team's improvement, Rick Carlisle was fired in the 2003 off-season. There were believed to be five reasons for the firing: first, that Carlisle had appeared reluctant to play some of the team's younger players, such as Prince and Mehmet Okur, during the regular season; second, that some of the players had not gotten along with Carlisle; third, that Carlisle's offense was thought to be conservative; fourth, that Hall of Famer Larry Brown had become available; and fifth, that Carlisle was rumored to have alienated owner Bill Davidson with his personality. Brown accepted the job that summer.

2008–2011: Failed rebuilding

On June 10, 2008, the Pistons hired Michael Curry to be their new head coach. On November 3, 2008, the Pistons traded key members Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson. McDyess was later waived on November 10 and rejoined the Pistons on December 9. The trade was marked as the start of a new rebuilding process due to Iverson's free agent status at the end of the season. Indeed, Joe Dumars previously made it clear that no player on the team was guaranteed a position, bluntly saying they lost their sacred cow status.

The season was marked with many controversies and injuries. As a result of this and poor play, the Pistons dropped down the standings, only clinching a playoff berth on April 10, 2009. The Pistons finished the season at 39–43, their first losing season in eight years. The Pistons were then swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in four games in the first round of the 2009 NBA playoffs. On June 30, 2009, Curry was fired as head coach. Iverson signed with the Memphis Grizzlies during the off-season.

In the off-season, the Pistons reached an agreement with former Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon on a five-year/$55 million contract, as well as an agreement with former Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva on a five-year contract worth $35 million. That same month, the Pistons lost their two key members during the last few years, veterans Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess. On July 8, 2009, the Pistons hired former Cavaliers assistant coach John Kuester to be the new head coach. The Pistons later re-signed Ben Wallace on August 12, 2009.

Despite these changes, the team regressed even further, as they were hampered by setbacks and injuries. On March 23, 2010, the Pistons were eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Indiana Pacers. The Pistons finished with a 27–55 record, their worst since 1994. Another 50-loss season, this time finishing at 30–52, led to the firing of Kuester at the end of the 2010–11 season; he had gotten into several disputes with the players, culminating with a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on February 25, 2011, where it was reported several players staged a protest that morning during shootaround; Kuester responded by benching all those involved, and the animosity was so high that some of the benched players could be seen laughing in response to his ejection from the game late in the first half.

2011–2015: New ownership; more struggling

On April 7, 2011, Karen Davidson, the widow of the late Bill Davidson, reached a long-awaited agreement to sell the franchise to billionaire Tom Gores, which was approved by the NBA Board of Governors in May. The deal also included the Palace of Auburn Hills and DTE Energy Music Theatre. According to Crain's Detroit Business, the final sale price was $325 million, far lower than expected. In the 2011 NBA draft, the Pistons selected Brandon Knight, Kyle Singler and Vernon Macklin.

Prior to the start of the 2011–12 season, the Pistons made several leadership changes, including appointing Dennis Mannion as president of the franchise and Palace Sports & Entertainment. The team decided to hire Lawrence Frank as the head coach. The 2011–12 season was an improvement from previous years for the Pistons, although they still posted a losing record. While they started the season 4–20, they won half their remaining games to finish a lockout-shortened season with a record of 25–41. The team continued to build its young core with the drafting of the talented center Andre Drummond.

Following the 2012–13 season, Frank was fired as head coach on April 18, 2013, after two losing seasons, and on June 10, 2013, the Pistons hired former player and coach Maurice Cheeks. His tenure lasted for just a bit more than half a season, as he was replaced by interim coach John Loyer. In April, the Pistons announced that Joe Dumars would step down as president of basketball operations but remain as an advisor to the organization and its ownership team. On May 14, 2014, Stan Van Gundy was hired. Van Gundy signed a 5-year, $35 million contract to become the head coach and president of basketball operations for the team.

After starting the 2014–15 season with a 5–23 record, the Pistons waived Josh Smith, who was acquired in the summer of 2013. The team went on a lengthy winning streak, but finished the season with a record of only 32–50 after Brandon Jennings' Achilles injury.

2015–2017: Return to the playoffs

In the 2015 off-season, Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy began to change the roster by making such acquisitions as Ersan İlyasova, Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes, and Steve Blake. They also drafted rookie Stanley Johnson with the eighth pick in the 2015 NBA draft and re-signed point guard Reggie Jackson. The Pistons entered the 2015–16 season with a stronger roster than the previous season, although they lost starter Greg Monroe to the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency. Andre Drummond started the season strong, earning consecutive Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards for the weeks of November 1 and 8.

The Pistons entered the All-Star break at 27–27. The Pistons surpassed their win totals from the 2009–10 season to the 2014–15 season on March 9, 2016, when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks 102–96. On April 6, 2016, following a 108–104 win over the Orlando Magic, the Pistons reached 42 wins and were assured their first winning season since the 2007–08 season. On April 8, 2016, the Pistons defeated the Washington Wizards 112–99 and clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2009. The eighth-seeded Pistons faced the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 2016 NBA playoffs. They were swept in four tight games.

2017–2020: Returning to downtown Detroit

The Pistons had played in suburban Oakland County, north of Detroit/Wayne County, since the 1978–79 season, including ten seasons at the Pontiac Silverdome and the rest at the Palace of Auburn Hills. In the summer of 2015, discussions about a partnership began between Pistons owner Tom Gores, Palace Sports & Entertainment vice chairman Arn Tellum, and Olympia Entertainment, the Ilitch family's holding company that controls the Red Wings and Tigers. The discussions involved a possible move to the new Little Caesars Arena as soon as the 2017–18 season. Talks intensified as the Pistons were set to open their 2016–17 season, and as part of the agreement, there was discussion of a merger between Olympia and PS&E. The Pistons were looking for land near the arena to build a new practice facility and team headquarters. The leasing agreement/partnership needed both city and league approval to be finalized.

On November 22, 2016, the Pistons announced their plan to move to Little Caesars Arena and to redevelop, possibly demolish, and sell the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons were the last NBA franchise to play in a suburban location when they ended their 39-year stay in Oakland County.

On June 20, 2017, Detroit City Council approved the Pistons' move to Little Caesars Arena. On August 3, 2017, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the move, which made it official. The move made Detroit the only U.S. city to have its Major League Baseball (MLB), National Football League (NFL), NBA, and NHL teams playing in its downtown district, and one of only two U.S. cities to have all their teams playing in one place, the other being Philadelphia.

On January 29, 2018, the Pistons announced they had acquired all-star forward Blake Griffin along with Willie Reed and Brice Johnson from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, a 2018 first-round draft pick, and a 2019 second-round draft pick.

The Pistons finished the 2017–18 season with a 39–43 record. They missed the playoffs for the eighth time in ten years. On May 7, 2018, the Pistons announced that Stan Van Gundy would not return as head coach and president of basketball operations. On June 11, 2018, Dwane Casey was hired by the Pistons to be their new head coach, agreeing to a five-year deal. The Pistons finished the 2018–19 season with a 41–41 record, clinching a playoff spot as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. In the first round of the 2019 NBA playoffs, the Pistons were swept in four games by the Milwaukee Bucks, setting an NBA record for the most consecutive playoff losses with 14.

2020–2024: Continued struggles; historic losing streak

On June 18, 2020, the Pistons hired Troy Weaver as the new general manager. The Pistons finished the 2020–21 season with the second-worst record in the league at 20–52, missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season. The 20 wins were also tied for the second-fewest in franchise history at the time. In the 2021 NBA draft, the Pistons selected Cade Cunningham with the first overall pick. The Pistons finished the 2021–22 season at 23–59, missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

With the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, the Pistons selected Jaden Ivey. Later in the first round, the Pistons acquired Jalen Duren via a trade with the New York Knicks. The Pistons finished the 2022–23 season with the worst overall record in NBA and third-worst in franchise history at 17–65. It was their first 60-loss season since 1993–94. After the last game of the season on April 9, 2023, Dwane Casey stepped down as head coach to join the front office. On June 2, 2023, Monty Williams was hired by the Pistons to be their new head coach.

After the Pistons started the 2023–24 season with a 2–1 record, they lost a franchise-record 28 games in a row from October 30 to December 30, the longest single-season losing streak and tied for the longest losing streak overall in NBA history. They became the thirteenth team in NBA history to have a winless month, going 0–15 in November. On March 9, 2024, the Pistons were officially eliminated from playoff contention for the fifth consecutive season. The Pistons finished with the worst overall record in the NBA for the second consecutive season and worst in franchise history at 14–68.

2024–present: Historic turnaround

On May 31, 2024, the Pistons hired Trajan Langdon as President of Basketball Operations. The following day, the Pistons announced that Troy Weaver had stepped down as general manager. On June 19, 2024, Monty Williams was fired as head coach. On July 3, 2024, the Pistons hired J. B. Bickerstaff as head coach.

On January 1, 2025, following a win over the Orlando Magic, the Pistons surpassed the previous season's win total. On March 28, the Pistons secured their first winning season since 2016. They also became the second team in NBA history to triple their win total from the previous season, joining the 2012–13 Charlotte Bobcats, and the first to do so from the previous full season. On April 4, the Pistons clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2019 with a 117–105 win over the Toronto Raptors. The Pistons finished the 2024–25 season at 44–38, their best record since 2016. On April 21, the Pistons snapped their NBA-record, 15-game postseason losing streak by beating the New York Knicks 100–94 in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. The Pistons were ultimately defeated by the Knicks in six games.

During the 2025–26 season, the Pistons tied a franchise record by winning 13 consecutive games. On March 19, 2026, the Pistons secured their first 50-win season since 2007–08. The next day, the Pistons clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season. On March 31, the Pistons won the Central Division title for the first time since 2008. On April 4, the Pistons clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2007. The Pistons finished the regular season with the third-best record in franchise history at 60–22, their first 60-win season since 2005–06. They became the first team in NBA history to win 60 games after losing 60 games two seasons prior.

On April 22, the Pistons snapped their NBA-record, 11-game home postseason losing streak by beating the Orlando Magic 98–83 in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. The Pistons overcame a 3–1 deficit to eliminate the Magic, becoming the 15th team in NBA history to accomplish the feat. They also won their first playoff series since 2008. The Pistons were defeated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Media coverage

Radio

The Pistons flagship radio station is WXYT-FM. There are several affiliate stations throughout Michigan. The regular radio announcers are Mark Champion with play-by-play and Rick Mahorn with color commentary.

TV

Beginning in the 2026–27 season, the Pistons' local television rights holder will be Scripps Sports, with games carried on broadcast television by WMYD, and available on a subscription-based streaming service to be announced.

From the 1997 to 2021, Pistons games were broadcast locally on Fox Sports Detroit; they remained on the network after it rebranded as Bally Sports Detroit in 2021, and as FanDuel Sports Network Detroit in 2024, until the network wound down in 2026.

The regular TV announcers are George Blaha with play-by-play, Greg Kelser with color commentary, Johnny Kane and Natalie Kerwin as the sideline reporter and pregame and postgame show host, Grant Long with studio analysis, and Dwane Casey as a contributor for select games.

Team identity

Logos and uniforms

After moving from Fort Wayne, to Detroit in 1957, the Pistons' uniforms remained largely unchanged for two decades, featuring the word "Pistons" in blue block lettering. In the 1978–79 season, the team featured a uniform with lightning bolts on the sides and in the wordmark on the front of the jerseys. The team discontinued the lightning bolt theme and returned to its classic block lettering and simple side panel pattern in 1981, staying with this look until 1996. That year, the Pistons changed their colors to teal, black, yellow and, red and unveiled a new logo with a horse's head and flaming mane. This color scheme lasted until 2001, when the team returned to the traditional red, white, and blue colors and a uniform pattern taking cues from the 1981–1996 threads. The horse's head and flaming mane logo lasted until 2005, when the team switched to a more classic logo design.

On May 16, 2017, the Pistons unveiled a new logo, which is a modernized version of the previous "Bad Boys" era logo used from 1979 to 1996.

Mascot

Hooper is the mascot of the Pistons. He is depicted as a horse wearing a Pistons jersey. The symbolism is, that like the pistons they are named after, the team produces horsepower. Hooper became a part of the team on November 1, 1996, replacing Sir Slam A Lot, a knight-themed mascot introduced in 1994.

Though Hooper was introduced during the teal era to coincide with the Pistons' original equestrian logo, his popularity allowed him to remain a part of the team, despite the horsepower theme being phased out in 2005.

Origins of the Bad Boys nickname

At the start of the 1987–88 season, Al Davis, owner of the then Los Angeles Raiders, sent Raiders merchandise to the Pistons to acknowledge the shared view of the teams and their physical style of play. Dan Hauser, Pistons vice-president of Marketing said, "Al sent us Raiders sweaters, and when we played Golden State in Oakland, Al had Raiders warm-ups for us with our names and numbers on them. The rough bad-boy fighting style of the Raiders fits our image. That's why, at our home games at the Palace, you see a sea of black: black caps, black T-shirts, black sweatshirts".

The end of season video yearbook produced by the NBA was titled Bad Boys. Due to these factors, the name and image was embraced by the players and fans. Pistons guard Joe Dumars said, "You can't be great in this league and have zero identity." Hudson Soft would later develop and publish Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball, a futuristic basketball game released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System without rules, without fouls, and weapons are permitted.

The positive view of the team was not universal with Michael Jordan declaring "the Bad Boys are bad for basketball", later adding "I hated them. And that hate carries even to this day." David Stern, Commissioner of the NBA at the time, said, "If I had it to do over again, we would be more aggressive in regulating, shall we say, that style of play, because it led to our game becoming much more physical."

Jalen Rose, who later starred as a member of the Fab Five at Michigan, embraced the Bad Boys brand as a teenager growing up in Detroit, stating "I loved everything about the Bad Boys. I loved how they played and how they didn't back down. They just went out and kicked the other teams' butts." Pistons announcer George Blaha said, "I think the people of Detroit and all across Michigan loved the Pistons' don't-back-down-ever mentality. Detroit's a working person's town and that's the same type of fan that you have all across the state of Michigan from the big cities to the small towns. Never does a day go by that somebody that I talk to doesn't bring up the Bad Boys; they loved 'em."

Season-by-season record

List of the last five seasons completed by the Pistons. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Detroit Pistons seasons.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, W–L% = Winning percentage

Home arenas

North Side High School Gym (1948–1952)

Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (1952–1957)

Olympia Stadium (1957–1961)

Memorial Building (University of Detroit) (1957–1961; used as an alternate when Olympia Stadium was occupied)

Cobo Arena (1961–1978)

Pontiac Silverdome (1978–1988)

The Palace of Auburn Hills (1988–2017)

Little Caesars Arena (2017–present)

Notes:

On March 12, 1960, the Pistons hosted a playoff game against the Minneapolis Lakers at Grosse Pointe High School when no other facility (including Olympia Stadium, which was booked for Ice Capades, and the University of Detroit) was available.

On April 27, 1984, the Pistons played game 5 of their playoff series against the New York Knicks at Joe Louis Arena due to a scheduling conflict.

During the 1984–85 season, the Silverdome's roof collapsed, causing the team to move to the Joe Louis Arena for 14 of their remaining 15 home games of the season (March 6 through May 10). The March 11 game was played at Cobo Arena.

Personnel

Retained draft rights

The Pistons currently retain no draft rights on unsigned players.

Retired numbers

Notes:

1 Reggie Jackson wore the number at the time it was retired (2015–2020).

2 The number was originally retired in honor of Chuck Daly, who never played in the NBA, as it represented the two NBA championship teams he coached. However, the number was unretired on July 30, 2021, for Cade Cunningham after he received permission to wear it from Daly's daughter.

3 Stanley Johnson wore the number at the time it was retired.

4 Also team president from 2000 to 2014.

5 Greg Monroe wore the number at the time it was retired (2010–2015).

6 Banner raised to honor his ownership of the team.

7 Banner raised to honor his 13 years as the team's general manager.

The NBA retired Bill Russell's No. 6 for all its member teams on August 11, 2022.

Basketball Hall of Fame members

Notes:

1 In total, Bellamy was inducted into the Hall of Fame twice – as player and as a member of the 1960 Olympic team.

2 In total, Daly was inducted into the Hall of Fame twice – as coach and as a member of the 1992 Olympic team.

3 Lloyd was inducted as a contributor as the first African American player and bench coach in the NBA.

4 Vitale was inducted as a contributor for his career as a college basketball broadcaster.

5 Thorn was inducted as a contributor.

6 Collins was inducted as a contributor.

FIBA Hall of Famers

Notes:

1 In total, Daly was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame twice – as coach and as a member of the 1992 Olympic team.

Individual records and awards

Franchise leaders

Bold denotes still active with team.

Italic denotes still active but not with team.

Points scored (regular season) (as of the end of the 2025–26 season)

Other statistics (regular season) (as of the end of the 2025–26 season)

NBA All-Star Weekend

NBA All-Star Game head coach

Chuck Daly – 1990

Doug Collins – 1997

Flip Saunders – 2006

J. B. Bickerstaff – 2026

NBA All-Star Game MVP

Bob Lanier – 1974

Isiah Thomas – 1984, 1986

Rivalries