When Blake Griffin checks in at the scorer’s table on Sunday in Charlotte, he’ll join a select group of Detroit Pistons.
Of the 487 players to wear a Pistons’ uniform, only 33 (rough 6.8 percent) have represented the club in an NBA All-Star Game. Griffin will be the 34th to do so.
Before this weekend’s festivities commence, here are the top All-Star moments in Pistons history.
Isiah Thomas wins MVP: 1984, 1986
Technically, these are two moments that I’ve sandwiched into one. But hey, it’s my website, so I’m going to allow it.
For the first twelve seasons of his 13-year career, Isiah Thomas never missed an All-Star Game. He also collected some hardware along the way.
Thomas led the Eastern Conference to a 154-145 overtime victory in 1984. His 21-point, 15-assist double-double earned him the game’s MVP award. He joined Bob Lanier as the only Piston to achieve that honor.
Thomas would outdo himself two years later in 1986. Zeke finished with a game-high 30 points on 11-for-19 shooting while adding 10 assists and five steals.
He was named the MVP for the second time in three years, and also became the fifth player in league history to win the award more than once.
Four Pistons check in together: 2006
The NBA All-Star Game is a celebration of individual greatness. But on rare occasion, it can showcase that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Perhaps there is no better example of that than the 2006 Detroit Pistons. For just the fifth time in NBA history up to that point, a single team was represented by four players in the All-Star Game.
Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace, and Rasheed Wallace were selected as All-Star reserves for the Eastern Conference. Billups had the best performance out of the bunch, finishing with 15 points, seven assists and four rebounds.
Detroit would go on to win a franchise-record 64 games that season. Though they ultimately fell to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Bob Lanier’s standing ovation: 1979
This one may come as a surprise for several reasons.
Yes, Bob Lanier was a seven-time All-Star with the Detroit Pistons. And yes, he was also the MVP of the 1974 mid-season classic. So why did I single out his final All-Star appearance as a Piston?
Simple. The 1979 edition was the last NBA All-Star Game to be played in the Detroit area, having been held at the Pontiac Silverdome. The Dobber posted a forgettable 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
But it was the 25-second standing ovation Lanier received during the player introductions that made his eventual stat line irrelevant.
Heck, the ovation would’ve lasted longer, if not for Brent Musberger interrupting Lanier’s home crowd to continue down the roster.
Brenden Welper 