The Detroit Pistons of 2023 are in disarray. So much so that the current squad could be compared to the Pistons of 2004, who defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Championship game with one of the best teams ever assembled.
The Pistons were a fierce and unafraid team at that time. They played “team basketball” and some of the best defense you’ll ever see, but they lacked a single superstar. They understood who they were, so they didn’t back down from a challenge or hesitate to speak smack.
Now that I think about it, Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors fits the definition of one of today’s “bad boys” somewhat.
There is, ironically, a relationship there. On Gilbert Arenas’ podcast, former Piston Rasheed Wallace disclosed that young Draymond did, in fact, grow up surrounded by the 2004 Pistons.
With 41 technical fouls in the 2000–01 season, Wallace continues to retain the record for most in a season.
With 317 technical fouls, he retired. In his career, Green has accumulated 170 technical fouls, of which 94 have occurred since 2017.
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