Every era of Pistons basketball, one lineup. These are the five highest-rated Pistons legends across the 1960s to today, chosen by iKnoBall's era-adjusted engine — and the record they'd post over a full 82-game season.
Two bigs or a wing-heavy five? That's the engine optimizing for pure rating — exactly the debate iKnoBall is built to settle. Think you'd start a different five? Prove it.
Isiah Thomas anchors the group at a 92 overall — the kind of number only genuine all-time greats reach on iKnoBall's scale. Around Thomas, the model fills out a starting five that balances scoring, playmaking and defense across Pistons history, then simulates all 82 games. The result — 53–29 — reflects both the raw talent and how the pieces fit: a lineup that covers every role and avoids stacking too many ball-dominant scorers projects higher than one built on names alone.
Every Pistons legend in the iKnoBall pool, ranked by era-adjusted overall. The top five above start; the rest form the bench and the debate.
| Player | Era | Pos | PPG | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isiah Thomas | 1980s | PG | 21.2 | 92 |
| Bob Lanier | 1970s | C | 24.0 | 89 |
| Adrian Dantley | 1980s | SF | 30.7 | 88 |
| Dave Bing | 1960s | PG | 27.1 | 87 |
| Grant Hill | 1990s | SF | 21.4 | 87 |
| Cade Cunningham | 2020s | PG | 24.3 | 87 |
| Joe Dumars | 1990s | SG | 20.0 | 85 |
| Andre Drummond | 2010s | C | 14.0 | 85 |
| Bill Laimbeer | 1980s | C | 17.3 | 83 |
| Blake Griffin | 2010s | PF | 24.5 | 83 |
| Ben Wallace | 2000s | C | 6.9 | 82 |
| Jalen Duren | 2020s | C | 13.8 | 82 |
| Dave DeBusschere | 1960s | PF | 18.2 | 81 |
| Rasheed Wallace | 2000s | PF | 17.4 | 81 |
| Antonio McDyess | 2000s | PF | 13.5 | 81 |
| Chauncey Billups | 2000s | PG | 18.5 | 80 |
| Richard Hamilton | 2000s | SG | 19.9 | 80 |
| Reggie Jackson | 2010s | PG | 18.8 | 80 |
| Greg Monroe | 2010s | PF | 14.3 | 80 |
| Allan Houston | 1990s | SG | 19.7 | 79 |
| Otis Thorpe | 1990s | PF | 14.2 | 79 |
| Tayshaun Prince | 2000s | SF | 14.7 | 79 |
| Brandon Jennings | 2010s | PG | 15.5 | 79 |
| Dennis Rodman | 1980s | PF | 8.8 | 78 |
| Tobias Harris | 2010s | SF | 16.1 | 78 |
| Jimmy Walker | 1960s | PG | 21.4 | 77 |
| Curtis Rowe | 1970s | PF | 14.1 | 77 |
| Vinnie Johnson | 1980s | SG | 15.8 | 77 |
| Rick Mahorn | 1980s | PF | 10.9 | 77 |
| Terry Mills | 1990s | PF | 14.5 | 77 |
| Jaden Ivey | 2020s | SG | 16.5 | 77 |
| Bojan Bogdanovic | 2020s | SF | 20.2 | 77 |
| Isaiah Stewart | 2020s | PF | 11.4 | 77 |
| Happy Hairston | 1960s | PF | 14.5 | 76 |
| Walter Dukes | 1960s | C | 10.4 | 76 |
| Don Ohl | 1960s | SG | 18.3 | 75 |
| Eddie Miles | 1960s | SG | 18.1 | 75 |
| Chris Ford | 1970s | SG | 11.2 | 75 |
| Eric Money | 1970s | PG | 13.2 | 75 |
| Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | 2010s | SG | 13.8 | 75 |
| John Mengelt | 1970s | SG | 14.0 | 74 |
| Lindsey Hunter | 1990s | PG | 10.0 | 74 |
| Malik Beasley | 2020s | SG | 16.3 | 74 |
Draft your own all-time Pistons — or any franchise across five sports — set your starting five, and sim a full season chasing a perfect 82–0. Free to play.
Draft Your All-Time FiveGet the AppBy iKnoBall's era-adjusted ratings the all-time Pistons starting five is Isiah Thomas (Point Guard, 1980s), Adrian Dantley (Small Forward, 1980s), Dave Bing (Point Guard, 1960s), Grant Hill (Small Forward, 1990s), Bob Lanier (Center, 1970s). Together they project to a 53–29 regular season.
iKnoBall's simulation projects this five at 53–29 over an 82-game season, with an average starter rating of 89. The model runs each game as a probability from the lineup's combined strength, so an all-time five contends for a near-perfect year but nothing is guaranteed.
Each player's overall is built from era-adjusted box-score production (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defense) and anchored to the reputations of established greats, so a 25-point scorer in the 1960s and today are measured on the same scale. Only true legends reach the 90s.
Yes — iKnoBall is a free game where you draft one legend per era, set your starting five, and simulate a full season chasing a perfect 82–0. Play it free at play.iknoball.com.
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Ratings are era-adjusted and computed by iKnoBall's simulation engine. Records are model projections for entertainment, not predictions. Player names belong to their respective owners; iKnoBall is an independent fan-made game.