Detroit, Michigan. The Motor City. Home to Motown Records, the Lions, the Tigers, the Red Wings and most importantly, the Pistons.
The Pistons have been a hit and miss team of late, with two 8th place, one 9th place, and one 10th place finish in the last four seasons.
You have to go back over a decade for the last time the Pistons were the top dogs in the NBA when they produced one of the greatest shocks in NBA history to overturn hot favorites the Los Angeles Lakers in a 4-1 finals victory.
Their only other two titles came in the Dumars/Thomas era and unsurprisingly, players from both of those title-winning squads feature in this list of the top five Detroit Pistons players available on 2K20:
‘99 Joe Dumars (OVR 97)
Card type: SpotlightPosition: SG / PGBest stats: 97 stamina, 97 lateral quickness, 97 pick & roll defense IQCost: 60k
Kicking off this list of the top five Pistons on MyTEAM is arguably the greatest Pistons’ player of all time, Joe Dumars.
A shooting guard for the majority of his NBA career, Dumars spent all 14 years of his NBA life in Detroit, forming one of the best back court partnerships of all time with Isiah Thomas, with the pair being the key to back-to-back Detroit Championships in 1989 and 1990.
An all-round talent, Dumars was known for putting up big performances on both offense (91 outside scoring) and defense (94 defending). Dumars' selflessness was a key part of that a successful back court partnership and his passing (92 vision, 90 IQ and 88 accuracy) reflects that talent.
‘78 Dave Bing (OVR 95)
Card type: LegacyPosition: PG / SGBest stats: 98 shot IQ, 98 hands, 97 staminaCost: 35k
Next up is NBA Hall-of-Famer Dave Bing, who spent the first nine years of his career in Detroit.The second overall pick in the 1966 NBA Draft, Bing sure repaid the Pistons trust in him over the near-decade he spent in the Motor City. Six of Bings' seven All-Star appearances came during his time representing the Pistons, whilst he was also named the 1968 NBA scoring champion after averaging 27.1 points per game.
READ MORE: NBA 2K20: Five low OVR hidden gemsBing can get it done both inside (80 OVR inside scoring) and outside (87 OVR outside scoring), with his frightening pace (94 speed and acceleration) making him a difficult man to stop once he gets going.
‘74 Dave Debusschere (OVR 89)
Card type: Multidimensional Position: PF / SFBest stats: 98 hands, 98 stamina, 98 shot contestCost: 2k
Joining Dave Bing in this top five list is his namesake and former Pistons power forward Dave Debusschere.A two-time NBA champion in the latter years of his career in New York, Debusschere was made in Detroit. A territorial pick in the 1962 NBA Draft, the Detroit Mercy graduate certainly made the most of his time with his hometown club, spending six years there, making two All-Star appearances in that time.READ MORE: NBA 2K20: Complete controls guide – Offensive, Defensive & More
There was simply nothing that Debusschere couldn’t do. 95 rebounding, 88 defending, 86 inside scoring, 85 athleticism and 81 outside scoring at a cost of just 2k. What are you waiting for?
‘04 Richard Hamilton (OVR 89)
Card type: SpotlightPosition: SG / SFBest stats: 98 shot IQ, 97 stamina, 97 offensive consistencyCost: 1.5k
We’ve looked at some of the stars of those first two Detroit titles, how about a star of their third, Richard Hamilton.
A three-time All-Star, Hamilton was a key member of the Detroit Pistons squad who defied the odds when they upset a Bryant and O’Neal led LA Lakers side and came out emphatic 4-1 winners in the 2004 NBA Finals. Hamilton scored more points than any other Piston’s player during that series, averaging 21.4 points per game.
Despite being famed for his defending in that series, particularly on Kobe Bryant, Hamilton is given just an 83 overall in defending on this card. His outside scoring is his top-rated attribute at 87 overall, with the best route to the basket being shots from mid-range (88 shot mid).
‘91 Adrian Dantley (OVR 89)
Card type: SpotlightPosition: SG / SFBest stats: 98 offensive consistency, 98 hands, 98 shot IQCost: 1.5k
The final spot in the top five Pistons’ list belongs to NBA journeyman Adrian Dantley.Dantley spent four years in Detroit with the Pistons but also spent time at five other NBA sides as well as ABA franchise the Buffalo Braves. Despite being a big scorer during his time in the NBA, averaging 24.3 points per game at the end of his career, Dantley struggled for shots in a team littered with big scorers such as Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars and as a result, never reached his peak in Detroit.
Dantley loved a flashy dunk and as a result, his driving dunk rating (90) is the highest of any of his scoring attributes. His 98 rated stamina and 97 rated hustle will come up trumps in those tight fourth quarters.
READ MORE: All the best badges for your MyPlayer
Each Archetype on MyPlayer gives you specific traits that will compliment your play style and dictate how your player will grow on the court.
This is the most important decision you will make in NBA 2K20 for your MyPlayer.
There are endless variations of skills that you can apply to your player, so we have refined the list to the 5 best archetypes for each position, shedding light on the traits and badges that your player can work unlock.
To find out more, head to our Most OP Archetypes piece here.