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Pistons' Ben Wallace ties up Indiana Pacers' Jermaine O'Neal for a jump ball during the third quarter in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday, June 1, 2004, at the Palace of Auburn Hills. JULIAN H. GONZALEZ, DETROIT FREE PRESS https://eu.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2021/03/18/ben-wallace-detroit-pistons-nba/6940151002/ Bill Dow | Special to Detroit Free Press As part of his series on former Detroit sports figures , Bill Dow caught up with Detroit Pistons legend Ben Wallace, who 20 years ago arrived in Detroit to become one of the game’s most dominant defensive players and a fan favorite.  Last week, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Wallace is one of 14 finalists for the 2021 induction . The Class will be announced May 16. It is the third time he has been a finalist.  How we remember him During the second golden age of the Pistons in the mid-2000s, the undersized center at 6 feet 9 and 240 pounds of solid muscle became one of the g...

Members of the Detroit Pistons' 2004 NBA championship team are recognized  during halftime at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Sunday, March 17, 2024. Paul Sancya, AP https://eu.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2024/03/17/detroit-pistons-honor-2004-nba-championship-team-20-year-reunion/73010738007/#:~:text=The%20Pistons'%20starting%20five%20in,'Neal%2C%20in%20five%20games. Omari Sankofa II   Detroit Free Press - 2024, March 17 Little Caesars Arena was dotted with jerseys from the past Sunday — Wallace, Hamilton, Billups. It’s been more than a decade since any of the players last put on a Detroit Pistons uniform, but they still generated some of the loudest cheers of the afternoon. It has been 20 — yes, 20 — years since the Pistons won their last championship in 2004 . The organization honored the "Goin' To Work" era before and during the team’s 104-101 loss at the buzzer to the Miami Heat . Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace and others signed autographs in the...

Isaiah Thomas speaks during the funeral for the late Aretha Franklin  at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit on Friday, August 31, 2018. RYAN GARZA, DETROIT FREE PRESS https://eu.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/aretha-franklin/2018/08/31/isiah-thomas-aretha-franklin-funeral/1162149002/ MARYANN STRUMAN | Detroit Free Press For NBA great and former Detroit Piston Isiah Thomas, Aretha Franklin was like a surrogate mom. He was introduced to her by his own mom, Mary Thomas, in 1981 when he first joined the Pistons at age 20, Thomas said Friday, recalling his relationship with the Queen of Soul at her homegoing service at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit. His mother and Franklin "somehow connected through music." "In the 60s and 70s, my mom would sit in the windowsill humming the words, I say a little prayer for you," Thomas recalled. "My father had just lost his job, so the music, I say a little prayer for you, meant a lot to us in the household. "Aretha foun...

https://eu.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2023/12/30/detroit-pistons-losing-streak-nba-cade-cunningham-toronto-raptors-game/72068823007/ Best photos as Detroit Pistons aim to avoid NBA history vs. Toronto Raptors at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023. OMARI SANKOFA II   Detroit Free Press - Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023. View |19 Photos Detroit Pistons avoid more NBA history, beat Toronto Raptors at LCA Sixty-three days separated the Detroit Pistons ' second and third wins this season. At least they can enter the new year with their heads held high. The Pistons (3-29) snapped their 28-game losing streak Saturday with a 129-127 win over the Toronto Raptors at Little Caesars Arena. The Pistons had already set the NBA's single-season record for consecutive losses and tied the all-time record set by the Philadelphia 76ers across the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. Their previous win? A 118-102 thumping Oct. 28 of the Chicago Bulls at LCA. The Pistons finish 2023...

Pistons guard Cade Cunningham dribbles in the first half Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena. RICK OSENTOSKI/USA TODAY SPORTS Omari Sankofa II - 27 Dec 2023 Detroit Free Press - USA TODAY NETWORK Eight days after scoring a career-high 43 points against the Atlanta Hawks, Cade Cunningham nearly one-upped himself. The 2021 first overall pick did everything he could to prevent the Detroit Pistons from making history, finishing the night with 41 points on 13-for-21 overall shooting, nine rebounds and five assists. He scored 18 points in the third quarter, and 19 in the fourth. It wasn’t enough. The Pistons lost, 118-112, and have now set the NBA’s all-time in-season record with 27 consecutive losses. It was a festive night at Little Caesars Arena. Nearly every seat was filled, and the Pistons wore their alternate Bad Boys-inspired jerseys on a night that honored the 35th anniversary of the team’s 1989 title. But the cheers turned to boos and “ sell the team” chants for the second time in a wee...

A still of the late radio star, Calvert  (Image via X/@DanLeach) https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/who-ken-calvert-pistons-member-radio-star-s-cause-death-explored By  Tanya Tewari Dec 21, 2023 - 08:25 GMT Ken Calvert, a renowned figure in Detroit radio and a former public address announcer for the Detroit Pistons, passed away at the age of 72. Ken Calvert was celebrated for his charismatic personality and memorable voice. The news of his death was confirmed by his wife to 7 Action News on the night of December 20, 2023. Ken Calvert's cause of death wasn't revealed at the time of writing this article. However, there were reports that suggested a possibility of a sudden illness. That being said, as mentioned earlier, no official confirmation has been made A  Ken Calvert: A look into his multi-faceted life and career still of the late radio star, Calvert  (Image via X/@T-Bone Mathley) Calvert was born and raised in Detroit and attended Brother Rice High School ...

https://eu.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/2023/12/21/detroit-radio-vet-ken-calvert-dies-at-72/71996039007/ TONY PAUL  ,  JAKKAR AIMERY  ,  MARNIE MUÑOZ   The Detroit News Thursday, December 21, 2023 Veteran Detroit radio broadcaster and rock DJ royalty Ken Calvert, who spent more than four decades as an on-air personality in the Motor City, has died. His death was by announced by his colleague and a fellow radio personality. Calvert died Wednesday at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, the Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed. His cause of death was not given. He was 72. "We lost Ken Calvert today. I hope all of you know how much he loved being on the air in Detroit and cherished the time he talked with you and met you at King Chili cookoffs, golf outings and all over Detroit," Jim O'Brien of 94.7 WCSX said in a statement on Big Jim's House website late Wednesday. "I’ll be in tomorrow morning to celebrate his life with you. I miss my friend....

https://eu.freep.com/story/entertainment/people/2023/12/21/ken-calvert-detroit-radio-icon-and-bad-boys-era-voice-of-pistons-dies/71995491007/ 1989 Detroit Pistons Championship Rally Introductions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awvf3GoiUow JULIE HINDS  - Detroit Free Press Thursday, December 21, 2023 Ken Calvert was a Detroit radio star whose career spanned more than four decades and six major stations . But to listeners across metro Detroit, he felt more like a good friend. Calvert, 72, died Wednesday (December 20) at his home in Oakland County, according to his wife of 40 years, Ann Calvert . He had been dealing with a short-term illness, but his passing was sudden and unexpected, she told the Free Press . Nicknamed “K.C., the Casual One,” Calvert brought humor, relaxed charm and a flair for interviewing music superstars to his job. DETROIT FREE PRESS ARCHIVE “I just want everyone to know how much he appreciated his fans and their support,” she said late Wednesday night, fighting...

Former Pistons guard Isiah Thomas talked to fans during a halftime tribute Feb. 8, 2017 at the Palace. KIRTHMON F. DOZIER, DFP https://eu.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2017/04/14/detroit-pistons-isiah-thomas-palace/100469076/ By Bill Dow | Special to the Detroit Free Press The fans who attended the Detroit Pistons' final game at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Monday were thrilled to see some of the franchise's heroes gather at center court. There was Jerry Stackhouse and Dennis Rodman, and Rick Mahorn, John Salley and James Edwards. Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton made an appearance, as did Ben Wallace, Tayshaun Prince and several others. And then there was Isiah Lord Thomas III , the player whose impact turned around the once floundering franchise and laid the foundation for the construction of one of the premier arenas in basketball, especially for its time. Thomas blossomed into the Pistons' fearless leader during his career, cementing a legacy befitting of his...