J-Speaks: The Palace Era Ends

An 8-14 finish to their season kept the Detroit Pistons (37-45) from making their second straight appearance in the postseason. One of those 14 setbacks came in the team’s final home game of the season, a 109-105 loss versus the playoff bound Washington Wizards. It also represented the end of an era.

The Pistons next to last game seven days ago was the final home game for the arena, The Palace of Auburn Hills where the Pistons called home for the past 29 seasons and won three championships along the way. This also where the then WNBA’s Detroit Shock won three titles in 2003, 2006 and 2008.  

As special of a night as it was for the current and past players, it gave the fans one last opportunity to be in a place where those in attendance saw a plethora of great memories.

Many of those fans in attendance were in Pistons gear from a woman that wore a shirt that said, “I Love My Pistons.” One gentlemen had on an old-school Isiah Thomas No. 11 jersey and another person had on an old black shirt that said, “Detroit. Bad Boys,” with a basketball on it with a skull and cross bone on it, which was out during the Pistons during their back-to-back titles in 1989-90.   

“When the doors close, I will take with me all my memories. All the wonderful fans I’ve helped over the years. The friendships, the alliances that I’ve built,” an employee of “The Palace” Tonia, who works in guest services said.

The highlight of the final game at “The Palace” occurred during intermission where at center court a ceremony took place that honored the top players in Pistons history, like Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman, Ben Wallace, Richard “Rip” Hamilton, John Salley, James Edwards, Rick Mahorn, John Long, Tayshaun Prince, Jerry Stackhouse, and current Pistons’ color analyst for FOX Sports Detroit Greg Kelser and were surrounded by the three Larry O’Brien trophies the organization won.

“Seeing those fans again. To walk out there and still get the love from them it’s a great feeling,” Stackhouse, who played for the Pistons from 1997-02 said.

“Seeing everybody come back, it was a family reunion,” Thomas, who played his entire 13-year career with the Pistons from 1981-94 said. “The OJs could have been singing ‘Family reunion.’ That’s what it felt like.”

“Being here with James Edwards, John Long, Isiah, Rick Mahorn, it’s amazing,” Salley, who played for the Pistons from 1986-92 said.  

The Pistons moved into their new home court in 1988 after spending the past decade playing home games in the Pontiac Silverdome, where they played to record crowds, including ones during the 1988 NBA Finals against the eventual back-to-back NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

When the team began playing games at “The Palace,” it was a new arena that provided a different kind of atmosphere for the fans to take in. It was more intimate and brought those in attendance closer to the court.

The first official event at “The Palace” was a Sting concert that took place on Aug. 13, 1988. Other notable events that occurred include two sold out shows by New Kids on the Block on Dec. 2, 1989 and World Wrestling Federation’s (WWF) Summer Slam on Aug. 30, 1993, where a record number 23,954 were in attendance.  

The first Pistons home game at the Palace took place on Nov. 5, 1989, a 94-85 win versus the Charlotte Hornets.

The first 245 games the Pistons played at “The Palace” were all sellouts. The team, who were nicknamed “The Bad Boys” christened the first season of their new digs with a championship and followed that up with another title in 1990.

The stars of those title teams were Hall of Famers Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman and Bill Laimbeer, John Salley, James Edwards, Vinnie Johnson, and Mark Aguirre.

In the years that followed, the Pistons searched for the next star player to lead them back to prominence. In that time, they drafted Grant Hill; traded for Jerry Stackhouse and surrounded them with the likes via the draft Allan Houston, Theo Ratliff, and Lindsey Hunter.

While the Pistons did have some success, but did not come close to capturing another title during this time.

That all changed in 2004 when Chauncey Billups, Richard “Rip” Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Ben Wallace, and Rasheed Wallace led the Pistons to their third NBA title in franchise history as they defeated the Lakers 4-1 in The Finals.

While the first two championships were special, and will have a place in hearts of all in the “Motor City” forever, that 2004 title was the Pistons first one clinched at “The Palace” as they won the three middle home games, including the clinching Game 5 100-87 on June 15, 2004. The President of Basketball Operations then was Dumars, who held that post for over a decade.

This was also the season where the mantra that was heard since that season by PA announcer Mason, “Detroit Basketball,” Mason, who said that what he will remember of that that title team was the definition of, “Hard work. Blue collar.”

“Great building. A lot of great memories,” Billups, who played for the Pistons from 2002-09 and 2013-14. You think of all the great battles that we had here. I think about my kids’ kind of being raised here. Coming to these games, running around the building like it was theirs. It’s sad that it’s over.”

This building also hosted the jersey retirements of Thomas, Dumars, Rodman, Johnson, Laimbeer, Daly, former GM Jack McCloskey; the late great head coach of the back-to-back titles, Hall of Famer Chuck Daly; the late great owner of the Pistons, Hall of Famer William “Bill” Davidson and most recently Wallace, Hamilton, and Billups.

“Shows the history and what this organization means to all of us as players and as individuals,” Hamilton, who played for the Pistons from 2002-11 said.

Next season, the Pistons will be playing their home games at Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit, MI.

In 29 seasons, the Pistons were 732-431 in the regular season at “The Palace” in the regular season and 75-32 in the playoffs, that is a .629 and .701 winning percentage respectably. There were three championships that were won by the Pistons during this period and many great memories involving sports and entertainment took place here.  

Starting next season, the Pistons will be playing their home games in downtown Detroit, MI at the Little Caesars Arena and will begin making new memories in Pistons history, with one of them being a return to the postseason.  

“Things may change, but championship basketball memories last forever. Detroit is where it began, but don’t forget all those titles and rings. They happened in The Palace of Auburn Hills. I know we’ll never forget,” Thomas said.

Information and quotations are courtesy of 4/8/17 6 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by State Farm with Casey Stern , Stu Jackson and Mike Fratello; 4/15/17 1:30 p.m. edition of “NBA Inside Stuff,” on NBATV with Kristen Ledlow and Grant Hill; Sporting News Official 2006-07 NBA Guide; www.espn.com/nba/recap/_/id/400900586; www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DET/1989_games.html and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Pistons.