Rasheed Wallace credits 2004 Pistons with Draymond Green's attitude
The 2023 Detroit Pistons are a mess. So much so that the current iteration of the team could be considered the exact opposite of the 2004 Pistons, who beat the Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA Championship with one of the most complete teams of all-time.
That version of the Pistons was tough and fearless. They didn't have one superstar, but played "team basketball" and some of the best defense you'll ever see. They didn't back down from a challenge and weren't afraid to talk smack — because they knew what they were.
Come to think of it, that description sounds a bit like one of today's "bad boys", Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
Ironically enough, there's a connection there. Former Piston Rasheed Wallace revealed on Gilbert Arenas' podcast that young Draymond actually grew up around the '04 Pistons.
“That’s our fault ... [Draymond Green] grew up in the locker room,” Wallace said (h/t Sports Illustrated). “One of his best friends was the son of the GM, so he was around us … Practice, in the locker room, after games, before games, he heard the different language, and we all know it’s a different language when the cameras are not there. … That’s why he doing the bully s--- he doing now, in my opinion. He caught all that s--- in our locker room.”
Wallace stills holds the record for most technical fouls in the season with 41, which came during the 2000-01 season.
He retired with 317 technical fouls. Green has had 94 technical fouls since 2017 and 170 technical so far in his career.
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