More Detroit Pistons Information

The Pistons were founded by Fred Zollner in 1940 as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons. A year later the club joined the National Basketball League (NBL), which was composed primarily of teams launched by corporations in the Midwest. Led by guard Bobby McDermott, the Pistons were a dominant force in the league, reaching the NBL championship series in their first year before falling to the Oshkosh All-Stars. Two years later, in 1943, the club lost to the Sheboygan Redskins by one point in the deciding game of the NBL Finals. The Pistons won their first NBL championship in 1944 and added a second in 1945.

In 1948 the Pistons shifted to the Basketball Association of America (BAA). When the BAA and the NBL merged to form the NBA in 1949, the Pistons were one of the new league's premier teams. The club qualified for the playoffs in each of its first five NBA seasons, advancing to the division finals twice. The 1954-55 team, which featured guard Andy Phillip, forward George Yardley, and center Larry Foust, advanced to the NBA Finals but lost by one point to the Syracuse Nationals in the deciding game. The Pistons lost in the 1956 NBA Finals to the Philadelphia Warriors.