NBA Champion Ben Wallace occupies three of the top five spots in Pistons’ history for single season blocks per game.
If there’s one thing that has stood out in the history of the Pistons organization, is that the defense has always been a calling card. From the Bad Boys of the 80s and 90s to the last title-winning team in the 2003-04 season, the Pistons have always been a tough matchup on the defensive side of the ball.
With that in mind, it’s not surprising to see them having several elite rim protectors throughout their history. Here we’ll take a look at the best five individual seasons for Pistons players in the category of blocks per game.
Note that blocks did not become an official NBA stat until the 1974 season.
Ben Wallace – 2002, 3.5 BPG
Wallace had one of the most dominant defensive stretches in the history of the league between the 2001-02 and 2003-04 seasons, during which he was the defensive anchor of a Detroit team that would ultimately win the 2004 NBA Finals. He had the best season of that stretch in 2001-02, when he averaged a career-high 3.5 blocks per contest. Aside from leading the league in that regard, this was also the best single-season performance by any player who ever wore the Pistons jersey in this particular category.
Ben Wallace – 2003, 3.2 BPG
Wallace couldn’t repeat the same numbers he posted in 2001-02 in the following year, but he still posted an impressive year and once again averaged more than three swats per contest. Wallace co-led the league in blocks per game that year, though, as he shared the top of the leaderboard with Theo Ratliff, who played for the Atlanta Hawks that season. Wallace also led the league in rebounds per game that year with 11.4 per contest.
Bob Lanier – 1974, 3.0 BPG
Lanier was the first-ever player to average at least 3.0 blocks per game while playing for the Pistons. However, he was nowhere near the top of the leaderboard in that category in the 1973-74 campaign. He finished in fourth place in BPG behind Elmore Smith (Los Angeles Lakers, 4.9 blocks per game), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Milwaukee Bucks, 3.5) and Bob McAdoo (Buffalo Braves, 3.3). Lanier also averaged 22.5 points and 13.3 rebounds per game that season, finishing third in the MVP voting and being named to the All-Star Game.
Ben Wallace – 2004, 3.0 BPG
The third and final season in which Wallace averaged at least 3.0 blocks per game came in the title-winning campaign of the 2003-04 term, making it the third year in a row in which Wallace averaged three or more swats per contest. He finished second in the league in that season since Ratliff led the league with 3.6 blocks per contest while with the Toronto Raptors. Wallace also finished third in the NBA in rebounds per game with 8.4 per contest, and he’d play a huge role in the playoffs as the Pistons would win the 2004 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Terry Tyler – 1980, 2.7 BPG
Tyler didn’t reach the mark of 3.0 blocks per game in the 1979-80 NBA season, but he still positioned himself as one of the league’s best rim protectors in that campaign. His average of 2.7 blocks per game ranked fourth in the league, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lakers, 3.4 BPG), George Johnson (Nets, 3.2) and Tree Rollins (Hawks, 3.0). This was Tyler’s second year in the NBA, and his 2.7 blocks per game also ended up being a career-high mark for him. He also averaged 12.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in that campaign.
