Top 5 players in Detroit Pistons history who could've won the NBA Championship but didn't

#3 Bob Lanier

Bob Lanier with the Detroit Pistons.

Bob Lanier is one of the NBA centers to never win a championship, and he spent most of his career with the Detroit Pistons. The Hall of Famer played in the NBA from 1970 to 1984, and with the Detroit Pistons from 1970 to 1980.

He is the Detroit Pistons' all-time leader in points-per-game average (22.7) and is tied for second in terms of rebounds per game with 11.8.

Lanier made it to seven All-Star games with the Detroit Pistons. He also made it to a couple of Conference Semis with the Pistons, losing to the Chicago Bulls in 1974 and to reigning champions Golden State Warriors in 1976.

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#2 George Yardley

George Yardley.

George Yardley was the eighth pick of the 1950 NBA Draft by the Fort Wayne Pistons, but he made his NBA debut in 1953.

The Hall-of-Fame small forward made it to five All-Star games with the Pistons and led the NBA in scoring in the 1957-58 season, with an average of 27.8 points per game.

He averaged 19.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game with the Detroit Pistons (384 games). Yardley also earned two All-NBA selections in his career.

He played in two NBA Finals with the Fort Wayne Pistons in 1955 and 1956, losing in seven and five games, respectively.

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#1 Adrian Dantley

AD (45) with the Detroit Pistons, guarded by Kevin McHale of the Boston Celtics.

Adrian Dantley is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and was one of the best pure scorers of his era. He played for seven teams in his NBA career, and the Detroit Pistons rank second among those in terms of games played.

After making it to six All-Star games with the Utah Jazz, Dantley was traded to the Detroit Pistons for Kelly Tripucka in 1986. The two-time NBA scoring champion led the Detroit Pistons in points per game in the 1986-87 and 1987-88 NBA seasons.

In the 1987 NBA Playoffs, the 'Bad Boys' fell to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games in a memorable series, with Dantley leading the Pistons in scoring.

In 1988, the team made it to the NBA Finals, but fell to the 'Showtime' LA Lakers in an iconic seven-game series, with Dantley again leading the team in points per game with 21.3 in the series.

Dantley ended up being traded to the Dallas Mavericks midway through the 1988-89 season, in exchange for Mark Aguirre.

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