This is a list of seasons completed by the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association. The franchise was founded in 1937 as a semi-professional company basketball team known as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons before they joined in the National Basketball League in 1941. In 1948, the franchise joined the Basketball Association of America as the Fort Wayne Pistons, which was the precursor to the NBA. However, the games won and lost in the NBL are not included in the franchise total.
The Pistons have had three main periods of success. In the early years of the NBA, the franchise reached the NBA Finals twice in consecutive years before falling to the Syracuse Nationals and the Philadelphia Warriors. Following an extended era of mediocrity the Pistons, led by the Hall of Fame backcourt of Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars and nicknamed the "Bad Boys" for their intimidating defense, posted winning records every seasons from 1983âÂÂ84 to 1991âÂÂ92, and after narrowly losing in 1988, ended the Los Angeles Lakers' dynasty of the 1980s the following season and repeated as NBA champions the following year. The Pistons' third period of success, with former on-court star Dumars serving as general manager and building a top team from other franchises' discards, occurred between 2001âÂÂ02 and 2007âÂÂ08 when the team won fifty games or more during every season, including a third NBA title in 2003âÂÂ04 and a franchise record total of wins two seasons later.
The Pistons have experienced two major periods of failure. Between 1956âÂÂ57 and 1982âÂÂ83, the Pistons had just three winning seasons and overall had a winning percentage of , culminating in a combined record of 37âÂÂ127 (win percent ) in the 1979âÂÂ80 and 1980âÂÂ81 seasons, after which the drafting of Thomas completely revitalized the franchise. Since 2008âÂÂ09, the Pistons have had only three seasons with at least a .500 winning percentage and have made the postseason only three times.