In 1970 big Bob Lanier, a 6-11, 265-pound former All-American from St. Bonaventure, was chosen with Detroit's No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. Throughout the early 1970s future Hall of Famers Dave Bing and Lanier were an effective inside-outside team. By the end of their careers their numbers were almost identical-Lanier was the all-time Pistons scoring-average leader with 22.7 points per game, and Bing was one tick behind with 22.6.

In 1970-71 the club got off to its all-time best start by winning nine games in a row. But the Pistons leveled off to play .500 ball the rest of the way and finished with a 45-37 record. It was the team's first winning year since moving to Detroit. Bing set the team single-season record for points with 2,213. In February he set the club mark for field goals in a game, cashing in 22 against the Chicago Bulls; his 54 points in that game broke George Yardley's 1958 mark and stood until Kelly Tripucka went on a scoring rampage in 1983. Bing's average of 27.0 points per game ranked fourth in the league.

Unfortunately for the Pistons, their 45-37 record wasn't good enough to sneak them into the playoffs. The eventual NBA-champion Milwaukee Bucks went 66-16, and the Chicago Bulls and the Phoenix Suns each posted better marks than Detroit in the newly formed Midwest Division.

Butch van Breda Kolff was dismissed 10 games into the 1971-72 season. Earl Lloyd, who had played for Detroit for a couple of years in the late 1950s, was brought in to mop up the 26-56 season. This was the year that Detroit began going inside more than outside. Bob Lanier paced the club in scoring with 25.7 points per game, the first of eight consecutive seasons in which he topped the squad. He also averaged 14.2 rebounds, ninth best in the NBA. Bing and Jimmy Walker also averaged more than 20 points, and Walker joined Lanier in the 1972 NBA All-Star Game. For Lanier it was the first of eight All-Star appearances.

Ray Scott, who had played for the Pistons in the early 1960s, took over as head coach in 1972-73. As a player he had averaged 14.9 points in a nine-year NBA career, including a career-high 17.9 points per game for the Pistons in 1965-66. As a coach Scott led Detroit to a 52-30 mark in 1973-74 that earned him NBA Coach of the Year honors. That season the Pistons slugged it out all year with Chicago for second place in the Midwest Division behind the Milwaukee Bucks, finally finishing two games behind the Bulls. Detroit returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1968 but was eliminated by Chicago in a physical seven-game division semifinal series.

That season Lanier led the club in scoring with 22.5 points per game. The big lefthander also recorded a .504 field goal percentage, a mark he improved upon in each of the next four seasons, peaking at .537 in 1977-78. Lanier was also a tough defender, blocking 3.05 shots per game, fourth best in the NBA. He scored 24 points in the 1974 NBA All-Star Game and was named MVP of the midseason classic.

Fred Zollner, who had owned the team since its inception in 1941, sold the Pistons after the 1973-74 campaign to a group headed by Bill Davidson.

In 1974-75 the team returned to mediocrity, falling to 40-42. The Pistons continued their descent in 1975-76, finishing 36-46. After the season Bing was sent to Washington with a first-round draft choice in exchange for Kevin Porter and draft picks. The 1976-77 squad set a Detroit record for thievery while running to a 44-38 record. The Pistons recorded 877 steals, led by Chris Ford's 179.

Detroit's won-lost record in 1977-78 reversed to 38-44. In a game against the Denver Nuggets on April 9, the final day of the regular season, the Pistons became victims of David Thompson in his quest for the league scoring title. Thompson and the San Antonio Spurs' George Gervin had virtually identical scoring averages before the game, but Thompson put the pressure on Gervin (who played later that night) by pouring in 73 points against the Pistons. But Gervin wasn't called "the Iceman" for nothing. He scored 63 points against the New Orleans Jazz to edge Thompson by the slimmest of margins, 27.22 to 27.15 points per game.