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One trait runs through all of these men...hard work. Joe Dumars, the Pistons president of basketball operations, is another such Detroit sports legend. Dumars went from a small town in Louisiana to the top of the Motor City and the basketball world, as both the 1989 NBA Finals MVP and the architect of the 2004 NBA World Champion Detroit Pistons.
Ophelia worked long hours, but always managed to get home to spend evenings with her family. Joe’s father, Big Joe, was a truck driver. Big Joe left for work at 4:30 a.m. and often didn’t return until 11:00 p.m. Joe was so close to his father that he often tried to stay at home on days that Big Joe didn’t have to go to work and once tried to convince his mother that school had been closed to celebrate Mary Poppins’ birthday.
Joe grew up in an athletic family, but, surprisingly, basketball was not his favorite sport as a child. Football was the most popular in the region and bred such NFL players as Terry Bradshaw and Mark Duper. All five of Joe’s brothers were defensive standouts at Natchitoches Central High. Joe’s brother David later played in the USFL. Joe followed in his brothers’ footsteps playing defensive back on the football team until junior high school. It was a big hit on the field that altered Joe’s athletic career toward basketball. Ever the supportive father, Big Joe built a hoop, made of an old bicycle wheel and half of a wooden door, in the Dumars backyard. Little Joe spent hours practicing his jumper.
After graduation, Joe went on to McNeese State University. While pursuing his degree in Business Administration, Joe excelled on the court. During his four years in college, Joe averaged 22.5 points per game, including 25.8 point per game as a senior. Joe finished his college career as the 11th leading scorer in NCAA history.
Joe’s performance during his senior year caught the eye of Pistons’ GM Jack McCloskey. From the first time McCloskey saw Dumars play in a Christmas tournament in Las Vegas, he knew that Joe could succeed in the NBA. Unfortunately, the Pistons had the 18th pick in the 1985 NBA Draft and McCloskey was certain that Dumars would be gone by then. When draft day came, Joe somehow managed to fall into the Pistons lap. McCloskey later said that it was the easiest pick he had ever made. It was also a great day for Dumars, who had listed Isiah Thomas as his favorite athlete in the McNeese State media guide.
Though Dumars had been a scorer in college, he recognized that the Pistons would need his presence on the defensive end of the court. Joe played sparingly off the bench for the first half of his rookie campaign. On January 15, 1986, with the Pistons having lost 15 of the previous 20 games, Joe was inserted into the starting line-up, a position he would maintain until his retirement. Joe finished his rookie campaign averaging 9.4 points per game, earning him a spot on the NBA All-Rookie Team, with Xavier McDaniel, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, and Charles Oakley.
Joe’s coming out party would come during the 1987 NBA Playoffs. The Pistons had defeated the Washington Bullets and Atlanta Hawks on their way to an Eastern Conference showdown with the hated Boston Celtics. The first six games of the series had been hard fought, literally. After Boston won the first two games at the Boston Garden, Game Three included a bench clearing fight between Bill Laimbeer and Larry Bird. The Pistons won Games Three and Four back at the Silverdome. The Celtics won Game Five on the famous last second steal by Larry Bird. The Pistons held on to win Game Six 113-105, setting up a decisive Game Seven for the right to go to the NBA Finals. The Celtics won the game 117-114, but not before withstanding a 35-point outburst by Dumars. Joe established himself as a scorer, and in 1988 he would establish himself as one of the league’s premier defenders.
Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan was the top player in the NBA. After defeating the Washington Bullets in the first round of the 1988 NBA Playoffs, Jordan and the Bulls stood between the Pistons and another trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bulls had won 50 games for the first time since 1974. Jordan averaged 35 points per game en route to his second NBA scoring title. He also averaged 45 points per game in the Bulls’ first round series against Cleveland. In order for the Pistons to be successful in the series, Dumars was assigned something no one else had been able to do: contain Jordan. It was during this series that “The Jordan Rules” came into effect. In a nutshell, Dumars was not to let Jordan drive to the right when he was at the top of the key or to the middle when he was on the wing. This philosophy was not only for Dumars, but for the entire Pistons team. The rules paid off, as the Pistons won the series in five games and advanced to again face the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Championship. The Pistons defeated the Celtics, but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in a tough seven game series.
After losing to the Lakers in the 1988 NBA Finals, Dumars and the Pistons resolve to win a championship was even stronger. Joe’s reputation was now that of a big game player on both ends of the floor. It was never more apparent than during the Pistons back-to-back NBA Championships in 1989 and 1990. After going through the Celtics, Bucks, and Jordan’s Bulls again, the Pistons returned to the 1989 NBA Finals in a rematch against the Lakers. Joe’s performance was nothing short of amazing. Averaging 27.3 points, Joe led the Pistons to a four game sweep and was unanimously awarded the Finals MVP. One just wasn’t enough for the Pistons. The Pistons returned to the 1990 NBA Finals, this time against the Portland Trailblazers. With the series tied at one game each, Joe exploded in Game Three for 33 points. After the game, Joe learned that his father, Big Joe, had passed away. As Joe prepared to leave the team and return to Natchitoches, Ophelia instructed her son to stay with the team and finish his job of winning another championship. Joe followed his mother’s instructions, leading the Pistons to another championship win, this time in five games.
As time progressed, the Pistons were forced to make changes to the roster. The only constant over the next seven years would be Joe Dumars. Players, coaches, and front office personnel turned over, but Joe was always there outworking players on both ends of the court. When Joe decided to retire following the 1999 season, his career highlights and stats were those of a legend: 1986 All-Rookie Team, three time All-NBA Team, 1989 NBA Finals MVP, six time NBA All-Star, five time NBA All-Defensive team, and the 1996 Sportsmanship Award winner, now named the Joe Dumars Sportsmanship Award. Joe still ranks among the top three in 10 Pistons all-time statistical categories, including total points, games played, three-pointers, assists and steals.
In 1996, Joe started Detroit Technologies, an automotive parts supplier, which now maintains strategic partnerships and alliances with various other suppliers to form companies including DTI Design, DTI Molded Products, DTI Leather and Trim, TSI Technical Solutions, and Alliance Interiors.
Joe, now with actual business-world experience, returned to the Pistons during the 1999-2000 season as vice president of player personnel. At the end of the season, he was promoted to president of basketball operations. The entire franchise was now in his hands. However, Joe was not taking over a franchise at the height of its popularity. The franchise had lost its connection with its fans and attendance was the lowest in nearly 20 years. It didn’t help that “franchise savior” Grant Hill talked about leaving as a free agent. Joe and the organization would begin the turnaround with one simple phrase, “Every Night.” The phrase was a representation of the hard work and professionalism that Joe displayed as a player and what he felt the fans could expect from this franchise on a daily basis. Joe once said, “We want to establish ourselves as a team that’s going to give it to you all of the time, and that’s always a good thing to sell to your players, fans, and opponents.”
Over the next two years, Joe completely remade the franchise. Not a single player was on both the 1999-00 and 2001-02 rosters. Joe had focused on players who were not superstars, but who have always had to prove themselves. He brought in players like Ben Wallace and Chauncey Billups who had to work for every minute they got. He made bold trades, sending the team’s leading scorer, Jerry Stackhouse to Washington for a young shooting guard named Richard Hamilton. He pulled a rabbit out of his hat to bring Rasheed Wallace from Atlanta at the 2004 trading deadline. He also drafted a four-year player out of Kentucky named Tayshaun Prince who many thought was too slight to succeed in the NBA.
In 2004, the Pistons had just completed their third consecutive 50-win season. Coach Larry Brown had the team ingrained in his “right way “ concepts of defense and passing. The Pistons defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, and Indiana Pacers in the playoffs to get to the Finals for the first time since 1990. The Los Angeles Lakers awaited their arrival. After winning three consecutive championships, the Lakers added future Hall of Famers Karl Malone and Gary Payton to a club that already featured Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant and was coached by nine-time NBA Champion Phil Jackson. No one gave the Pistons a chance to win the series. There was only the question of how many games it would take the Lakers to win the title. But, a strange thing happened on the way to the Lakers’ fourth straight title...the Pistons.
The Pistons team-first mentality defeated the five future Hall of Famers in a “five-game sweep.” Joe Dumars had succeeded as an executive just as he did as a player. His hard work and tenacity had built a franchise in his image, and it resulted in the franchise’s third NBA Championship.
Joe’s change in philosophy resonated beyond the court. The Pistons have led the league in attendance for the last four seasons and are currently riding a home sellout streak of 92 games. The Pistons have also ranked among the top two sports franchises in 2006 in American professional sports, according to ESPN the Magazine. The Pistons are now among America’s favorite teams, recognized for their work ethic and team play in this an era of “me-first” athletes.
Joe also works in the community, and it has not gone unnoticed. Dumars was awarded the Newsweek American Achievement Award, given annually to select group of Americans for their community achievements and contribution to society. He received the 1994 J. Walter Kennedy Award for exemplary community service efforts. In 1996, Joe was the inaugural recipient of the NBA Sportsmanship Award. During his jersey retirement ceremony in March 2000, the NBA renamed the award the Joe Dumars Award. The Joe Dumars Celebrity Tennis Classic has raised well over $1,000,000 in support of the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, William Beaumont Hospital, and Oakland Healthcare System. Joe was appointed to the executive committee of the United States Tennis Association in 1999. He has also been inducted into the McNeese State University, Louisiana, and Michigan Sports Halls of Fame.
Joe maintains a relationship with Joe Dumars Fieldhouse, an indoor multi-sports and entertainment complex in Shelby Township. A second Joe Dumars Fieldhouse recently opened at the State Fairgrounds in Detroit.
College basketball record setter. NBA First Round pick. NBA Finals MVP. NBA All-Star. NBA team president. Three-time NBA Champion. Not bad for a small town kid with a work ethic.
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