McDyess, 32, played in all 82 games for the Pistons last season, averaging 8.1 points and 6.0 rebounds in 21.1 minutes a game. The 12-year veteran started slowly but played exceptionally well from January and beyond, after the NBA brought back the old leather basketball.

It was also about that time when Pistons president Joe Dumars called McDyess into his office to reassure him that he would not be traded. When the Pistons signed Chris Webber after Philadelphia bought out his contract, Dumars said it was probably inevitable that he would have to ease the team’s frontcourt logjam by trading one of its veterans. McDyess later told Pistons.com that he would have seriously contemplated retirement rather than reporting to another team.

“I’m excited to have worked out a contract extension with the Pistons,” McDyess said. “We have enjoyed a lot of success as a team since I came to Detroit three years ago and I look forward to the upcoming season and making another run at an NBA championship.”

McDyess has remained remarkably healthy since joining the Pistons given his injury history for the three years prior to that. After achieving All-Star status while a member of the Denver Nuggets in 2001, a run of knee injuries limited McDyess to 10 games the following season and forced him to miss the entire 2002-03 season. He came back midway through the 2003-04 season and joined the Pistons that summer.

Once one of the most explosive athletes in the NBA, McDyess remains a highly effective rebounder and defender whose best offensive weapon has become the 15- to 18-foot jump shot from the baselines and elbows. Since joining the Pistons, McDyess – a highly superstitious player – has been adamant in his desire to come off the bench, even resisting emergency starting roles.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement that will keep Antonio McDyess here as an important veteran leader on this team,” Dumars said. “Antonio has been a major part of our success over the last three years and we look forward to his continued solid play in the future.”

The Mississippi native was a member of the gold medal-winning USA Basketball team that competed at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. McDyess boasts career NBA averages of 13.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 725 games.