From the Archive

Joe Dumars

From the Archive Editor · Bad Boys

Six All-Star games, two championships, one Finals MVP — and the only Piston Michael Jordan ever publicly respected.

Drafted 18th overall in 1985 out of McNeese State. Fourteen seasons in Detroit, every one of them. Quiet, methodical, devastating in the corner late in the fourth.

Took Finals MVP in 1989 sweeping the Lakers. He guarded Magic Johnson, then Michael Jordan, then whoever was best on the other team. The Jordan Rules had three components and Joe was two of them.

The NBA Sportsmanship Award is now named after him — the league that built itself on rivalries named its highest character award after a man who never spoke a word out of turn. He later ran Detroit's front office and built the 2004 title team.

Career Lines

Pistons tenure
1985-99 · 14 seasons
Career PPG
16.1
Career APG
4.5
Championships
2 (1989, 1990)
All-Star games
6

Accolades

  • · Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2006)
  • · 1989 NBA Finals MVP
  • · 6× NBA All-Star
  • · 5× NBA All-Defensive Team
  • · Inaugural NBA Sportsmanship Award winner (1996; award later named for him)
  • · Jersey No. 4 retired by the Pistons

Live stats unavailable from the wire — the Editor's file is archive-authoritative.