When people talk about tough ballers and good defenders, it’s impossible not to talk about the Detroit Pistons ‘Bad Boys’. Those guys were feared, respected, and hated all across the league, yet they manage to find more success than several of the dynasties that have come to fruition in the Association. The Pistons were not only the toughest team to beat in the 80s, but also perhaps the toughest basketball team of all time. Built around nothing but physical, strong defense, they embraced the Bad Boys persona and made sure to be feared and respected all around the NBA.
Most people talk about Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, and Dennis Rodman but in reality; Hall of Famer Joe Dumars was one of the main responsible behind their success. One of the all-time greatest defensive standouts, Dumars became a Pistons legend not only on the court but also after his retirement.
Winner of two championships, Dumars is considered to be one of the most feared defenders in league history, the ultimate Pistons guy, and one of the most electric players to ever do it. Call it, Joe D, or Joe Dumars, or whatever you like, he was and will always be a legend. That’s why today, we’re going to honor him by letting you everything there is to know about his life, early days, college stint, and all he did on and off the court throughout the years.
Joe Dumars – Early Years
Joe Dumars III was born in the small town of Shreveport, Louisiana on May 24, 1963. The son of a custodian at Northwestern State University and a truck driver, Joe Dumars came from quite an athletic family. Nonetheless, he wasn’t that much into basketball when he was growing up.
Instead, Dumars played defensive back on the high school football team to try and follow his siblings’ steps, as his brother David played professional football in the USFL. Nonetheless, an unfortunate hit during his junior high school year drove him away from the gridiron and shifted his attention towards basketball instead.
His father, deemed Big Joe, showed his support for him by building a hoop out of an old bicycle wheel and the remains of a wooden door, and that’s when Dumars grew to become a diehard basketball fan and start working on his jump shot.
Joe Dumars – College Career
After his glory days at Natchitoches Central High School, Joe Dumars committed to play for McNeese State University. There, he would go on to become one of the all-time greatest players in NCAA history, averaging 22.5 points per game throughout his four-year career with the Cowboys. He retired as the eleventh-leading scorer in the history of college hoops, and his 25.8 points per game average as a senior was the six-highest in the nation that season. Little did people know that the guy who was known for his scoring explosions would later turn to become one of the most well-round and smartest defenders in the history of the Association.
Joe Dumars – A Detroit Pistons Legend
Dumars turned a lot of heads during his days in college. Nonetheless, he somehow fell to the Detroit Pistons with the 18th overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft. Not so long before, then-Pistons GM Jack McCloskey had fallen in love with Dumars’ game after watching him on a tournament in Las Vegas but he never thought he’d be lucky enough to get him in the Draft.
The combo guard was one of the missing pieces the surging Pistons needed to get to the top of the league. He quickly made the transition from a scoring threat to a defensive specialist, up to the point where Michael Jordan once called him the greatest defender he had ever faced. Yeah, that’s a lot of praise coming from the guy who won a league-best 10 Scoring Titles.
He quickly made an impact on both ends of the floor but it wasn’t until Game 7 of a playoff series vs. the Boston Celtics that he put the world on notice. He had already been solid in the first round against the Washington Bullet, but torching the Celtics for 35 points to help his team reach the Eastern Conference Finals against was what granted him recognition as one of the league’s rising stars.
The Pistons would have a tough task ahead of them, as they were set to meet Jordan’s surging Chicago Bulls. There, the Pistons’ infamous ‘Jordan Rules’ came into full effect, with Dumars suffocating the legendary Bulls scorer in the backcourt and the rest of the team beating him whenever he got to the rim.
He played guard next to Isiah Thomas once he established himself in the starting lineup and they formed a legendary backcourt for many years to come. Initially a shooting guard, Dumars moved to point guard following Thomas’ retirement, sharing ball-handling duties with surging star Grant Hill. He played his entire career with the Pistons before his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Joe Dumars – NBA Championship and Finals MVP
Joe Dumars’ amazing playing career was marked with great moments but most of them came during the NBA Finals. First, he rose to stardom when the Pistons swept the Los Angeles Lakers in 1989, averaging 27.3 points per game and playing lockdown defense to help the franchise win their first-ever NBA championship and earn Finals MVP honors.
The Pistons would go on to make the NBA Finals again the very next season, this time against the Portland Trail Blazers. Nonetheless, his mind and heart were in another place, as his father passed away after Game 3 and he nearly leaves the team to attend his funeral. His mother, however, told him to stay and finish the job, so he stayed and helped the Pistons win back-to-back rings.
While the franchise didn’t win another championship while he played there and they failed to compete towards the final of his career, Dumars still played a huge part in orchestrating the team that would eventually win another ring in 2004, this time as an NBA executive.
Joe Dumars – Career As An Executive
After his 14-year career as a player, Dumars served as President of Basketball Operations for the Detroit Pistons before the start of the 2000-01 regular season. He earned Executive of the Year honors in the very next year.
He put together the team that would go on to win the 2004 title, trading away Grant Hill to land Ben Wallace, and also making moves to get Chauncey Billups, Jerry Stackhouse, and Richard Hamilton. By winning the ring, he became just the first African American executive to lead his team to a title, but he was far from satisfied there.
Under his tutelage, the Pistons won a franchise record of 64 games and made it to the ECF in six consecutive years until LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers put an end to that streak with a sweep.
His tenure came to an end on April 14, 2014; shortly after firing head coach Mo Cheeks and appointing John Loyer as interim head coach. With him at the helm, the franchise won six divisional titles, made it to the NBA Finals twice, won one ring, and had a 595–536 (.527) regular-season record plus 73 playoff wins.
Five years later, he came back to the picture when the Sacramento Kings named him special advisor to the General Manager, later being appointed as interim executive vice president of basketball operations, and later as chief strategy officer.
Joe Dumars – Awards And Accolades
Throughout his career, Joe Dumars won two NBA Championships, was named NBA Finals MVP, made the All-NBA Second Team once, two All-NBA Third Team, four NBA All-Defensive First Team, one NBA All-Defensive Second Team, the NBA All-Rookie First Team, won the NBA Sportsmanship Award, the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, and had his no. 4 jersey retired by the Detroit Pistons.
During his days in college, he established himself as one of the greatest college players ever, making the First-Team All-Southland four years in a row and winning the Southland Player of the Year in 1985. Also, his no. 4 jersey was retired by the McNeese State Cowboys. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. He’s also a part of the College Basketball Hall of Fame and won one gold medal in the 1994 FIBA World Cup with Team USA. Last but not least, he also made NBA history by holding a then-NBA record of 10 three-pointers in one game.
Joe Dumars – Net Worth
Joe Dumars played in the NBA for 14 seasons. He also had a successful career as an executive, serving as president and general manager of the Detroit Pistons from 2000 to 2014. His net worth is estimated to be around $10 million.
Joe Dumars – An Example Of Sportsmanship
Despite his team’s tough reputation, Dumars was often known as an easy-going, rather calmed character. In fact, the NBA’s Sportsmanship Award is called the Joe Dumars Trophy. That trophy is given to the player who “exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court with ethical behavior, fair play, and integrity.
How rich is Joe Dumars?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Joe Dumars is worth $10 Million as of today. Nonetheless, those numbers seem kind of off. As you can see when you combine offline data sources. Dumars made $20,511,700 for his days in the NBA alone. Also, he joined several business endeavors.
Why Did Joe Dumars Fieldhouse Close?
After 25 years on business, the Joe Dumars Fieldhouse shut its doors for good, claiming local restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus made it impossible to continue their business model. The sports and athletic center located at Mound Road in Shelby Township was an icon of the community. Dumars owned the facility with a couple of partners.
“We entertained over 30 million visitors who participated in basketball leagues (over 7500 teams), pickup basketball (over 1.5 million visits), roller hockey leagues (over 9,000 teams), roller hockey tournaments (over 4,000 teams), volleyball leagues (over 3,000 teams) and birthdays and events (over 10,000 parties),” claimed a spokesperson from Joe Dumars Fieldhouse, per Deadline Detroit.
Even so, Dumars continues to serve as chief strategy officer of the Sacramento Kings and he’s been a part of the organization since 2019. He’s also the president of the basketball division of Independent Sports & Entertainment and used to be a majority owner, CEO, and President of automotive supply company Detroit Technologies until 2016.
