[15] Though the Pistons enjoyed a solid local following, Fort Wayne's small size made it difficult for them to be profitable, especially as other early NBA teams based in smaller cities started folding or relocating to larger markets.

[35][36][37][38] Hope was then placed in Dick Vitale in 1978, the former head coach at the University of Detroit, but he was fired the following season, and the team limped into the 1980s with a 16–66 record in 1979–80.

Instead, in 1978, he moved the team to the suburb of Pontiac, where they played in the 82,000 capacity Silverdome, a structure built for professional football (and the home of the Detroit Lions at the time).

[52][53] After a Celtics turnover, Isiah Thomas attempted to quickly inbound the ball and missed Chuck Daly's timeout signal from the bench.

[52][53] Motivated by their loss to the Celtics, the Pistons, aided by midseason acquisition James Edwards, improved to a then-franchise-record 54 victories and the franchise's first division title in 32 years.

[39] The Pistons' first trip to the Finals in 32 years saw them face the Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

[56][57][58] With Thomas unable to compete at full strength, the Pistons narrowly fell in Game 7, 108–105, as the Lakers became the first back-to-back NBA Champions since the 1969 Boston Celtics.

[61][62][63][64] The team won 63 games, shattering their one-year-old franchise record, and steamrolled through the playoffs and into an NBA Finals rematch with the Lakers.

[66][67] After winning 59 games and a third straight division title, the Pistons cruised through the first two rounds of the playoffs before playing a tough Eastern Conference Finals series against Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and the Chicago Bulls.

[67] The Pistons' championship run came to an end in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, as they were swept by the eventual NBA champion Chicago Bulls in four games.

[85] Following Daly's departure, the Pistons went through a transitional period, as key players were either traded (Salley and Rodman) or retired (Laimbeer in 1993 and Thomas in 1994).

[82][89] However, this period also saw the team make numerous questionable personnel decisions, such as the loss of free agent Allan Houston to the New York Knicks,[90] the signing of free agent washouts Loy Vaught and Bison Dele;[91] and head coaching changes from Ron Rothstein to Don Chaney to Doug Collins to Alvin Gentry to George Irvine in an eight-year span.

[82] The franchise even changed its team colors in 1996 from its traditional red and blue to teal, burgundy, gold and black in what proved to be a highly unpopular move with fans.

[94] After being swept by the Miami Heat in the 2000 playoffs, Joe Dumars, who had retired following the 1998–99 season, was hired as the team's president of basketball operations.

[104] In the 2002 off-season, Joe Dumars revamped the roster by signing free agent Chauncey Billups, acquiring Richard "Rip" Hamilton from the Washington Wizards, and drafting Tayshaun Prince from Kentucky.

[116][115][117] Many analysts gave the Pistons little chance to win against their opponent, the Los Angeles Lakers, who had won three out of the previous four NBA championships and who fielded a star-studded lineup that included Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton, and Karl Malone.

[34] Despite losing key members of their bench during the off-season (including Okur, Mike James and Corliss Williamson), the Pistons were considered a strong contender to win a second consecutive title in 2005.

[131][132] In the first month of the season, the infamous Malice at the Palace erupted between the Pacers and the Pistons, one of the largest fan-player incidents in the history of American sports.

[145][146] During the off-season, the Pistons offered Ben Wallace a four-year, $48 million contract, which would have made him the highest-paid player in franchise history at the time.

[176] In addition to losing Game 3 badly, 111–86, the Pistons also lost all-star point guard and team leader Chauncey Billups to a hamstring injury.

[177] Despite his absence, the Pistons rallied from 15 down in the third quarter to win Game 4 90–89 on a field goal by Tayshaun Prince with just 8.9 seconds to play, taking a 3–1 series lead.

In what would ultimately be a bellwether moment in the franchise's history, Wallace refused to take any post-game questions, simply walking back to the locker room afterwards, aware that Joe Dumars would likely start dismantling the team, saying only, "It's over, man.

[191] Indeed, Joe Dumars previously made it clear that no player on the team was guaranteed a position, bluntly saying they lost their sacred cow status.

[219] Prior to the start of the 2011–12 season, the Pistons made several leadership changes, including appointing Dennis Mannion as president of the franchise and Palace Sports & Entertainment.

[226][227] In April, the Pistons announced that Joe Dumars would step down as president of basketball operations but remain as an advisor to the organization and its ownership team.

[231][232] In the 2015 off-season, Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy began to change the roster by making such acquisitions as Ersan İlyasova, Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes, and Steve Blake.

Talks intensified just as the Pistons were set to open their 2016–17 season, and as part of the terms of the agreement, there was discussion of a possible merger between Olympia and PS&E.

[291] The regular TV announcers are George Blaha with play-by-play, Greg Kelser with color commentary, Lindsey Hunter, Grant Long or Tim McCormick with studio analysis and Johnny Kane or Natalie Kerwin with sideline reports.

The team discontinued the lightning bolt theme and returned to its classic block lettering and simple side panel pattern in 1981, staying with this look until 1996.

That year, the Pistons changed their colors to teal, black, yellow and, red and unveiled a new logo with a horse's head and flaming mane.