Former NBA player Tayshaun Prince appeared on the latest episode of the Knuckleheads podcast and like every guest on it, was asked to build a starting lineup with himself and four other former teammates. This tends to be a challenging task for most, but Prince kept it rather simple and didn’t complicate matters.
“The guys I started with in Detroit,” Prince said.
Co-host Darius Miles wondered if Prince would want to make any switch like adding Zach Randolph over Ben Wallace, but he declined and explained why.
“Once again, it ain’t about talent,” Prince stated. “… The chemistry, the focus, the commitment for one another, and all that stuff, just wasn’t close. Yeah, I played with other guys this and that and whatever the case may be, but that group, there was nobody close.”
(starts at 1:14:27 mark):
The five that Prince referred to, are Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, himself, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace. They were a special group that went on to accomplish special things during their time together on the Detroit Pistons.
Ben Wallace was the first to arrive in Detroit in 2000 and in 2002, Billups, Prince, and Hamilton joined him. Two years after that, the other Wallace arrived mid-way through the 2003-04 campaign and the Pistons immediately took off with him. They went on to win the 2004 NBA title by shockingly beating the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
What made that Pistons team so special, was that they got to the top without having any true superstar. They were a group that just fit exceptionally well together and almost won back-to-back titles.
The Pistons made it back to the Finals in 2005 where they faced the San Antonio Spurs. The series went seven games and Detroit seemed to be in control in that do-or-die contest, as it led by nine points at one stage in the third quarter.
Unfortunately, the Pistons weren’t able to hold on to that lead and the Spurs would eventually win 81-74 to be crowned champions. It would have been quite remarkable if that group had gone back-to-back, but winning one title was very special in itself and it’s not surprising that Prince went with those four for that reason.
Tayshaun Prince Plays ‘Start-Bench-Trade’ With Kevin Durant, Paul Pierce, And Tracy McGrady
After Prince was asked to build that starting five, he next played the ‘Start-Bench-Trade’ game, and it proved to be more challenging. Prince was given Kevin Durant, Paul Pierce, and Tracy McGrady as the options and he had a little bit of trouble deciding what to do with them. (starts at 1:15:42 mark in the above video)
“It’s crazy you brought up those guys because those three guys, including a couple others, hardest guys to guard for me,” Prince said. “… I would start KD, I would bench Pierce and I know I’m saying it ‘cuz I love T-Mac too, I’m trading T-Mac.
Prince was one of the finest perimeter defenders in the NBA and had the thankless task of guarding these three stars, so he is certainly qualified to rank them. If we just consider peaks, though, I would bench McGrady and trade Pierce. He hit heights that Pierce never did, but injuries meant his career didn’t end up being quite as good as his.
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