Alex Gray

Ausar Thompson: “We all came back the next year, and with all the turnover, it was just like a fresh start. Nobody forgot though. At training camp, we all were on the same page that we wanted to change the way we did things, be more locked-in in practice, and do everything with more detail. Tim played in the championship the year before, so him and Tobias especially, they would get on the young guys if we were bs’ing. If we shortcut anything or weren’t locked in, they would be like, ‘This isn’t how winning teams do it.’ The vets really wanted to see the young guys be successful and teach us how to do it the right way, and I feel like that made the biggest difference in our culture. Tobias had played with Detroit before, and the last time he had played with them, they were in the playoffs. So he was always saying, ‘Detroit needs to see playoff basketball again.’ And yeah, I guess that just really stuck with us. Tobias said it so much that I started to believe it, too. I’d be lying if I said we didn’t have a chip on our shoulder last year. That we didn’t come in with something to prove. But it wasn’t just about getting our lick back. It wasn’t about ego. It wasn’t even about the team. It was about Detroit. Something I always say is, I feel like the city where you play shapes a big part of how you play. The pioneers, the legends never fully leave, especially in a city like Detroit. All of Detroit’s teams that made it to the top had gritty defenders, people who weren’t afraid to make the game a little scrappy, but at the same time were still playing basketball.” playerstribu.ne/Ausar @DetroitPistons | @NBA