Joe Dumars

As President of Basketball Operations, Joe Dumars has taken the Detroit Pistons from the bottom of the Eastern Conference to NBA Champions. In 1999, Joe was named Vice President of Player Personnel, only to be promoted to President of Basketball Operations immediately following the season. Dumars then retooled the team to mirror the characteristics that he had as a player - determination, exceptional skill and knowledge, unparalleled devotion and heart, a yearning to win, and superior sportsmanship - on the way to building an NBA powerhouse, setting the standard for teams across the NBA and the world.Under Joe's direction, the Pistons cemented their place amongst the NBA's elite, appearing in five consecutive Eastern Conference Finals, two NBA Finals, and winning the NBA Championship in 2004. In 2006, the Dumars-constructed Pistons accomplished historic feats, winning a league-high and team record 64 games, and sending four of five starters to the NBA All-Star Game. His accomplishments do not go unnoticed, as Joe Dumars was named "NBA Executive of the Year" by the NBA and The Sporting News in 2003.

One of only eight players to play over 1,000 games with his first NBA team and one of the top shooting guards of his era, Joe Dumars was a consistent all-around player throughout his 14-year NBA career. A six-time All-Star, the owner of two NBA Championship rings, a defensive standout and a big-time scorer, Dumars has long been recognized as one of the true leaders in the NBA.

A native of Natchitoches, Louisiana, Joe Dumars entered the NBA in 1985 after averaging better than 20 points in four seasons at McNeese State. Chosen in the first round of the 1985 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, Dumars was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1986. Joe Dumars's arrival coincided with the Pistons' rise to preeminence in the Central Division. The club won 46 games in his first season in Detroit and was ousted from the first round of the playoffs. During the next five seasons the Pistons never won fewer than 50 games as they marched to the NBA Finals three times and claimed a pair of NBA Championships in 1989 and 1990. In April of 2006, the NBA announced that Joe would be forever honored as a member of the NBA's Hall of Fame, in which he was enshrined into this exclusive group on September 9, 2006.

Joe Dumars has won numerous honors and awards during his NBA career. From 1989 to 1993 he was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team four times and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team once. In 1993 Dumars was named to the All-NBA Second Team and in 1990 and 1991 he was an All-NBA Third Team selection. He played for the Eastern Conference All-Star Team five times in six seasons beginning in 1990. Joe was the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1989. In 1994 Dumars was the recipient of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his tireless work in the community. His contributions were so important that, in 2000, the NBA honored Joe by forever changing the name of this annual Sportsman Award to the Joe Dumars Award. Also in 1994, Dumars was a member of the Dream Team that captured a gold medal at the World Championship of Basketball.

Joe Dumars was the recipient of the Newsweek American Achievement Award given annually to a select group of Americans for their respective community achievements and contribution to society, was named the 1996 Sales and Marketing Executives of Detroit Communicator of the Year and was the recipient of the NBA's Inaugural Sportsmanship Award that included a $25,000 donation to the charity of Joe's choice. From the first day he joined the Detroit Pistons in 1985, Joe Dumars had always been extremely supportive of numerous charitable causes. The Joe Dumars Charitable Foundation, benefiting Children's Hospital of Michigan, William Beaumont Hospital and Oakwood Healthcare System has become one of Southeast Michigan's most prestigious charity events, raising over $1,000,000 for the kids in need of serious medical attention.