Sports
Ben Wallace
born 1974 · basketball player, center
Undrafted defensive anchor who became the heart of the Pistons' 2004 championship team, winning a record-tying four NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards.
- Born
White Hall, Alabama
age 52- Birth name
- Benjamin Camey Wallace
- Also known as
- Big Ben
- Detroit years
- 2000–2006, 2009–2012
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Ben Wallace reached Detroit in 2000 as part of the sign-and-trade that sent Grant Hill to Orlando, arriving with no draft pedigree but relentless rebounding and shot-blocking. Playing without a reliable jump shot, he still anchored the Pistons' defense to the 2004 NBA championship, upsetting the heavily favored Lakers in five games, and returned Detroit to the Finals again in 2005. At The Palace of Auburn Hills, the crowd rang a deep chime whenever 'Big Ben' scored or blocked a shot, echoing London's bell tower. He won the league's Defensive Player of the Year award four times, tying the all-time record, and led the Pistons to six straight Eastern Conference finals appearances. After stops elsewhere he returned to Detroit for a final stretch from 2009 to 2012. The Pistons retired his No. 3 in 2016, and he entered the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.
Highlights
- Undrafted; joined Detroit in 2000 in the sign-and-trade for Grant Hill
- NBA champion with the Pistons in 2004
- NBA Defensive Player of the Year four times, an all-time record shared with two others
- Reached the Eastern Conference finals six straight years with Detroit
- Jersey No. 3 retired in 2016; inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Played here · 2000–2006, 2009–2012
The Palace of Auburn Hills
Demolished · 1988–2020
Home court for his championship run and most of his Pistons career; demolished in 2020.