The Pistons have a long history in the NBA and have a blue-collar work ethic much like the city itself. The Pistons logo has gone through a few changes over its life with 9 different logos in its history, with 5 logos as the classic Piston's basketball logo.
The team included a statement in the announcement of their current logo:
"Dating back to our move from Fort Wayne to the Motor City in 1957, the iconic Detroit Pistons brand has always stayed true. The bold red, white and blue color scheme and basketball icon have withstood the test of time through the evolution of the franchise and the city. And now that a new chapter is being written, that evolution continues with a new identity built on the Pistons championship tradition and promising future. It will serve as a badge of honor for our players on the court, fans in the community and everyone that is part of the Detroit Pistons family. Join us for this exciting journey back to Detroit as, together, we open the doors of our new home."
2017 - Present
In 2017 the Pistons return to the 80’s and 90’s logo. Pistons changed the basketball to a solid red with white outline. The wordmark “DETROIT PISTONS” in white and in the center of the basketball. The red basketball is enclosed with a blue ring.
The logo modifies the text-over-red-basketball scheme the team has used for the last 12 seasons, reducing the font size significantly and altering the look of the ball. It closely resembles the team’s logo from 1979–1996, which notably includes the Bad Boys era.
“The bold red, white and blue color scheme and basketball icon have withstood the test of time through the evolution of the franchise and the city,” the team said. “And now that a new chapter is being written, that evolution continues with a new identity built on the Pistons championship tradition and promising future.”
Detroit’s 2005-2017 logo was starting to look a bit outdated, and the cleaner retro look is a big upgrade.
The chrome outline on the new logo pays tribute to Detroit muscle cars, the team said.
2006 - 2017
The current logo consists of a red basketball and tie in the colors of America. The current configuration of the red ball with the blue-and-white accents and the customized font with that has “DETROIT” a bit more understated than “PISTONS” inside the ball.
2002 - 2005
In 2002 the logo stayed the same with only color changes. The colors of blue, red and navy blue now dominate the logo.
1997 - 2001
In keeping up with the latest fashion trends, the Pistons changed their team colors to teal, black, yellow and red during the summer of 1996. The new logo features a horse’s head and flaming mane, represented “horse power,” holding consistent with Detroit’s automotive theme. A wordmark “PISTONS” in white with black and teal trim and “DETROIT” in white at the bottom.
1980 - 1996
The next design of the basketball logo for the Pistons changed the basketball to a solid red with white outline. The wordmark “DETROIT PISTONS” in white and in the center of the basketball. The red basketball is enclosed with a blue ring.
1976 - 1979
The Pistons altered the basketball logo from 1972, the outline of the basketball is now a thicker blue outline and font or lettering is solid orange. The wordmark “DETROIT PISTONS” and “NBA” below in orange.
1972 - 1975
In 1972 the Piston’s logo carried over from 1958 with the design and color. However, the bottom wordmark “NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSN.” was removed.
1958 - 1971
The move to Detroit, a new logo was created to a simple basketball design in blue with an outline font wordmark “DETROIT PISTONS” in orange and “BASKETBALL CLUB” below in solid orange. The bottom wordmark is “NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSN.” in blue.
1948 - 1957
A new redesign of the animated piston basketball player dribbling a brown basketball. The grey basketball player has “Z” on his chest in red.
1941 - 1947
The Piston’s first logo was an animated character running and going up for a layup, built entirely from the automotive components or pistons all in the color red.