The Tayshaun Prince Appreciation Thread

In his 9th season, Tayshaun Prince has been the Pistons "glue guy" through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Because his contract expires after this season, many people believe Tay will be traded sometime soon. This thread is intended to pay tribute to the man with the small suitcase before we send him packing.


A graduate of Dominguez High School and the University of Kentucky, Prince was drafted in the first round (23rd overall) by the Detroit Pistons in the 2002 NBA Draft. Prince wears the jersey #22 as a result of his draft position, signifying the 22 teams that passed on drafting him. His college #21 was previously retired by the Pistons in honor of guard Dave Bing.


Rookie year
In his rookie season under head coach Rick Carlisle, Prince was not a member of the team's playing rotation and appeared in just 42 of 82 regular-season games. However, in the first round of the 2003 NBA Playoffs, Detroit trailed the Orlando Magic three games to one, forcing Carlisle to experiment with a different rotation. Prince was inserted into the lineup and received heavy minutes. He then went on to make an NBA record by being the only player in league history to score more points in the playoffs than in the regular season (137 in the season, 141 in the playoffs). The Pistons rallied to win the series, and Prince had a breakout performance during the decisive seventh game, scoring 20 points in 24 minutes. In the second round against the Philadelphia 76ers, Prince continued to see action and made several memorable plays, including a turnaround hook shot during the final seconds of the second game, forcing an overtime period that the Pistons went on to win.



"The Block"
In the second game of the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers, Prince made a memorable defensive play.[8] In the final minute of the game, Pacer star shooting guard Reggie Miller took an outlet pass after an Indiana steal and sprinted up the right sideline for a seemingly uncontested basket that would have tied the score. Prince pursued from the left sideline. Miller, presumably thinking that Prince could not catch him, attempted a layup. At the last possible moment, Prince soared in from the other side of the basket and swatted the ball away; the ball landed in bounds and was scooped up by Pistons teammate Richard Hamilton, effectively ending the game. The Pistons went on to win the series and, eventually, the NBA championship. The block has been replayed numerous times on ESPN and sports programs on other networks. When the Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers four games to one in the NBA Finals, Prince's tough defense on Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was credited as a key factor in the Pistons' victory, holding Bryant to only 11 points in an 88-68 win in Game Three of the 2004 NBA Finals.



Honors/Achievements
2004 NBA Champion
2004/05 NBA All-Defensive Second Team
2005/06 NBA All-Defensive Second Team
2006/07 NBA All-Defensive Second Team
2007/08 NBA All-Defensive Second Team
Gold Medal with Team USA, 2007 Tournament of Americas Olympic Qualifiers
Gold Medal with Team USA, 2008 Summer Olympics


The Numbers

The statistics have been very consistent over the years for Prince. His "Iron Man" consecutive games played streak led the NBA for quite sometime before he became hobbled last year.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/princta01.html

Little Known Stat

Tayshaun has the 5th lowest turnover percentage of active players in the NBA:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/tov_pct_active.html

That infamous luggage seems to get smaller each time I see that picture.

What can I say about Tay??

I was 13 - 14 years old when I was watching that game Against INDIANA in the finals.. Chauncey loose the ball.. Tinsley make the long pass to Reggie Miller.. I was like " NOOOOO !! " .. and Suddenly a Red-Blue BLUR comes from behind and left Reggie Miller with a face like "What the .... ?!!! Where the ... does he came from??? "

And claiming to the refs for the inexistant foul.

I was jumping all over my house, just a little kid who knew nothing about Basketball and I was yelling " Priiinceee!!!! MVP!!! " (of Course, I didn't know nothing back there)

He and Ben Wallace were the reasons why I'm a BIG PISTONS FAN TODAY, even If we end up 2 - 80 this season, The Blue Red adn white is going through my veins.

If we trade him, I hope he come back in a few years for the veterans minimum or something like that, when we may be a better team (3 - 4 years?)

This is cool. Turn your volume up. That last one is from deep.

YouTube - Tayshaun Prince 5 3's IN A ROW!

I got that vid in my cell phone !!! hahaaa is great, he is in the Kentucky Hall Of fame, isn't he?

And the shot clock goes ...tick ...tick ...tick.

The funny thing about that luggage is that it's probably normal-sized luggage but because the dude is 6'8", it looks smaller.

I'm most concerned about Austin Daye. Without Tayshaun, who will he borrow clothing from!?

Offense:
YouTube - Tayshaun Prince Spins on Lebron James
YouTube - Tayshaun Prince Takes it Strong to the Rack


Defense:
YouTube - Tayshaun Prince Blocks Mo Evans Two Handed Dunk
YouTube - Tayshaun Prince has a "meeting" with the rim!


Here's a few highlights from Tayshaun's rookie year in the playoffs:
YouTube - Tayshaun Prince blossoming

One of the most memorable moments of Prince for me was when we were playing the then mighty Nets in the 2nd round in his rookie year. We were down one with only 1-2 seconds left in the clock in the elimination game. Everybody thought this was done. Prince was going to inbound the ball. He somehow lobbed a perfect alley-oop pass to Memo who was able to get the shot up, the ball bounced on the rim but didn't fall in. The two rookies almost pulled an amazing upset in that game. At that moment I was sure that this guy was going to be a special player.

Thank you Prince for all the good memories.

Yeah, Itw worked when I posted it twice but it doesn't appear now for some reason. hmmm.

The red X just isn't as funny as the picture.






...I've failed.

Let's hope he sticks around til we can find a Oilman!

I agree with you,he is a great piston,i hope he come back for minimum when our team will be a contender again.
Great thread, i´m piston fan for isiah thomas,laimbeer and company for all my life,but i´m a great fan of Prince,he can play the most positions,he isn´t one specialist but is great player to a contender team, i have his swingman 22 number in blue red and white, despite he is not the best player of bad boys 2,he will be forever a piston,he has earned my respect, i hope i can say that of rodney stuckey next years.

OK what's this all about....Is he gone yet?

This NEVER EVER gets old. Still gives me the chills.

Even the red x is gone now.