With a sad, shuddering halt, the 2015-16 Detroit Pistons season has come to an end. It was a tumultuous season, the many highs and lows made bearable and worth it all because of the great people who offer their valuable opinions and insights onto this great site through the comments.
This season was easily the best Pistons season in recent memory, and it's been a pleasure to share it with you all. From the formation of new memes like Circus Bear Lobster Claws to Blake Mamba and the Stanimalistic Urges of Stan Van Bower, to new faces and new saviors, we have a lot of people to thank.
But first, we must remember that it wasn't always a happy year, and everything else pales in comparison to losing one of your own. I haven't been a member of DBB for long compared to some others, but the feelings I experienced upon hearing the news of the passing of Ron Marshall were akin to losing a family member, because this is a family. Ron will be missed on DBB, from his Emma Stone gifs to ludicrous 12 team trade propositions. You knew that when you saw the line, "could I tempt you with this?" followed by an exceptionally long winded essay about 34 different players and intricate trade SCENAIOS, you knew Ron's name would be at the bottom of the comment. Farewell Ron, may the Emma Stone gifs and confusing trades live on in your memory.
And now, to the men who keep this site running in tip top condition on the daily. Packey has been here from day dot, and his unwavering commitment to the site meant that nothing changed, and it was better than ever, even after losing the overlord Matt Watson earlier in the year to bigger and better things.
To all the editors who make sure our incoherent ramblings are more tolerable for the greater masses, to the likes of lazchance, Steve Hinson, Ben Gulker, Kevin Sanders, Hypnowheel and Sean Corp. Their watchful eyes make sure nothing is out of place, the Us are taken out of words like favourite and defence is spelled with an S (usually).
To all the writers who scour the interwebs to bring you the latest in hot takes and roomers, never missing a story because writing about the Pistons for free is way cooler than being productive at your paying job. I speak, of course, mostly of guys like Jason Brunskowski and Vincent Diringer.
But wait, there's way more staffers than that. Well the 2015-16 season was a year of tremendous growth for the site, with many valued community members making the leap from commenters to writers and editors, to further stamp their influence on the site. This season saw the debuts of lazchance, Prava88, Jamie Delancey, mophatt1, J Parker Pool, Devin Jones, Christopher Daniels, Jacob Kuyvenhoven, Justin Lambregtse and GM26 in prominent roles on the website, and I think I speak for all when I say the quality of work brought by all has greatly improved the blog.
A couple of special appreciations now. Firstly to David Fernandez, the site's Facebook manager. David joined us at the start of the season when our official Facebook page had about 30,000 likes. Through David's great work ensuring that all our content was distributed to a wider range of audiences through his careful management, our following grew to over 95,000 likes at the time of writing. Outstanding stuff.
Secondly, to the man behind the DBB podcasts, Jordan Bellant, who brought a touch of professionalism and efficiency to the craft. Volunteering his own time and effort, he along with Ben Gulker and numerous site members have enhanced the quality of our podcast, and enabled it to be an almost weekly edition, and I know that many of you eagerly await the next episode (which is coming soon).
But where would we all be without the one common desire bringing us all together? Our beloved Detroit Pistons. A blanket appreciation will not do it justice.
To Stan Van Gundy, thank you for your unwavering passion and dedication to the job. Thank you for transforming the team from a joke to a future force for years to come. Thank you for dropping the hottest mixtape of the season. Thank you.
To Jeff Bower, thank you for your expertise and experience in the trade room. Thank you for fleecing other teams and making Stan look good. Thank you for Marcus Morris. Thank you for Reggie Bullock. Thank you for Tobias Harris. Thank you.
To Reggie Jackson, thank you for embodying the mentality of Detroit. Thank you for being a star on the offensive end. Thank you for 19 points and 6 assists. Thank you for defending the team and the city when everyone else kicked it. Thank you for 40 points vs. Portland. Thank you for leading this team back to the playoffs. Thank you.
To Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, thank you for your unrelenting energy. Thank you for being able to play some of the biggest minutes in the league and never look exhausted. Thank you for your lock-down defense. Thank you for your quiet determination and fire. Thank you.
To Marcus Morris, thank you for being one of the best value contracts in the league. Thank you for embracing the city as your own. Thank you for using your trade disappointment to have the best season of your career. Thank you for your incredible hot stretch at the end of the season. Thank you.
To Tobias Harris, thank you for fitting in seamlessly. Thank you for your versatility on offense. Thank you for being one of the most upstanding young men in the league. Thank you for your efforts in a tough situation after a mid season trade. Thank you.
To Andre Drummond, thank you for being a beast. Thank you for being our first real All-Star since Chauncey Billups. Thank you for leading the league in rebounding. Thank you for scaring other teams so much they resort to lazy tactics to have you benched. You earned your max contract. Thank you.
To Steve Blake, thank you for being a professional. Thank you for trying your hardest despite the criticism you received from fans and foes alike. Thank you for your veteran presence and calmness. Thank you for your low key "I will not hesitate to kill you" toughness. Thank you.
To Stanley Johnson, thank you for wanting to play for Detroit. Thank you for not backing down from LeBron in the playoffs, and not caring what anyone else said. Thank you for being a man despite only being 19. Thank you for being a hope for the toughness of Detroit basketball for the future. Thank you.
To Anthony Tolliver, thank you for your unwavering commitment to the Pistons. Thank you for your relentless positivity and team spirit. Thank you for your endless bench celebrations. Thank you for your mechanical three-point shooting. Thank you for your sneaky shot-blocking ability. Thank you.
To Aron Baynes, thank you for being an absolute man-mountain. Thank you for banging down low and never getting beaten physically. Thank you for your ability to hit free throws. Thank you for your head rubs and lobster claws. Thank you for being Dre's mentor. Thank you.
To Spencer Dinwiddie, thank you for being involved with the team despite lack of playing time. Thank you for your versatility and length. Thank you for your low turnover ratio. Thank you for your glorious mustache. Thank you.
To Reggie Bullock, thank you for being a throw in with Marcus. Thank you for proving you were better than that. Thank you for your amazing hot stretch at the end of the season. Thank you for showing how all someone needs is an opportunity. Thank you for your three point shooting. Thank you.
To Darrun Hilliard, thank you for being the best cheerleader on the team. Thank you for your play-making ability from the shooting guard position. Thank you for your flashes of hope. Thank you for your toughness inside. Thank you for believing you were more than what they thought of you at the draft. Thank you.
To Jodie Meeks, thank you for never giving up. Thank you for your patience and professionalism in what must have been an exceptionally difficult time. Thank you for your persistent off ball movement and deadly shooting. Thank you.
To Joel Anthony, thank you for your ultimate professionalism. Thank you for being the calming influence for the younger guys. Thank you for your championship pedigree. Thank you for your amazing shot-blocking ability. Thank you for blocking 8 shots vs. Cleveland. Thank you.
To Justin Harper, thank you for that glorious week where you went super saiyan from three. Thank you for providing depth to help us stay afloat through injuries. Thank you.
To Lorenzo Brown, thank you for experiencing the playoffs with us. Thank you for providing insurance against injury. Thank you for signing on for a shot at being here next season. Thank you.
To Brandon Jennings, thank you for $WAG. Thank you for being the greatest presence to grace the team this season. Thank you for your ridiculous bench celebrations. Thank you for your resilience coming back from injury. Thank you for one last backboard alley-oop to Dre. Thank you for playing behind Reggie. Thank you for your streaky shooting and incredible passing. Thank you for your ridiculous handles. Thank you for netting us Tobias Harris. Thank you.
To Ersan Ilyasova, thank you for your three point sniper proficiency. Thank you for cashing so many miles on your charge card. Thank you for always putting your body on the line despite your injury history. Thank you for staying healthy throughout your time as a Piston. Thank you for helping us land Tobias Harris. Thank you.
And finally, and most importantly, thanks to you, the readers and commenters. Without the knowledge that you guys look to us first for all the best Pistons news, there'd be no motivation to keep churning out the content. You guys are the driving force behind this blog, and that will never change. This is a blog about the Pistons, by Pistons fans, for Pistons fans.
2015-16 was a great season. We broke our playoff drought, finally saw an All-Star and experienced some exceptional growth as a team. We got better players, lost some fan favorites and nearly franchise legend future 18th pick. We expanded our staff, but lost one of our own. It's been an incredibly turbulent year, but an enjoyable one nonetheless. We'll still have extensive coverage in the next few weeks, including reviewing each player's season and how they contributed (make sure to look out for the KCP one, it's great stuff), as well as coverage on the draft, free agency and summer league. You probably won't miss the lack of lottery posts this year (thank heavens), and we definitely won't miss posting them.
It's been a great year, and I can't wait for next season to do it all over again.
[Editor's Note: Thank you, Ben Q, for being one of our two awesome Aussies on staff. Thank you always for your passionate and insightful writing and specifically for this heartfelt article, which I think speaks for everyone on staff. Thank you for your youthful exuberance and for your undeterred hopefulness to one day sign a contract to play guard for our Detroit Pistons. Thank you. Love, One of your Watchful Eyes]