Encyclopedia Of Detroit

Dave DeBusschere, the youngest coach in National Basketball Association (NBA) history as player-coach for the Detroit Pistons, was nicknamed the “Big D” for his defensive skills. Spending most of his career with the New York Knicks, he made an indelible impression on the city where he debuted his basketball career and was named as one of the 50^th great players in the NBA’s first 50 years.

DeBusschere was born in Detroit on October 16, 1940. As a student at Austin Catholic Preparatory School on the city’s east side he excelled at both basketball and baseball, leading the basketball team to a state championship, and as a pitcher leading the baseball team to a city championship. He went on to the University of Detroit where he continued in both sports, playing in NCAA tournaments for each. 

After his 1962 graduation DeBusschere continued pursuing the two sports, signing with the Chicago White Sox for a $75,000 bonus and landing a $15,000 contract with the Detroit Pistons. His baseball career lasted four seasons. During his time with the White Sox as a right-handed pitcher from 1962-63, he earned a 2.90 ERA, and in the minors his win-loss record was 40-21. After 1965, he quit baseball to focus on his basketball career.

During his first season with the Detroit Pistons in 1962-63, he averaged 12.7 points per game, made the NBA All-Rookie team and was part of the NBA playoffs. The following year a broken leg kept him out of all but 15 games, the team winning only 23 games, and in the 1964-65 season, when he was named player-coach, the slump continued. His stint as player-coach was not successful, with an overall record of 79-143. In 1967 he became a full-time player and in 1968 was traded to the New York Knicks. He played 440 games with the Detroit Pistons.

DeBusschere was a crucial player in the 1970 and 1973 championships over the LA Lakers. He was noted for his aggressive, working-class approach as both a 6’6” small forward and power forward who was on six All-Defensive teams in a row. He retired from playing basketball in 1974 and moved to the front office becoming general manager of the New York Nets in the American Basketball Association (ABA). Later he was commissioner of the ABA and played a role in its 1976 merger with the NBA.

Though he left basketball for the private sector in 1976 he returned in 1982 to become general manager of the Knicks until 1986. In 1983 he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and was posthumously named to its 75^th anniversary team in 2021. He authored a book called The Open Man: the Championship Diary of the N.Y. Knicks in 1970.

Dave DeBusschere died of a heart attack on May 14, 2003 at age 62 leaving his wife Gerri and three children.