[xstreaminsanity]

This may not be a popular pick with the way the Pistons have been playing the last few years, but my favorite professional athlete is Joe Dumars.

He doesn't have many awards and accolades to show, but that's one of the things I admire most about him. He came from a small town and small school in Louisiana and was drafted by the Pistons (I believe the first from his town). Within four years, the Pistons won the first of back to back championships. He was always a floor general, showing everyone where they should be without being arrogant or overly abrasive. He's always been a likable and humble guy. So humble and likable that they created the Sportsmanship award after him. When they made that announcement, I was almost in tears (I think they made that announcement at his retirement). One of my favorite moments, and I wish I remembered what year let alone what game, I remember Joe hitting a three at half time from half court with two defenders on him.

One of the things I also like about him most is for his unrelenting work ethic and his ability to stop who some (not me, lol) consider the greatest to ever play the game, Michael Jordan. No, he didn't stop him to the tune of only getting 15 pts a game, but his stats were noticeably less when Joe defended him. Michael has even said multiple times that the team he hated to go up against the most was the Pistons and more so Joe D. And Joe would never gloat through the media, on the court or anything like that. He was always thinking about the next play, not celebrating (he did, occasionally, when they won championships). He's a great role model.

Now, onto the business side of things, when you have the owner talking to you before you retire that they want to make you the President of an Organization, that says something right there. They didn't say that to Isiah when he retired, nor Bill Laimbeer. Now, everyone may think he was stupid for drafting Darko instead of Melo or Wade. However, I think it was a smart decision. I have nothing against Melo or Wade, but I understood his thinking. Joe was from blue collar roots and played for a blue collar team and wanted to build a blue collar team. He had already brought in Chucky Atkins and Ben Wallace in the trade involving Grant Hill, then he picked up Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups. He drafted Darko and everyone thought that was a mistake. Midseason trade for Rasheed Wallace and we win the championship that year. The Pistons have the same number of championships as Wade does (more than Melo) and just like Miami last year, had a very close shot for a second in 2005 (took SA down to 7 games). People are also upset at him for the Pistons down hill slide since 2008-09, but I can't fully put the blame on him. Ben leaving for money, Stuckey not fitting with Iverson (I understood the Chauncey trade, but it didn't work, hindsight is 20/20), major injuries to Hamilton, Gordon (first major injury of his career, involving a touchy area - ankle), and Villanueva (wasn't fond of signing him from the get go), the owner dying and the club being in limbo of being sold. The only thing I didn't like that Joe did, though I was willing to give it a chance, was hiring Curry and then Kuester as coaches. But I think Frank was a good hire. I think Knight and Monroe were great picks. I think resigning Tayshaun, Jerebko and surprisingly Stuckey were good moves. We finished the season 21-21 after a horrid 4-20 start. Teams have to rebuild at times, and I like his ethic of doing it the right way.

Sorry for how long that got and WAY off topic, but I like Joe D's focus, determination, humbleness, characters and vision. I will always look at him as my favorite professional athlete and favorite professional.

Thanks for the contest.