Sports / Business & brands
Derrick Coleman
born 1967 · basketball player, entrepreneur
Syracuse star raised in Detroit who returned late in his career to play for the Pistons, then came home for good as a local developer and Flint water crisis volunteer.
- Born
Mobile, Alabama
age 59- Birth name
- Derrick Demetrius Coleman
- Detroit years
- 1970s–1980s, 2004, 2010–
- Field
- Sports, Business & brands
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Derrick Coleman was born in Mobile, Alabama, but grew up and went to high school in Detroit before starring at Syracuse and becoming the No. 1 pick in the 1990 NBA draft. After a star-crossed career, mostly with the New Jersey Nets, Detroit brought him back in a 2004 trade; he was among nine players suspended for the infamous Pacers–Pistons brawl that November. Coleman retired soon after and, by the mid-2000s, was working as a developer and entrepreneur back in his hometown. He moved permanently to Detroit in 2010, and when the Flint water crisis broke, he drove sixty-five miles each day to deliver clean water and supplies to residents who had none.
Highlights
- Grew up and attended high school in Detroit
- Traded to the Pistons in 2004
- Suspended for his role in the November 2004 Pacers–Pistons brawl
- Moved back to Detroit permanently in 2010 and became a local developer
- Drove daily to Flint to deliver water during its water crisis
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Played here · 2004
The Palace of Auburn Hills
Demolished · 1988–2017
Where he played for the Pistons after his 2004 trade back to Detroit.