page_title: Richard Hamilton (basketball)
section_title: Three All-Star selections: 2006–2008
hierarchical_section_title: Richard Hamilton (basketball) / NBA career / Detroit Pistons (2002–2011) / Three All-Star selections: 2006–2008
caption_attribution_description: English: Richard Hamilton playing with the w:Detroit Pistons
context_page_description: Richard Clay "Rip" Hamilton is an American former professional basketball player. Hamilton played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association and is best known for his nine-year stint with the Detroit Pistons, where he was a three-time All-Star. He helped lead the Pistons to six straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances, back to back NBA Finals appearances, their best record in franchise history and the 2004 NBA championship.
  Born and raised in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, a suburb 40 miles west of Philadelphia, Hamilton played three years for the University of Connecticut. In his third and final year, Hamilton was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player en route to an upset NCAA Championship win over the favored Duke Blue Devils. He is the second-leading scorer in Connecticut Huskies history.
  Named a consensus first-team All-American, Hamilton decided to forgo his senior year and enter the NBA draft. Drafted seventh overall by the Washington Wizards where he would spend the next three seasons, Hamilton notably averaged 20 points per game starting next to Michael Jordan.
context_section_description: The 2005–06 season would prove to be another great one individually for Hamilton, as he averaged a career-high 20.1 points a game and earned his first All-Star Game selection. He also led the league in three-point field goal percentage with .458, as the Pistons excelled throughout the season and won a franchise-record 64 games. Detroit once again ran through the first round of the playoffs, against Milwaukee, with Hamilton scoring 40 points in the series-clinching fifth game. Up next were the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were led by forward LeBron James. The series reached seven games before the Pistons put away the younger Cavaliers. This set up a rematch with Miami, and while the Pistons had home court advantage they had no answer for the dominant play of Dwyane Wade, and lost in six games. Hamilton scored 33 points in game 6 and averaged 20.4 points in the 2006 Playoffs. Miami advanced to the Finals and won the NBA title. After the season, Ben Wallace signed with the Chicago Bulls, changing the dynamic of the Pistons' identity.
  During the 2006–07 season, on December 27, Hamilton scored a career-high 51 points with 19-for-37 field goal shooting in a 151–145 triple-overtime Pistons loss to the New York Knicks, becoming the first opposing player since Michael Jordan to score over 50 points at Madison Square Garden. Hamilton averaged 19.8 points during the season and was once again selected to represent the Eastern Conference at the 2007 NBA All-Star Game. The Pistons won 53 games, and swept the Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs before defeating Chicago and Wallace in the conference semifinals. This set up a rematch with the younger Cleveland Cavaliers team, but this time the Cavaliers peaked after the series tied at 2–2, and won the next two games to win the series. Hamilton averaged 18.8 points throughout the 2007 playoffs.
  With back-to-back losses in the conference finals and the rise of teams such as the Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, and Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons entered the 2007–08 season in unfamiliar territory. They were however able to win 59 games and still secure the Central Division title. Hamilton averaged 17.3 points a game for Detroit, and was selected as an All-Star for the third straight year. He also participated in the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout.
  The Pistons defeated Philadelphia in the first round before holding off the young Orlando Magic led by Dwight Howard, with Hamilton scoring 32 points in the 5th game and 31 points in the 6th game, as he surpassed Isiah Thomas as the Pistons' all-time leading scorer in the playoffs. Detroit advanced to their sixth straight appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals, but fell to the Boston Celtics in six games. After the loss, Joe Dumars acknowledged it was probably the end of an era, signaling the team's impending changes. Indeed, changes began immediately when Flip Saunders was dismissed as head coach, despite the best winning percentage in Pistons history.
caption: Hamilton dunks the basketball in 2008
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