The Detroit Pistons are owned by Tom Gores, the founder and CEO of the private equity firm Platinum Equity.
Gores purchased the franchise in 2011 and has been the controlling owner ever since, guiding the team through a difficult rebuilding stretch and now a rapid return to playoff contention behind young star Cade Cunningham.
Ownership questions around NBA franchises tend to surface whenever a team struggles for years or suddenly surges, and the Pistons have done both under Gores.
This guide breaks down who controls the team today, how that ownership came to be, what the franchise is worth heading into the 2026 season, and whether a sale is realistically on the table.
| Owner | Tom Gores |
| Ownership Group | Platinum Equity (majority control) |
| Purchased | 2011, reported price of 325 million dollars |
| Previous Owner | Karen Davidson, widow of William Davidson |
| Franchise Founded | 1937, as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons |
| Home Arena | Little Caesars Arena, Detroit |
| Practice Facility | Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center, Midtown Detroit |
| Forbes Valuation | 3.65 billion dollars, October 2025 estimate |
Table of Contents
Who Is Tom Gores
Tom Gores is a businessman who grew up in Flint, Michigan, after his family moved from Nazareth, Israel when he was a young child.
He built his fortune through Platinum Equity, a private equity firm he founded in 1995 that buys and operates companies across many industries.
According to Forbes, Gores is a billionaire many times over, and the Pistons purchase gave him a marquee civic asset in the state where he was raised.
Beyond basketball, Gores also holds a minority stake in the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers, an investment he made in 2015.
That stake sits alongside his Pistons ownership as part of a broader sports portfolio, though the Pistons remain his primary and controlling franchise.
Ownership Structure
Tom Gores holds majority control of the Detroit Pistons through his ownership vehicle tied to Platinum Equity.
The private equity firm Gores founded provides the financial backbone and operational structure behind the ownership group.
The league office and Board of Governors approved the 2011 purchase and continue to oversee franchise governance rules.
Detroit Pistons Ownership Timeline
Fred Zollner establishes the team in Fort Wayne, Indiana, naming it for the pistons made by his manufacturing company.
The franchise relocates from Fort Wayne to Detroit and adopts the Detroit Pistons name it carries today.
Businessman William Davidson acquires the Pistons and later builds the franchise into back to back NBA champions.
William Davidson dies and control of the franchise passes to his widow, Karen Davidson.
Gores completes a purchase reported at 325 million dollars, and the NBA Board of Governors approves the sale that May.
The Pistons leave the Palace of Auburn Hills and relocate downtown to the newly built Little Caesars Arena.
The Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center opens in Midtown, giving the franchise a modern training base and headquarters.
Forbes values the Pistons at roughly 3.65 billion dollars, more than double their valuation from just a few seasons earlier.
How Tom Gores Ended Up Owning The Pistons
The path to Gores ownership starts with Fred Zollner, who founded the franchise in 1937 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and later moved it to Detroit in 1957.
William Davidson took over in 1974 and remained the principal owner until his death in 2009, presiding over two NBA championships along the way.
His widow, Karen Davidson, held the franchise afterward before agreeing to sell.
Tom Gores completed his purchase of the Pistons in 2011, with the NBA Board of Governors granting unanimous approval that spring.
The deal, reported at roughly 325 million dollars according to Wikipedia, also included the Palace of Auburn Hills, the team’s arena at the time.
Is Tom Gores A Good Owner
Opinions on Gores among Pistons fans have shifted noticeably over the years.
For a long stretch, the franchise posted some of the worst records in the league, including a historically bad 2023 to 2024 season, and critics questioned whether Gores was committed enough to winning.
He also drew scrutiny for his broader business dealings at Platinum Equity, which a nonprofit group once cited while pushing him to sell the team.
The tone has changed considerably since the 2024 to 2025 season, when the Pistons returned to the playoffs behind Cade Cunningham and a retooled front office.
Gores invested heavily in the roster and coaching staff, and the on court turnaround has softened much of the earlier criticism.
Whether that goodwill holds depends on whether Detroit can sustain its progress into the 2026 to 2027 season.
Are The Pistons For Sale In 2026
There is no indication that the Pistons are for sale in 2026.
Gores has repeatedly stated he intends to keep the franchise, and reporting from outlets like Front Office Sports has framed him as committed to the long term project of rebuilding the team rather than exiting.
With the Pistons trending upward on the court and their valuation climbing sharply, a sale looks unlikely in the near term.
That said, NBA ownership situations can shift quickly, and Gores has shown a willingness to invest in other franchises, including his minority stake in the Chargers.
For now, all public signals point toward continued Gores control of the Pistons rather than a change in the majority owner.
What The Pistons Are Worth Today
Forbes pegged the Pistons at roughly 3.65 billion dollars in its most recent NBA valuations, placing the franchise near the bottom of the league’s rankings but still representing enormous growth.
That figure is more than double what the team was worth just a handful of years ago, driven largely by the league wide surge in media rights value and the Pistons return to competitiveness.
For context on how that stacks up across professional sports, see how team valuations and league governance work in our breakdown of who owns the NFL, which explains how individual franchise owners fit into a larger league structure similar to the NBA.
Cade Cunningham And The Roster Around Him
Point guard Cade Cunningham has become the centerpiece of the Pistons turnaround, and his rise has been closely tied to how ownership and management have chosen to build the roster.
Cunningham even branched out beyond basketball in February 2026, purchasing a minority ownership stake in Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers, a move reported by ESPN.
That investment reflects a broader trend of athletes acquiring ownership stakes in other franchises, a pattern also seen with team owners like Gores himself.
It also signals confidence in Cunningham’s long term financial security and his commitment to staying in Detroit as the Pistons continue building around him.
Little Caesars Arena And The Move Downtown
One of the defining moves of the Gores ownership era was relocating the Pistons from the suburban Palace of Auburn Hills to Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit in 2017.
The arena is owned by the city of Detroit and shared with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, and the relocation reunited the Pistons with the city’s other major professional sports teams for the first time in decades.
Two years later, Gores backed construction of the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center in Midtown, giving the organization one of the largest and most modern practice facilities in the league along with a corporate headquarters in the same building.
How Pistons Ownership Compares To Other NBA Teams
Like most NBA franchises, the Pistons operate under a single controlling owner model rather than the publicly traded structure sometimes seen elsewhere in sports and media.
That single owner setup gives Gores broad authority over front office decisions, arena deals, and long term franchise strategy, subject to NBA Board of Governors approval on major transactions such as a sale or relocation.
Readers curious about how ownership structures differ across major organizations may also want to review our guide on who owns Paramount, which covers a publicly traded media company with a very different governance model than a single owner NBA franchise.
Heading into the 2026 to 2027 season, the Pistons appear positioned for continued stability under Gores rather than any imminent ownership change.
The combination of a young core led by Cunningham, a state of the art practice facility, and a downtown arena gives the franchise the infrastructure of a long term contender rather than a team searching for direction.
Whether Gores eventually brings in outside investors to raise capital, as some NBA owners have done amid the league’s rising valuations, remains an open question.
For now, the franchise remains fully under his control, with no formal sale process reported anywhere in credible sports business coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns the Detroit Pistons in 2026
Tom Gores, founder and CEO of Platinum Equity, owns the Detroit Pistons.
He purchased the team in 2011 and remains the controlling owner heading into the 2026 to 2027 season.
How much did Tom Gores pay for the Pistons
Reports place the 2011 purchase price at roughly 325 million dollars, a figure that also covered the Palace of Auburn Hills, the arena the team played in at the time.
What is the Detroit Pistons Forbes valuation
Forbes valued the Pistons at approximately 3.65 billion dollars in its most recent NBA franchise rankings, a sharp increase from the team’s valuation just a few years prior.
Are the Pistons for sale
No credible reporting indicates the Pistons are currently for sale.
Tom Gores has publicly stated his intent to remain the owner, and the franchise’s improving performance and valuation make a sale even less likely in the near term.
I am Jack Neel, a mechanical engineer, researcher, and writer. I created this website to share my knowledge about different brands and products with you. I research the manufacturers behind the brands and provide you with the information you need to make smart buying decisions.