Detroit Pistons (2012–2020) 2012–15: Rookie season and first double-double seasons in October 2013 Drummond was selected by the
Detroit Pistons with the ninth overall pick in the
2012 NBA draft. In his rookie season, Drummond averaged 7.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.0 steal and 1.6 blocks in 20.7 minutes per game. On May 14, 2013, he was named to the
2012–13 NBA All-Rookie Second Team. He also finished fourth in NBA Rookie of the Year voting. On January 24, 2014, Drummond recorded a then career-high 20 rebounds to go with 20 points in a loss to the
New Orleans Pelicans. On February 14, Drummond scored 30 points and an
NBA Rising Stars Challenge record 25 rebounds, and was named the MVP of the event. On March 3, Drummond recorded 17 points and a then career-high 26 rebounds in a win over the
New York Knicks. On March 11, 2015, Drummond recorded 22 points and a season-high 25 rebounds in a loss to the
Golden State Warriors. This was Drummond's fourth 20-point, 20-rebound game over the previous two seasons, the most in the NBA in that time span. On March 29, Drummond recorded a then career-high 32 points in a loss to the
Miami Heat.
2015–17: First All-Star selection and rebounding title Drummond recorded
double-doubles in each of the Pistons' first three games of the
2015–16 season, helping lead the team to an NBA-tying-best 3–0 record for the first time since the
2008–09 season. He became the first Pistons player to record three consecutive double-doubles to start the season since
Ben Wallace in
2004–05. He was subsequently named the Eastern Conference
Player of the Week for the first week of the season, becoming the first Piston to win the award since
Rodney Stuckey did so in December 2009. On November 3, Drummond recorded 25 points and a career-high 29 rebounds in a loss to the
Indiana Pacers, becoming the first Piston with back-to-back 20/20 games since 1985. On November 8, he recorded 29 points and 27 rebounds in a win over the
Portland Trail Blazers, joining
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and
Wilt Chamberlain as the only players with three 20/20 games in the first six games of a season. He was subsequently named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second week of the season, becoming the first Piston to win player of the week in consecutive weeks, and the first player to win the award in the first two weeks of the season since
LeBron James in
2011–12. On November 21, Drummond's streak of 11 consecutive double-doubles to begin the season came to an end. This was the longest streak by a Piston since
Dave DeBusschere recorded 13 consecutive double-doubles in
1966–67. On December 18, Drummond recorded 21 rebounds and a career-high 33 points in a 147–144 quadruple-overtime win over the
Chicago Bulls. He became the first Pistons player with at least 30 points and 20 rebounds in a game since
Dennis Rodman in
1990–91. On January 20, 2016, Drummond set an NBA record for free throws missed in a game with 23, surpassing the previous record of 22 set by Wilt Chamberlain on December 1, 1967. He also set a career high and franchise record by attempting 36 free throws. On January 28, Drummond earned his first
NBA All-Star Game selection as a reserve for the Eastern Conference in the
2016 NBA All-Star Game. During the All-Star weekend, he also participated in the
Slam Dunk Contest. On February 27, he recorded his league-leading 50th double-double of the season with 15 points and 17 rebounds in a 102–91 win over the
Milwaukee Bucks. On March 2, Drummond recorded nine points and 14 rebounds against the San Antonio Spurs, ending his career high and the league's season high of consecutive double-doubles at 13 straight. The Pistons finished the regular season as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 44–38 record, earning a playoff berth for the first time since 2009. They went on to be swept in their first-round match-up against the eventual NBA champions, the
Cleveland Cavaliers, in a highly competitive series. On July 15, 2016, Drummond re-signed with the Pistons on a five-year, $130 million contract. On October 30, he recorded 20 points and 23 rebounds in a 98–83 win over the
Milwaukee Bucks, setting his 10th career game with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. With 20 points and 17 rebounds on November 19 against the
Boston Celtics, Drummond reached 4,000 career rebounds. At 23 years and 101 days, he became the second-youngest player to reach the milestone, trailing only
Dwight Howard (22 years, 129 days). On December 7, he recorded a season-high 26 points and 20 rebounds in an 87–77 loss to the
Charlotte Hornets. On March 17, 2017, he grabbed 22 rebounds in an 87–75 loss to the
Toronto Raptors. It was the 34th time he had 20 rebounds in a game, including seven in 2016–17.
2017–20: Second All-Star selection and consecutive rebounding titles On October 23, 2017, Drummond recorded 14 points and 14 rebounds in a 97–86 loss to the
Philadelphia 76ers. He moved into sixth place on Detroit's career rebounding list, passing
Walter Dukes. Two days later, in a 122–101 win over the
Minnesota Timberwolves, Drummond recorded his 5,000th career rebound in the first quarter, becoming the sixth Pistons player to reach that total. At 24 years, 76 days, he became the second-youngest player to reach the milestone, trailing only
Dwight Howard (23 years, 112 days). On November 10, he recorded 16 points, 20 rebounds and a then career-high seven assists in a 111–104 win over the
Atlanta Hawks, moving the Pistons to a 9–3 record—their best start to a season since the 2005–06 season. Drummond went on to become the first player to grab at least 200 rebounds in the first 13 games of two different seasons since
Dennis Rodman did it three times for three different teams in the 1990s. On November 27, he recorded season highs of 26 points and 22 rebounds in a 118–108 win over the
Boston Celtics. He also had six assists and four steals, becoming the first player with that many points, rebounds, assists and steals since
Charles Barkley in January 1990. On December 14, Drummond recorded 12 points, 19 rebounds and a career-high eight assists in a 105–91 win over the
Atlanta Hawks. On January 24, Drummond recorded 30 points, 24 rebounds, six blocked shots, four assists and three steals in a 98–95 overtime loss to the
Utah Jazz. He became the first player to record such stats in a game since 1973–74, when the NBA first began to record blocks and steals. On January 30, he was named as a replacement for
John Wall in the
2018 NBA All-Star Game. On February 3, he recorded 23 points, 20 rebounds, four steals and four blocks in a 111–107 win over the
Miami Heat. Drummond had at least 20 points and 20 rebounds for the sixth time in 2017–18 and became the first player with at least 20 points, 20 rebounds, four steals and four blocks since
Hakeem Olajuwon on December 22, 1989. Four days later, he recorded 17 points and a season-high 27 rebounds in a 115–106 win over the
Brooklyn Nets. On March 29, he recorded 24 points and 23 rebounds in a 103–92 win over the
Washington Wizards. It was his 20th 20/20 game of his career, the most of any NBA player since he joined the league in 2012. Drummond concluded the regular season averaging 16 rebounds per game, becoming the first player since Rodman in 1997 to average 16 rebounds per game in a season and only the second player in the last 40 years. On November 5, 2018, Drummond recorded 25 points and 24 rebounds in a 120–115 overtime loss to the
Miami Heat. On January 31, Drummond recorded 24 points and 20 rebounds in a 93–89 victory over the
Dallas Mavericks. During the game, he became the Pistons' all-time career leader in offensive rebounds with 2,431, surpassing the previous record held by
Bill Laimbeer. On February 8, he had his ninth 20/20 game of the season with 29 points and 20 rebounds in a 120–103 win over the
New York Knicks. On February 11, Drummond scored a season-high 32 points against the
Washington Wizards. On March 8, he recorded 20 points and 24 rebounds, including 14 points and 18 rebounds in the second half, to help the Pistons overcome a 21-point deficit in a 112–104 victory over the
Chicago Bulls. This was Drummond's league-leading 11th 20/20 game of the season. He was subsequently named the
Eastern Conference Player of the Week. He averaged 22.3 points (67% FG), 18.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game in three games. On March 11 against the
Brooklyn Nets, Drummond's 19th straight double-double tied him with
Bob Lanier (1974–75) for the longest such streak in Pistons' team history. His streak was snapped two days later when he had five points and nine rebounds against the Heat. Later that month, he reached 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 100 blocks and 100 steals for the fourth season of his career, the most in NBA history since steals and blocks were first recorded in the 1973–74 season. In April, he broke his own single-season franchise record with his 67th double-double. Drummond began the 2019–20 season with 32 points and 23 rebounds in a win over the
Indiana Pacers, joining
Charles Barkley (1992) and
George McGinnis (1977) as the only players with a 30-point and 20-rebound game in the season opener since the merger.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2020–2021) On February 6, 2020, the Pistons traded Drummond to the
Cleveland Cavaliers, in exchange for
Brandon Knight,
John Henson, and a 2023 second-round draft pick. On March 26, 2021, the Cavaliers reached a buy-out with Drummond.
Los Angeles Lakers (2021) On March 28, 2021, Drummond signed a 1-year contract worth $794,536 with the
Los Angeles Lakers, adding an offensive boost to a team without injured stars
LeBron James and
Anthony Davis. With the Lakers, he played 21 games—all starts—and averaged 11.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 24 minutes per game. Although healthy, he did not play in Game 6 in the first round of the playoffs against the
Phoenix Suns, when the Lakers were eliminated 4–2.
Philadelphia 76ers (2021–2022) On August 4, 2021, Drummond signed a one-year contract worth $2.4 million veteran's minimum contract with the
Philadelphia 76ers.
Brooklyn Nets (2022) On February 10, 2022, Drummond was traded, along with
Ben Simmons,
Seth Curry and two future first-round picks, to the
Brooklyn Nets in exchange for
James Harden and
Paul Millsap. On February 14, in his debut for the Nets, Drummond recorded 11 points and nine rebounds in a 109–85 win against the
Sacramento Kings to help his new team end an 11-game losing streak. On February 23, Drummond changed his number from 4 to 0 since
Jevon Carter was waived.
Chicago Bulls (2022–2024) On July 6, 2022, Drummond signed a two-year, $6.6 million contract with the
Chicago Bulls. On June 29, 2023, Drummond exercised his player option with the
Chicago Bulls. On November 6, 2023, in a game against the
Utah Jazz, Drummond recorded his 10,000th career rebound. On December 26, Drummond started in place of an injured
Nikola Vučević and recorded 24 points and 25 rebounds as the Bulls defeated the
Atlanta Hawks 118–113. On February 8, 2024, the NBA fined Drummond for an inappropriate gesture.
Second stint with 76ers (2024–present) On July 7, 2024, Drummond signed a two-year, $10 million contract to return to the
Philadelphia 76ers. On March 3, 2025, Drummond recorded 25 points and 18 rebounds in a 102–119 loss to the
Portland Trail Blazers. ==National team career==