| 1994–95 Detroit Pistons season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Don Chaney | ||
| General manager | Billy McKinney | ||
| Owners | William Davidson | ||
| Arena | The Palace of Auburn Hills | ||
| Results | |||
| Record | 28–54 (.341) | ||
| Place | Division: 7th (Central) Conference: 12th (Eastern) | ||
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify | ||
Stats atBasketball Reference | |||
| Local media | |||
| Television | WKBD-TV PASS Sports | ||
| Radio | WJR | ||
| |||
The1994–95 Detroit Pistons season was the 47th season for theDetroit Pistons in theNational Basketball Association, and their 38th season inDetroit, Michigan.[1] After finishing with a miserable 20–62 record the previous season, along with the retirements ofBill Laimbeer andIsiah Thomas, the Pistons received the third overall pick in the1994 NBA draft, and selected small forwardGrant Hill out ofDuke University.[2][3][4] The team also signed free agentsOliver Miller,[5][6][7]Johnny Dawkins,[8][9] andRafael Addison,[10] and acquiredMark West from thePhoenix Suns during the off-season.[5][7]
However, after a respectable 8–7 start to the regular season, the Pistons lost 13 of their next 14 games, which included an 8-game losing streak, as second-year guardLindsey Hunter only played just 42 games due to foot and ankle injuries,[11][12] and Dawkins was released to free agency after 50 games.[13] After holding a 17–29 record at the All-Star break,[14] the Pistons continued to struggle losing eight of their final nine games, finishing in last place in theCentral Division with a 28–54 record.[15]
Hill became an immediate fan favorite averaging 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and was named to theNBA All-Rookie First Team, and was also named the co-NBA Rookie of the Year along withJason Kidd of theDallas Mavericks,[16][17][18] whileJoe Dumars averaged 18.1 points and 5.5 assists per game, and contributed 103 three-point field goals. In addition,Terry Mills provided the team with 15.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while second-year guardAllan Houston showed improvement averaging 14.5 points per game, and leading the Pistons with 158 three-point field goals, and Miller averaged 8.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Addison contributed 8.3 points per game off the bench, but was released by the team to free agency shortly before the regular season had ended,[19] while Hunter contributed 7.5 points and 1.2 steals per game, and West provided with 7.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.[20]
During theNBA All-Star weekend at theAmerica West Arena inPhoenix, Arizona, Hill and Dumars were both selected for the1995 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team;[21][22][23] it was Hill's first ever All-Star appearance, as he also became the first rookie ever to lead in All-Star voting.[24][25][26] Houston finished in fifth place inMost Improved Player voting.[27][28]
The Pistons finished eighth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 719,090 atThe Palace of Auburn Hills during the regular season.[20][29] Following the season, Miller was left unprotected in the1995 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by theToronto Raptors expansion team,[30][31][32] and head coachDon Chaney was fired.[33][34]
For the season, the Pistons added new red alternate road uniforms with blue side panels, which would remain in use until the franchise's1996 teal-colored rebrand.[35]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Grant Hill | SF |  United States | Duke |
| 2 | 48 | Jevon Crudup | PF | United States | Missouri |
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Head coach Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Indiana Pacers | 52 | 30 | .634 | – | 33–8 | 19–22 | 18–10 |
| x-Charlotte Hornets | 50 | 32 | .610 | 2 | 29–12 | 21–20 | 17–11 |
| x-Chicago Bulls | 47 | 35 | .573 | 5 | 28–13 | 19–22 | 16–12 |
| x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 43 | 39 | .524 | 9 | 26–15 | 17–24 | 17–11 |
| x-Atlanta Hawks | 42 | 40 | .512 | 10 | 24–17 | 18–23 | 9–19 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 34 | 48 | .415 | 18 | 22–19 | 12–29 | 13–15 |
| Detroit Pistons | 28 | 54 | .341 | 24 | 22–19 | 6–35 | 8–20 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | c-Orlando Magic | 57 | 25 | .695 | – |
| 2 | y-Indiana Pacers | 52 | 30 | .634 | 5 |
| 3 | x-New York Knicks | 55 | 27 | .671 | 2 |
| 4 | x-Charlotte Hornets | 50 | 32 | .610 | 7 |
| 5 | x-Chicago Bulls | 47 | 35 | .573 | 10 |
| 6 | x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 43 | 39 | .524 | 14 |
| 7 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 42 | 40 | .512 | 15 |
| 8 | x-Boston Celtics | 35 | 47 | .427 | 22 |
| 9 | Milwaukee Bucks | 34 | 48 | .415 | 23 |
| 10 | Miami Heat | 32 | 50 | .390 | 25 |
| 11 | New Jersey Nets | 30 | 52 | .366 | 27 |
| 12 | Detroit Pistons | 28 | 54 | .341 | 29 |
| 13 | Philadelphia 76ers | 24 | 58 | .293 | 33 |
| 14 | Washington Bullets | 21 | 61 | .256 | 36 |
| 1994–95 game log Total: 28–54 (Home: 22–19; Road: 6–35) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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November: 7–6 (home: 5–2; road: 2–4)
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December: 2–11 (home: 1–5; road: 1–6)
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February: 6–8 (home: 6–1; road: 0–7)
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March: 5–11 (home: 3–5; road: 2–6)
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April: 3–9 (home: 3–2; road: 0–7)
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| 1994–95 schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Hill | 70 | 69 | 38.3 | .477 | .148 | .732 | 6.4 | 5.0 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 19.9 |
| Joe Dumars | 67 | 67 | 38.0 | .430 | .305 | .805 | 2.4 | 5.5 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 18.1 |
| Terry Mills | 72 | 69 | 34.9 | .447 | .382 | .799 | 7.8 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 15.5 |
| Allan Houston | 76 | 39 | 26.3 | .463 | .424 | .860 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 14.5 |
| Oliver Miller | 64 | 22 | 24.3 | .555 | .231 | .629 | 7.4 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 8.5 |
| Rafael Addison | 79 | 16 | 22.5 | .476 | .289 | .747 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 8.3 |
| Mark West | 67 | 58 | 23.0 | .556 | .478 | 6.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 7.5 | |
| Lindsey Hunter | 42 | 26 | 22.5 | .374 | .333 | .727 | 1.8 | 3.8 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 7.5 |
| Johnny Dawkins | 50 | 9 | 23.4 | .463 | .342 | .909 | 2.3 | 4.1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 6.5 |
| Mark Macon | 55 | 6 | 13.1 | .381 | .323 | .794 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 5.0 |
| Negele Knight | 44 | 17 | 15.1 | .392 | .393 | .667 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 4.1 |
| Eric Leckner | 57 | 11 | 10.9 | .527 | .000 | .708 | 3.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3.9 |
| Bill Curley | 53 | 1 | 11.2 | .433 | .750 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 2.7 | |
| Walter Bond | 5 | 0 | 10.2 | .250 | .250 | .750 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Mike Peplowski | 6 | 0 | 3.5 | 1.000 | .500 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.8 | |
| Ivano Newbill | 34 | 0 | 9.7 | .356 | .364 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.2 |
Player statistics citation:[20]
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| G League affiliate | |
| Retired numbers | |
| NBA championships | |
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| Culture and lore | |
