| 1996–97 Detroit Pistons season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Doug Collins | ||
| General manager | Rick Sund | ||
| Owner | Bill Davidson | ||
| Arena | The Palace of Auburn Hills | ||
| Results | |||
| Record | 54–28 (.659) | ||
| Place | Division: 3rd (Central) Conference: 5th (Eastern) | ||
| Playoff finish | First round (lost toHawks 2–3) | ||
Stats atBasketball Reference | |||
| Local media | |||
| Television | WKBD-TV PASS Sports | ||
| Radio | WDFN | ||
| |||
The1996–97 Detroit Pistons season was the 49th season for theDetroit Pistons in theNational Basketball Association, and their 40th season inDetroit, Michigan.[1] During the off-season, the Pistons acquiredStacey Augmon andGrant Long from theAtlanta Hawks,[2][3][4] and re-signed free agent and former "Bad Boy"Rick Mahorn, who was a member of the championship team that defeated theLos Angeles Lakers in the1989 NBA Finals.[5][6][7] The team also signed three-point specialistKenny Smith, who won two NBA championships with theHouston Rockets, but was released to free agency in November after nine games.[8][9]
The Pistons got off to a fast start by winning ten of their first eleven games of the regular season,[10] on their way to a 20–4 start,[11] and later holding a 34–12 record at the All-Star break.[12] At mid-season, the team traded Augmon to thePortland Trail Blazers in exchange forAaron McKie.[13][14][15] Despite their successful start, the Pistons struggled a bit down the stretch posting a 20–16 record for the remainder of the season, losing six of their final nine games. The Pistons finished in third place in theCentral Division with a 54–28 record, and earned the fifth seed in theEastern Conference; this was also the team's first 50-win season since the1990–91 season, and would be their last until the2001–02 season.[16]
Grant Hill averaged 21.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and was named to theAll-NBA First Team, whileJoe Dumars averaged 14.7 points and 4.0 assists per game, and contributed 166 three-point field goals. In addition,Lindsey Hunter showed improvement averaging 14.2 points and 1.6 steals per game, along with 166 three-point field goals, whileOtis Thorpe provided the team with 13.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, and sixth manTerry Mills contributed 10.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, and led the Pistons with 175 three-point field goals off the bench. Meanwhile, second-year centerTheo Ratliff averaged 5.8 points and 1.5 blocks per game, and Long provided with 5.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.[17]
During theNBA All-Star weekend at theGund Arena inCleveland, Ohio, Hill and Dumars were both selected for the1997 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, while head coachDoug Collins was selected to coach the Eastern Conference; it was Dumars' sixth and final All-Star appearance.[18][19][20] Meanwhile, Mills participated in theNBA Three-Point Shootout.[18][21] Hill also finished in third place inMost Valuable Player voting, behindKarl Malone of theUtah Jazz, andMichael Jordan of theChicago Bulls,[22][23] while Dumars finished tied in sixth place inDefensive Player of the Year voting,[23] Hunter finished in seventh place inMost Improved Player voting,[23] Mills finished in fourth place inSixth Man of the Year voting,[24][23] and Collins finished in fifth place inCoach of the Year voting.[23]
In the Eastern Conference First Round of the1997 NBA playoffs, the Pistons faced off against theAtlanta Hawks. After losing Game 1 on the road at theOmni Coliseum, 89–75, the Pistons won the next two games to take a 2–1 series lead;[25][26][27] however, the Hawks won the next two games, including an 84–79 win at the Omni Coliseum in Game 5, as the Pistons lost the series, 3–2.[28][29][30]
The Pistons finished sixth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 784,234 atThe Palace of Auburn Hills during the regular season.[17][31] Following the season, Thorpe was traded to theVancouver Grizzlies after feuding with Collins during the regular season,[32][33][34] while Mills signed as a free agent with theMiami Heat,[35][36][37] andMichael Curry signed with theMilwaukee Bucks.[38][39]
For the season, the Pistons revealed a new primary logo of a flaming horse head,[40] and changed their uniforms replacing blue with teal to their color scheme.[41][42] The new primary logo and uniforms both remained in use until2001.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Jerome Williams | PF |  United States | Georgetown |
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Chicago Bulls | 69 | 13 | .841 | – | 39–2 | 30–11 | 24–4 |
| x-Atlanta Hawks | 56 | 26 | .683 | 13 | 36–5 | 20–21 | 17–11 |
| x-Detroit Pistons | 54 | 28 | .659 | 15 | 30–11 | 24–17 | 17–11 |
| x-Charlotte Hornets | 54 | 28 | .659 | 15 | 30–11 | 24–17 | 14–14 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 27 | 25–16 | 17–24 | 13–15 |
| Indiana Pacers | 39 | 43 | .476 | 30 | 21–20 | 18–23 | 11–17 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 33 | 49 | .402 | 36 | 20–21 | 13–28 | 10–18 |
| Toronto Raptors | 30 | 52 | .366 | 39 | 18–23 | 12–29 | 6–22 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Chicago Bulls | 69 | 13 | .841 | – |
| 2 | y-Miami Heat | 61 | 21 | .744 | 8 |
| 3 | x-New York Knicks | 57 | 25 | .695 | 12 |
| 4 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 56 | 26 | .683 | 13 |
| 5 | x-Detroit Pistons | 54 | 28 | .659 | 15 |
| 6 | x-Charlotte Hornets | 54 | 28 | .659 | 15 |
| 7 | x-Orlando Magic | 45 | 37 | .549 | 24 |
| 8 | x-Washington Bullets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 25 |
| 9 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 27 |
| 10 | Indiana Pacers | 39 | 43 | .476 | 30 |
| 11 | Milwaukee Bucks | 33 | 49 | .402 | 36 |
| 12 | Toronto Raptors | 30 | 52 | .366 | 39 |
| 13 | New Jersey Nets | 26 | 56 | .317 | 43 |
| 14 | Philadelphia 76ers | 22 | 60 | .268 | 47 |
| 15 | Boston Celtics | 15 | 67 | .183 | 54 |
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(January 2011) |
| 1997 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First Round: 2–3 (home: 1–1; road: 1–2)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stacey Augmon | 20 | 3 | 14.6 | .403 | — | .683 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 4.5 |
| Randolph Childress | 4 | 0 | 7.5 | .400 | .667 | — | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| Michael Curry | 81 | 2 | 15.0 | .448 | .299 | .898 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 3.9 |
| Joe Dumars | 79 | 79 | 37.0 | .440 | .432 | .867 | 2.4 | 4.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 14.7 |
| Litterial Green | 45 | 0 | 6.9 | .469 | .000 | .638 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Grant Hill | 80 | 80 | 39.3 | .496 | .303 | .711 | 9.0 | 7.3 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 21.4 |
| Lindsey Hunter | 82 | 76 | 36.9 | .404 | .355 | .778 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 14.2 |
| Grant Long | 65 | 24 | 17.9 | .447 | .362 | .750 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 5.0 |
| Rick Mahorn | 22 | 7 | 9.9 | .370 | .000 | .727 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 2.5 |
| Aaron McKie | 42 | 3 | 20.2 | .464 | .375 | .836 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 6.3 |
| Terry Mills | 79 | 5 | 25.3 | .444 | .422 | .829 | 4.8 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 10.8 |
| Theo Ratliff | 76 | 38 | 17.0 | .531 | — | .698 | 3.4 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 5.8 |
| Don Reid | 47 | 14 | 9.8 | .482 | .000 | .750 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.8 |
| Kenny Smith | 9 | 0 | 7.1 | .400 | .500 | 1.000 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2.6 |
| Otis Thorpe | 79 | 79 | 33.7 | .532 | .000 | .653 | 7.9 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 13.1 |
| Jerome Williams | 33 | 0 | 5.4 | .392 | — | .529 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 1.5 |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Hill | 5 | 5 | 40.6 | .437 | — | .718 | 6.8 | 5.4 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 23.6 |
| Lindsey Hunter | 5 | 5 | 40.2 | .439 | .414 | .714 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 15.0 |
| Joe Dumars | 5 | 5 | 42.8 | .361 | .261 | .950 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 13.8 |
| Terry Mills | 5 | 4 | 39.2 | .436 | .346 | .500 | 7.0 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 11.8 |
| Otis Thorpe | 5 | 5 | 30.4 | .512 | — | .778 | 6.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 9.8 |
| Grant Long | 5 | 0 | 17.2 | .444 | .000 | .818 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 5.0 |
| Jerome Williams | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | 1.000 | — | — | 3.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 |
| Don Reid | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | — | — | 1.000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 |
| Aaron McKie | 5 | 0 | 19.4 | .350 | .200 | — | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 3.0 |
| Theo Ratliff | 3 | 0 | 6.0 | .750 | — | .500 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 2.7 |
| Michael Curry | 2 | 0 | 3.5 | .500 | — | .000 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Rick Mahorn | 2 | 1 | 9.0 | .000 | — | — | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Player Statistics Citation:[17]
Player Transactions Citation:[43]
