1996–97 Detroit Pistons season

1996–97 Detroit Pistons season
Head coachDoug Collins
General managerRick Sund
OwnerBill Davidson
ArenaThe Palace of Auburn Hills
Results
Record54–28 (.659)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Central)
Conference: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finishFirst round
(lost to Hawks 2–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionWKBD-TV
PASS Sports
RadioWDFN

The 1996–97 Detroit Pistons season was the 49th season for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association, and their 40th season in Detroit, Michigan.[1] During the off-season, the Pistons acquired Stacey Augmon and Grant Long from the Atlanta 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 the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1989 NBA Finals.[5][6][7] The team also signed three-point specialist Kenny Smith, who won two NBA championships with the Houston 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 the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Aaron 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 the Central Division with a 54–28 record, and earned the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference; this was also the team's first 50-win season since the 1990–91 season, and would be their last until the 2001–02 season.[16]

Grant Hill averaged 21.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, while Joe Dumars averaged 14.7 points and 4.0 assists per game, and contributed 166 three-point field goals, and Lindsey Hunter showed improvement averaging 14.2 points and 1.6 steals per game, along with 166 three-point field goals, but only contributed just 1.9 assists per game. In addition, Otis Thorpe provided the team with 13.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, while sixth man Terry 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, McKie contributed 6.3 points per game in 42 games after the trade, second-year center Theo Ratliff averaged 5.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, Long provided with 5.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, and Michael Curry contributed 3.9 points per game.[17]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Hill and Dumars were both selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, while head coach Doug Collins was selected to coach the Eastern Conference; it was Dumars' sixth and final All-Star appearance.[18][19][20] Meanwhile, Mills participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout.[18][21] Hill also finished in third place in Most Valuable Player voting, behind Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz, and Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls,[22][23] while Dumars finished tied in sixth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,[23] Hunter finished in seventh place in Most Improved Player voting,[23] Mills finished in fourth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,[24][23] and Collins finished in fifth place in Coach of the Year voting.[23]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1997 NBA playoffs, the Pistons faced off against the Atlanta Hawks. After losing Game 1 on the road at the Omni 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 at The Palace of Auburn Hills during the regular season.[17][31] Following the season, Thorpe was traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies after feuding with Collins during the regular season,[32][33][34] while Mills signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat,[35][36][37] and Curry signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.[38][39]

For the season, the Pistons revealed a new primary logo of a flaming horse head,[40] and changed their uniforms, replacing the color blue with teal to their color scheme of red;[41][42] the team's primary logo and uniforms would both remain in use until 2001.

Draft picks

Main article: 1996 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 26 Jerome Williams PF  United States Georgetown

Roster

1996–97 Detroit Pistons roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
G 3 Randolph Childress 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1972–09–21 Wake Forest
G 12 Michael Curry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1968–08–22 Georgia Southern
G 4 Joe Dumars 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963–05–24 McNeese State
G 9 Litterial Green 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1970–03–07 Georgia
F 33 Grant Hill 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1972–10–05 Duke
G 1 Lindsey Hunter 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1970–12–03 Jackson State
F 43 Grant Long 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1966–03–12 Eastern Michigan
C 44 Rick Mahorn 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1958–09–21 Hampton
G 23 Aaron McKie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1972–10–02 Temple
F 6 Terry Mills 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1967–12–21 Michigan
C 42 Theo Ratliff 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1973–04–17 Wyoming
F 52 Don Reid 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1973–12–30 Georgetown
C 50 Otis Thorpe 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1962–08–05 Providence
F 13 Jerome Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 1973–05–10 Georgetown
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Updated: February 18, 1997

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division
 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
1996–97 NBA East standings
#
Eastern Conference
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
z - clinched division title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

Game log

Playoffs

1997 playoff game log
First Round: 2–3 (home: 1–1; road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 25 @ Atlanta L 75–89 Grant Hill (20) Grant Hill (14) Grant Hill (7) Omni Coliseum
15,795 		0–1
2 April 27 @ Atlanta W 93–80 Grant Hill (25) Otis Thorpe (8) Grant Hill (3) Omni Coliseum
16,378 		1–1
3 April 29 Atlanta W 99–91 Lindsey Hunter (26) Terry Mills (7) Grant Hill (8) The Palace of Auburn Hills
20,059 		2–1
4 May 2 Atlanta L 82–94 Grant Hill (28) Terry Mills (10) three players tied (3) The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454 		2–2
5 May 4 @ Atlanta L 79–84 Grant Hill (21) Lindsey Hunter (9) Grant Hill (6) Omni Coliseum
16,378 		2–3
1997 schedule

Player statistics

Legend
  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

Regular season

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

Playoffs

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]

Awards and records

Transactions

Player Transactions Citation:[43]

References

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  2. ^ "Pistons Trade for Augmon, Long; Sign Curry, Reid". Associated Press. July 15, 1996. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  3. ^ "Hawks Sign Mutombo; Deal Augmon, Long". United Press International. July 15, 1996. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  4. ^ "Hawks Get Big with Mutombo". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. July 16, 1996. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  5. ^ "Citadel Coach Suspended for Season". Los Angeles Times. Staff and Wire Reports. August 6, 1996. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  6. ^ Guest, Greta (August 6, 1996). "Pistons Bring Rick Mahorn Back to Detroit". Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  7. ^ Myslenski, Skip (November 8, 1996). "Pistons' New Look Beyond Cosmetic". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  8. ^ "Pistons Get a Bargain in Smith". The New York Times. September 18, 1996. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  9. ^ "Pistons Release Kenny Smith". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. November 24, 1996. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  10. ^ "Pistons 96, Nets 88". United Press International. November 22, 1996. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  11. ^ "Detroit Pistons at Indiana Pacers Box Score, December 20, 1996". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  12. ^ "NBA Games Played on February 6, 1997". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  13. ^ "Blazers Obtain Augmon". The New York Times. Associated Press. January 25, 1997. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  14. ^ "Winters Out in Vancouver; Augmon Traded to Portland". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. January 25, 1997. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  15. ^ "Griz End Winters of Their Discontent". The Spokesman-Review. Wire Reports. January 25, 1997. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  16. ^ "1996–97 Detroit Pistons Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  17. ^ a b c "1996–97 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  18. ^ a b Fry, Darrell (February 8, 1997). "On to the Next Stage". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  19. ^ "1997 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com. NBA.com Staff. September 13, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  20. ^ "1997 NBA All-Star Game: East 132, West 120". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  21. ^ "NBA & ABA All-Star Game Contest Winners". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  22. ^ Kawakami, Tim (May 19, 1997). "MVP: Malone, the Standout Jazz Forward Known as Mailman, Edges Jordan in the Voting to Earn Stamp of Greatness". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  23. ^ a b c d e "1996–97 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball Reference. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  24. ^ "Knicks' Starks Turns Demotion Into Honor". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. April 24, 1997. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  25. ^ Atkins, Harry (April 29, 1997). "Pistons Soar Past Hawks, 99-91". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  26. ^ "Hunter, Pistons Defeat Atlanta". The Oklahoman. April 30, 1997. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  27. ^ "Houston Moves On; Orlando Stays Alive". Deseret News. Associated Press. April 30, 1997. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  28. ^ "Hawks 84, Pistons 79". The Washington Post. Associated Press. May 4, 1997. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  29. ^ "Hawks Earn Date with Bulls". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 5, 1997. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  30. ^ "1997 NBA Eastern Conference First Round: Pistons vs. Hawks". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  31. ^ "1996–97 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  32. ^ Gardner, Kris (August 7, 1997). "Pistons Deal Thorpe to Vancouver". The Houston Roundball Review. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  33. ^ "Grizzlies Obtain Pistons' Thorpe". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 8, 1997. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  34. ^ "Thorpe Sent to Grizzlies". Tampa Bay Times. August 8, 1997. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  35. ^ "Heat Signs Terry Mills". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 21, 1997. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  36. ^ Thompson, Jack (August 21, 1997). "Miami Signs Mills; Trent in Trouble". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  37. ^ Russo, Michael (August 21, 1997). "Heat Signs Forward Mills". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  38. ^ "Sports People". The Spokesman-Review. Wire Services. July 31, 1997. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  39. ^ Myslenski, Skip (December 6, 1997). "A Whole New Deal for Bucks". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  40. ^ "Detroit Pistons Logo". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  41. ^ "Detroit Pistons Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  42. ^ "Detroit Pistons Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  43. ^ "1996–97 Detroit Pistons Transactions". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 27, 2021.

See also

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