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1995–96 Detroit Pistons season

NBA team season

(lost to Magic 0–3) (George Blaha, Kelly Tripucka) PASS Sports (Fred McLeod, Greg Kelser) (George Blaha)

The 1995–96 Detroit Pistons season was the 48th season for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association, and their 39th season in Detroit, Michigan. During the off-season, the Pistons hired Doug Collins as their new head coach, and acquired Otis Thorpe from the Portland Trail Blazers; Thorpe won an NBA championship as a member of the Houston Rockets in the 1994 NBA Finals.

Under Collins, the Pistons, who were now led by second-year star Grant Hill and Allan Houston, struggled with a 5–9 record in November, but played above .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the regular season, holding a 23–22 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team signed free agent Michael Curry, who was previously released by the Washington Bullets. The Pistons reemerged as a playoff contender, finishing in fifth place in the Central Division with a 46–36 record, earning the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, and returning to the NBA playoffs after a three-year absence.

Hill averaged 20.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Houston finished second on the team in scoring averaging 19.7 points per game, and led them with 191 three-point field goals, and Thorpe provided the team with 14.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. In addition, Joe Dumars played half of the regular season off the bench as the team's sixth man, averaging 11.8 points and 4.0 assists per game, and contributing 121 three-point field goals, as Lindsey Hunter was the team's starting point guard for half the season, contributing 8.5 points and 2.4 assists per game, along with 117 three-point field goals, and Terry Mills provided with 9.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game off the bench. On the defensive side, Curry contributed 4.9 points per game in 41 games, while top draft pick Theo Ratliff from the University of Wyoming averaged 4.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and second-round draft pick Don Reid was the team's starting power forward, averaging 3.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Hill was selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Hill also finished tied in ninth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Houston finished tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting, and Collins finished tied in third place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1996 NBA playoffs, the Pistons faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Atlantic Division champion Orlando Magic, who were led by the trio of All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal, All-Star guard Penny Hardaway, and Horace Grant. The Pistons lost the first two games to the Magic on the road at the Orlando Arena, before losing Game 3 at home, 101–98 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep.

The Pistons finished tenth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 730,573 at The Palace of Auburn Hills during the regular season. Following the season, Houston signed as a free agent with the New York Knicks, which left a bitter feud between Houston and Hill's relationship, and Mark West signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

One notable incident of the regular season occurred on March 20, 1996, during a road game against the Magic at the Orlando Arena. With the Magic up by 20 points against the Pistons, Magic reverse guard Anthony Bowie called a timeout with 2.7 seconds left to set up a play, so he could get his first career triple-double; Collins got upset and viewed this as poor sportsmanship, as he ordered his players off the court to the locker room before the game had ended. Collins was fined $5,000 by the league, as the Magic defeated the Pistons, 113–91.

Draft picks

Main article: 1995 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	18	Theo Ratliff	C/PF	United States	Wyoming
1	19	Randolph Childress	PG	United States	Wake Forest
2	30	Lou Roe	PF	United States	Massachusetts Amherst
2	58	Don Reid	PF	United States	Georgetown

Roster

Doug Collins
Alvin Gentry
Brian James
Mike Abdenour (trainer)

Regular season

Season standings

:z – clinched division title :y – clinched division title :x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Regular season

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | November 3 | New York | L 100–106 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | November 8 | Portland | W 107–100 (OT) | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 1–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | November 10 | Cleveland | W 100–80 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 2–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 6 | November 15 | Seattle | W 94–87 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 3–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 7 | November 17 | Utah | L 81–86 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 3–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 8 | November 18 | @ Cleveland | L 90–93 | | | | Gund Arena | 3–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 11 | November 26 | Houston | W 102–100 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 5–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 12 | November 27 | @ Orlando | L 95–96 | | | | Orlando Arena | 5–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 14 | November 30 | Miami | L 107–118 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 5–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 15 | December 2 | Atlanta | W 104–96 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 6–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 19 | December 10 | @ L.A. Lakers | L 82–87 | | | | Great Western Forum | 8–11 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 20 | December 13 | L.A. Lakers | L 98–101 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 8–12 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 22 | December 16 | @ New York | L 82–86 | | | | Madison Square Garden | 9–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 25 | December 22 | @ Miami | W 84–75 | | | | Miami Arena | 12–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 26 | December 23 | Orlando | L 79–94 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 12–14 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 34 | January 15 | @ Atlanta | L 88–96 | | | | The Omni | 19–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 35 | January 18 | San Antonio | W 100–98 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 19–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 36 | January 19 | @ Indiana | L 81–89 | | | | Market Square Arena | 19–17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 37 | January 21 | Chicago | L 96–111 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 19–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 38 | January 24 | @ San Antonio | W 85–84 | | | | Alamodome | 20–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 40 | January 27 | @ Houston | L 85–105 | | | | The Summit | 21–19 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 41 | January 29 | @ Utah | L 97–106 | | | | Delta Center | 21–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 42 | February 1 | Indiana | W 87–70 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 22–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 43 | February 3 | Sacramento | L 85–94 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 22–21 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 44 | February 5 | @ New York | L 91–97 | | | | Madison Square Garden | 22–22 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 45 | February 7 | Orlando | W 97–83 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 23–22 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 47 | February 15 | Chicago | L 109–112 (OT) | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 24–23 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 50 | February 21 | New York | L 110–113 (OT) | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 26–24 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 52 | February 25 | @ Portland | W 93–81 | | | | Rose Garden Arena | 27–25 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 43 | February 26 | @ Sacramento | W 93–78 | | | | ARCO Arena | 28–25 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 54 | February 28 | @ Seattle | L 80–94 | | | | KeyArena | 28–26 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 55 | March 1 | @ Phoenix | W 102–97 | | | | America West Arena | 29–26 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 57 | March 4 | Atlanta | W 99–93 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 31–26 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 59 | March 7 | @ Chicago | L 81–102 | | | | United Center | 32–27 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 62 | March 13 | Phoenix | W 118–115 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 35–27 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 63 | March 15 | Cleveland | W 80–69 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 36–27 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 65 | March 19 | @ Orlando | L 91–113 | | | | Orlando Arena | 37–28 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 66 | March 20 | @ Miami | L 93–102 | | | | Miami Arena | 37–29 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 68 | March 23 | @ Atlanta | L 84–92 | | | | The Omni | 38–30 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 70 | March 30 | Miami | L 85–95 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 39–31 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 77 | April 13 | @ Indiana | L 86–91 | | | | Market Square Arena | 44–33 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 79 | April 17 | Indiana | W 102–93 | | | | The Palace of Auburn Hills | 45–34 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 80 | April 18 | @ Chicago | L 79–110 | | | | United Center | 45–35 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 81 | April 20 | @ Cleveland | L 73–75 | | | | Gund Arena | 45–36

Playoffs

0–3

Player statistics

Regular season

GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
9	0	13.7	.391	.000	.667	2.4	1.7	0.4	0.1	2.4
41	1	18.3	.464	.400	.707	2.0	0.6	0.6	0.0	4.9
67	40	32.7	.426	.406	.822	2.1	4.0	0.6	0.0	11.8
80	80	40.8	.462	.192	.751	9.8	6.9	1.3	0.6	20.2
82	75	37.5	.453	.427	.823	3.7	3.0	0.7	0.2	19.7
80	48	26.7	.381	.405	.700	2.4	2.4	1.1	0.2	8.5
18	8	8.6	.621		.615	1.9	0.1	0.1	0.2	2.4
23	0	12.5	.433	.467	.818	1.0	0.7	0.7	0.0	3.2
82	5	20.2	.419	.396	.771	4.3	1.2	0.5	0.2	9.4
75	2	17.4	.557	.000	.708	4.0	0.2	0.2	1.5	4.5
69	46	14.4	.567		.662	2.9	0.2	0.7	0.6	3.8
49	2	7.6	.356	.222	.750	1.6	0.3	0.2	0.2	1.8
82	82	34.6	.530	.000	.710	8.4	1.9	0.6	0.5	14.2
47	21	14.5	.484		.622	2.8	0.1	0.1	0.8	3.2

Playoffs

GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
3	3	45.3	.431	.333	.900	2.7	2.0	0.0	0.3	25.0
3	3	38.3	.564	.500	.857	7.3	3.7	1.0	0.0	19.0
3	3	41.0	.457	.357	1.000	4.3	3.7	0.0	0.0	13.7
3	3	33.7	.542		.750	11.7	2.3	0.0	0.0	11.7
3	3	26.0	.524		.462	5.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	9.3
3	0	16.0	.250	.125	.833	1.7	1.3	0.3	0.0	5.3
2	0	18.0	.250	.250	.500	1.0	0.5	0.5	0.0	3.0
3	0	14.3	.429	.000		1.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	2.0
3	0	8.7	.333		.333	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.7	1.0
1	0	4.0				0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
2	0	3.5	.000			1.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0
1	0	3.0				0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Player statistics citation:

Awards and records

Grant Hill, All-NBA Second Team

Transactions

September 20, 1995: Traded Randolph Childress and Bill Curley to the Portland Trail Blazers for Otis Thorpe.
October 5, 1995: Signed Steve Bardo as a free agent.
December 29, 1995: Waived Walter Bond.
January 5, 1996: Waived Steve Bardo.
January 31, 1996: Signed Michael Curry to the first of two consecutive 10-day contracts.
February 22, 1996: Signed Michael Curry for the remainder of the season.

Player Transactions Citation:

References

[https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DET/1996.html 1995-96 Detroit Pistons]
(April 26, 1995). "Pistons to Fire Chaney, Likely Hire Collins: Pro basketball: Dismissals of Coach and Key Executive Expected a Day Later Than Planned". Los Angeles Times.
(April 27, 1995). "SPORTS PEOPLE: N.B.A.; Pistons Giving Collins Chaney's Job and More". The New York Times.
Smith, Sam. (November 8, 1995). "Collins Takes Charge Again". Chicago Tribune.
(September 21, 1995). "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Trail Blazers Trade Thorpe to Pistons". The New York Times.
(September 21, 1995). "Pistons Get Thorpe for Rookie Childress". Los Angeles Times.
(September 21, 1995). "Blazers, Pistons Cut Deal". The Spokesman-Review.
"NBA Games Played on February 8, 1996". Basketball-Reference.
(February 1, 1996). "Transactions". The New York Times.
(February 1, 1996). "Transactions". Hartford Courant.
"1995–96 Detroit Pistons Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.
Romano, John. (April 25, 1996). "Sharing the Wealth of His Experience". Tampa Bay Times.
"26. Detroit Pistons". Ibiblio.
"1995–96 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.
Heisler, Mark. (February 11, 1996). "NBA Has All-Stars in Its Eyes". Los Angeles Times.
(September 13, 2021). "1996 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com.
"1996 NBA All-Star Game: East 129, West 118". Basketball-Reference.
"1995–96 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference.
(May 7, 1996). "Bulls' Jackson NBA Coach of Year". United Press International.
(May 1, 1996). "N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Magic Gets First Sweep by Finishing Off Pistons". The New York Times.
Atkins, Harry. (May 1, 1996). "Magic 101, Pistons 98". Associated Press.
"1996 NBA Eastern Conference First Round: Pistons vs. Magic". Basketball-Reference.
"1995–96 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.
Brown, Clifton. (July 14, 1996). "PRO BASKETBALL; A New Backcourt: Childs and Houston Join the Knicks". The New York Times.
(July 15, 1996). "Payton Stays in Seattle, Knicks Get a Backcourt". Los Angeles Times.
Sheridan, Chris. (July 15, 1996). "Knicks Acquire Larry Johnson, Sign Houston and Childs". Associated Press.
Heisler, Mark. (November 3, 1996). "Let Them Show Something Before It's Showtime Again". Los Angeles Times.
Wise, Mike. (December 18, 1996). "Once a Hero, Now the Enemy". The New York Times.
Smith, Sam. (December 25, 1996). "Pistons Revive Rivalry". Chicago Tribune.
Fischer, Bob. (August 10, 1996). "Magic Acquires Spencer to Fill Gap". Chicago Tribune.
(August 10, 1996). "Transactions". Hartford Courant.
(March 20, 1996). "Magic's Bowie Shows Class--or Lack of It". Los Angeles Times.
Povtak, Tim. (March 20, 1996). "Triple-Trouble for Magic". Orlando Sentinel.
(March 21, 1996). "PRO BASKETBALL; Coach Is Fined for Early Exit". The New York Times.
"1995–96 Detroit Pistons Transactions". Basketball-Reference.

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