1996–97 Detroit Pistons season

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Pistons' 49th season in the National Basketball Association, and 40th season in the city of Detroit. During the off-season, the Pistons acquired Stacey Augmon and Grant Long from the Atlanta Hawks, and re-signed free agent and former "Bad Boy" Rick Mahorn, who was a member of the 1989 championship team that defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals. The team also signed three-point specialist Kenny Smith, who won two championships with the Houston Rockets, but was released to free agency in November after nine games.

The Pistons got off to a fast start winning ten of their first eleven games, on their way to a 20–4 start, and later holding a 34–12 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded Augmon to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Aaron McKie. 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 third in the Central Division with a 54–28 record, which was their first 50-win season since 1991, and would be their last until 2002.

Grant Hill averaged 21.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game, while being named to the All-NBA First Team, and finishing in third place in Most Valuable Player behind Karl Malone and Michael Jordan, while Joe Dumars averaged 14.7 points and 4.0 assists per game. Hill, Dumars and head coach Doug Collins represented the Eastern Conference during the 1997 NBA All-Star Game; it was also Dumars' sixth and final All-Star appearance. In addition, Lindsey Hunter showed improvement averaging 14.2 points and 1.6 steals per game, while Otis Thorpe provided the team with 13.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, and sixth man Terry Mills contributed 10.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game off the bench, and led the team with 175 three-point field goals. Second-year center Theo Ratliff averaged 5.8 points and 1.5 blocks per game, and Long provided with 5.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Mills also finished in fourth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Pistons took a 2–1 series lead over the Atlanta Hawks, but lost the next two games, thus losing the series in five games. Following the season, Thorpe was traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies after feuding with Collins, while Mills signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat, and Michael Curry signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.

For the season, the Pistons revealed a new primary logo of a flaming horse head, and changed their uniforms replacing blue with teal to their color scheme. The new primary logo and uniforms both remained 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.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
G	3	Childress, Randolph	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	1972–09–21	Wake Forest
G	12	Curry, Michael	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1968–08–22	Georgia Southern
G	4	Dumars, Joe	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1963–05–24	McNeese State
G	9	Green, Litterial	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1970–03–07	Georgia
F	33	Hill, Grant	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1972–10–05	Duke
G	1	Hunter, Lindsey	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1970–12–03	Jackson State
F	43	Long, Grant	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1966–03–12	Eastern Michigan
C	44	Mahorn, Rick	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	1958–09–21	Hampton
G	23	McKie, Aaron	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	1972–10–02	Temple
F	6	Mills, Terry	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1967–12–21	Michigan
C	42	Ratliff, Theo	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1973–04–17	Wyoming
F	52	Reid, Don	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	1973–12–30	Georgetown
C	50	Thorpe, Otis	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1962–08–05	Providence
F	13	Williams, Jerome	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	206 lb (93 kg)	1973–05–10	Georgetown

Head coach

Doug Collins

Assistant coach(es)

Johnny Bach
Alvin Gentry
John Hammond
Brian James
Mike Abdenour (trainer)

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster
Last transaction: February 18, 1997

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division v t e	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 v t e
#	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

Record vs. opponents

1996-97 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–1	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–1
Boston	1–3	—	0–4	0–4	1–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	1–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–4
Charlotte	3–1	4–0	—	0–4	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	1–2	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	0–2	2–0	3–1
Chicago	3–1	4–0	4–0	—	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	2–2	3–0	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–1
Cleveland	1–3	2–1	1–3	1–3	—	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–2	2–0	4–0	1–3	2–2	3–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–3
Dallas	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	3–1	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	1–3	3–1	0–2
Denver	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–1	0–4	3–1	1–1
Detroit	3–1	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–4	3–1	2–0	4–0	1–2	2–2	2–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	4–0
Golden State	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	0–2	—	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	1–3	4–0	0–4	2–0	0–4	3–1	0–2
Houston	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	—	1–1	3–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0
Indiana	1–3	2–1	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	1–3
L.A. Clippers	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	3–1	1–3	0–2	—	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	2–2	4–0	1–3	2–0	1–3	4–0	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	1–3	1–1	2–2	—	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	2–0
Miami	2–1	4–0	2–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	—	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Milwaukee	0–4	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	—	0–2	2–1	1–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–3
Minnesota	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	0–4	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–3	4–0	1–1
New Jersey	1–3	4–0	0–4	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–2	0–2	—	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–3	0–2	2–0	1–3
New York	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–2	—	3–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–0	1–1	2–0	4–0
Orlando	1–3	4–0	2–1	0–3	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–3	—	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	1–3
Philadelphia	0–4	3–1	0–4	0–4	0–3	0–2	1–1	1–2	0–2	0–2	0–3	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–3	2–2	—	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	2–0	1–3
Phoenix	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	—	1–3	4–0	3–1	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–1
Portland	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	—	2–2	4–0	1–3	0–2	2–2	4–0	0–2
Sacramento	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–1	0–4	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	2–0	4–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	—	3–1	1–3	1–1	0–4	4–0	0–2
San Antonio	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–3	—	0–4	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–2
Seattle	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	1–3	1–1	3–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	—	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0
Toronto	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	3–0	0–3	0–4	3–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	—	1–1	1–1	2–2
Utah	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	—	4–0	2–0
Vancouver	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	3–1	0–4	1–1	0–4	—	1–1
Washington	1–2	4–0	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	3–1	0–4	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	—

Game log

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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:

Awards and records

Grant Hill, All-NBA First Team

Transactions

July 15, 1996: Signed Michael Curry; Released Mark West and Lou Roe
July 15, 1996: Traded a 1997 2nd Round Draft Pick (which became Alain Digbeu), two 1999 1st Round Draft Picks (Cal Bowdler and Dion Glover) and one 1999 2nd Round Draft Pick (Lari Ketner) to the Atlanta Hawks for Stacey Augmon and Grant Long
August 5, 1996: Signed Rick Mahorn
August 30, 1996: Signed Litterial Green
September 17, 1996: Signed Kenny Smith
November 23, 1996: Waived Kenny Smith
January 24, 1997: Acquired Randolph Childress, Reggie Jordan and Aaron McKie from the Portland Trail Blazers for Stacey Augmon
February 18, 1997: Waived Reggie Jordan

Player Transactions Citation:

References

1996-97 Detroit Pistons
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v t e Detroit Pistons
Founded in 1937 Formerly the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (1937–1948) and the Fort Wayne Pistons (1948–1957) Based in Detroit, Michigan
Franchise	All-time roster Draft history Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	North Side High School Gym Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Detroit Olympia Memorial Building Cobo Arena Pontiac Silverdome The Palace of Auburn Hills Little Caesars Arena
Personnel	Owner(s) Tom Gores President Ed Stefanski General manager Vacant Head coach Monty Williams
G League affiliate	Motor City Cruise
Retired numbers	1 2 3 4 10 11 15 16 21 32 40
NBA championships	1989 1990 2004
Rivalries	Boston Celtics Chicago Bulls Los Angeles Lakers
Culture and lore	Broadcasters Hooper Jordan Rules 1990 Detroit riot John Mason Malice at the Palace

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