1995–96 Detroit Pistons season

1995–96 Detroit Pistons season
1995–96 Detroit Pistons season
Head coach	Doug Collins
General manager	Rick Sund
Owners	William Davidson
Arena	The Palace of Auburn Hills
Results
Record	46–36 (.561)
Place	Division: 5th (Central); Conference: 7th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East First Round; (Lost to Magic 0–3)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
< 1994–95	1996–97 >

The 1995–96 NBA season was the Pistons' 48th season in the National Basketball Association, and 39th season in the city of Detroit.^[1] During the offseason, the Pistons hired Doug Collins as head coach while acquiring Otis Thorpe from the Portland Trail Blazers. Thorpe won a 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, played .500 basketball in the first half of the season, as the team signed free agent Michael Curry along the way. However, Joe Dumars' production would slip as he averaged just 11.8 points per game. The Pistons reemerged as a playoff contender finishing fifth in the Central Division with a 46–36 record, and returned to the playoffs after a three-year absence thanks to the stellar play of Hill, who was selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game.

However, in the first round of the playoffs, they would be swept by the Orlando Magic in three straight games.^[2] Following the season, Houston signed as a free agent with the New York Knicks.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	18	Theo Ratliff	PF/C	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

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Height	Weight	DOB
SG	25	Bardo, Steve	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Illinois
SG	12	Curry, Michael	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Georgia Southern
PG	4	Dumars, Joe	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	McNeese State
SF	33	Hill, Grant	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Duke
SG	20	Houston, Allan	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Tennessee
PG	1	Hunter, Lindsey	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jackson State
C	45	Leckner, Eric	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	Wyoming
SG	2	Macon, Mark	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Temple
PF	6	Mills, Terry	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Michigan
C	42	Ratliff, Theo	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Wyoming
PF	52	Reid, Don	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Georgetown
SF	3	Roe, Lou	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	UMass
PF	50	Thorpe, Otis	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Providence
C	41	West, Mark	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Old Dominion

Head coach

Doug Collins (Illinois State)

Legend

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

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
z – Chicago Bulls	72	10	.878	–	39‍–‍2	33‍–‍8	24–4	82
x – Indiana Pacers	52	30	.634	20.0	32‍–‍9	20‍–‍21	19–9	82
x – Cleveland Cavaliers	47	35	.573	25.0	26‍–‍15	21‍–‍20	13–15	82
x – Atlanta Hawks	46	36	.561	26.0	26‍–‍15	20‍–‍21	15–13	82
x – Detroit Pistons	46	36	.561	26.0	30‍–‍11	16‍–‍25	15–13	82
Charlotte Hornets	41	41	.500	31.0	25‍–‍16	16‍–‍25	13–15	82
Milwaukee Bucks	25	57	.305	47.0	14‍–‍27	11‍–‍30	8–20	82
Toronto Raptors	21	61	.256	51.0	15‍–‍26	6‍–‍35	5–23	82

Eastern Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	z – Chicago Bulls	72	10	.878	–	82
2	y – Orlando Magic	60	22	.732	12.0	82
3	x – Indiana Pacers	52	30	.634	20.0	82
4	x – Cleveland Cavaliers	47	35	.573	25.0	82
5	x – New York Knicks	47	35	.573	25.0	82
6	x – Atlanta Hawks	46	36	.561	26.0	82
7	x – Detroit Pistons	46	36	.561	26.0	82
8	x – Miami Heat	42	40	.512	30.0	82

9	Charlotte Hornets	41	41	.500	31.0	82
10	Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	33.0	82
11	Boston Celtics	33	49	.402	39.0	82
12	New Jersey Nets	30	52	.366	42.0	82
13	Milwaukee Bucks	25	57	.305	47.0	82
14	Toronto Raptors	21	61	.256	51.0	82
15	Philadelphia 76ers	18	64	.220	54.0	82

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1995-96 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	—	4–0	3–1	0–4	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	4–0	2–1	2–2	2–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–3
Boston	0–4	—	2–2	0–3	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–2	0–4	1–3	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–2
Charlotte	1–3	2–2	—	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	0–3	3–0	0–4	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1
Chicago	4–0	3–0	3–1	—	4–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	3–0	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	4–0
Cleveland	1–3	3–1	1–3	0–4	—	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	1–2	3–1	1–2	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Dallas	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	—	2–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
Denver	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	—	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1
Detroit	2–2	1–2	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	4–0	0–4	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	1–2
Golden State	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	0–2	—	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	4–0	1–1
Houston	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	—	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Indiana	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	—	2–0	1–1	3–0	3–1	1–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–0
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	—	0–4	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	1–3	3–1	1–1
L.A. Lakers	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	4–0	—	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Miami	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	0–3	1–1	0–2	—	3–0	1–1	5–0	1–3	1–3	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–1	0–2	1–1	2–2
Milwaukee	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–3	—	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–3
Minnesota	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	—	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	2–2	0–2
New Jersey	0–4	2–2	3–0	0–3	2–1	1–1	2–0	0–4	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	0–5	3–1	1–1	—	2–2	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–2
New York	1–2	4–0	0–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–2	—	1–3	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	3–1
Orlando	2–2	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	—	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	4–0
Philadelphia	1–2	0–4	1–3	0–4	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	—	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–3
Phoenix	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	—	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0
Portland	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	0–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	—	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–3	2–2	0–2
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	—	1–3	0–4	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2
San Antonio	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–2	4–0	0–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	3–1	—	2–2	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
Seattle	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	0–2	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	4–0	2–2	—	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1
Toronto	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–4	1–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	—	0–2	1–1	3–1
Utah	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–3	2–0	—	4–0	1–1
Vancouver	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	0–4	—	0–2
Washington	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	0–4	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	—

Game log

Regular season

1995–96 game log
Total: 46–36 (Home: 30–11; Road: 16–25)

November: 5–9 (home: 5–4; road: 0–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
1	November 3	New York	L 100–106	The Palace of Auburn Hills	0–1
4	November 8	Portland	W 107–100 (OT)	The Palace of Auburn Hills	1–3
5	November 10	Cleveland	W 100–80	The Palace of Auburn Hills	2–3
6	November 15	Seattle	W 94–87	The Palace of Auburn Hills	3–3
7	November 17	Utah	L 81–86	The Palace of Auburn Hills	3–4
8	November 18	@ Cleveland	L 90–93	Gund Arena	3–5
11	November 26	Houston	W 102–100	The Palace of Auburn Hills	5–6
12	November 27	@ Orlando	L 95–96	Orlando Arena	5–7
14	November 30	Miami	L 107–118	The Palace of Auburn Hills	5–9

December: 10–5 (home: 6–2; road: 4–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
15	December 2	Atlanta	W 104–96	The Palace of Auburn Hills	6–9
19	December 10	@ L.A. Lakers	L 82–87	Great Western Forum	8–11
20	December 13	L.A. Lakers	L 98–101	The Palace of Auburn Hills	8–12
22	December 16	@ New York	L 82–86	Madison Square Garden	9–13
25	December 22	@ Miami	W 84–75	Miami Arena	12–13
26	December 23	Orlando	L 79–94	The Palace of Auburn Hills	12–14

January: 6–6 (home: 2–1; road: 4–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
34	January 15	@ Atlanta	L 88–96	The Omni	19–15
35	January 18	San Antonio	W 100–98	The Palace of Auburn Hills	19–16
36	January 19	@ Indiana	L 81–89	Market Square Arena	19–17
37	January 21	Chicago	L 96–111	The Palace of Auburn Hills	19–18
38	January 24	@ San Antonio	W 85–84	Alamodome	20–18
40	January 27	@ Houston	L 85–105	The Summit	21–19
41	January 29	@ Utah	L 97–106	Delta Center	21–20

February: 7–6 (home: 4–3; road: 3–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
42	February 1	Indiana	W 87–70	The Palace of Auburn Hills	22–20
43	February 3	Sacramento	L 85–94	The Palace of Auburn Hills	22–21
44	February 5	@ New York	L 91–97	Madison Square Garden	22–22
45	February 7	Orlando	W 97–83	The Palace of Auburn Hills	23–22
47	February 15	Chicago	L 109–112 (OT)	The Palace of Auburn Hills	24–23
50	February 21	New York	L 110–113 (OT)	The Palace of Auburn Hills	26–24
52	February 25	@ Portland	W 93–81	Rose Garden Arena	27–25
43	February 26	@ Sacramento	W 93–78	ARCO Arena	28–25
54	February 28	@ Seattle	L 80–94	KeyArena	28–26

March: 11–5 (home: 8–1; road: 3–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
55	March 1	@ Phoenix	W 102–97	America West Arena	29–26
57	March 4	Atlanta	W 99–93	The Palace of Auburn Hills	31–26
59	March 7	@ Chicago	L 81–102	United Center	32–27
62	March 13	Phoenix	W 118–115	The Palace of Auburn Hills	35–27
63	March 15	Cleveland	W 80–69	The Palace of Auburn Hills	36–27
65	March 19	@ Orlando	L 91–113	Orlando Arena	37–28
66	March 20	@ Miami	L 93–102	Miami Arena	37–29
68	March 23	@ Atlanta	L 84–92	The Omni	38–30
70	March 30	Miami	L 85–95	The Palace of Auburn Hills	39–31

April: 7–5 (home: 5–0; road: 2–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
77	April 13	@ Indiana	L 86–91	Market Square Arena	44–33
79	April 17	Indiana	W 102–93	The Palace of Auburn Hills	45–34
80	April 18	@ Chicago	L 79–110	United Center	45–35
81	April 20	@ Cleveland	L 73–75	Gund Arena	45–36

1995–96 schedule

Playoffs

1996 playoff game log

First round: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 26	@ Orlando	L 92–112	Orlando Arena	0–1
2	April 28	@ Orlando	L 77–92	Orlando Arena	0–2
3	April 30	Orlando	L 98–101	The Palace of Auburn Hills	0–3

1996 schedule

Playoffs

East First Round

(2) Orlando Magic vs. (7) Detroit Pistons Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Magic and Pistons.

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (ORL-DET)	Venue	Recap	Television
1	April 26	Orlando	112	Detroit	92	1-0	Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida	1	TBS 7:00et
2	April 28	Orlando	92	Detroit	77	2-0	Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida	2	NBC 12:30et
3	April 30	Detroit	98	Orlando	101	3-0	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan	3	TNT 8:00et
Orlando wins series 3–0

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

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Steve Bardo
Michael Curry
Joe Dumars
Grant Hill
Allan Houston
Lindsey Hunter
Eric Leckner
Mark Macon
Terry Mills
Theo Ratliff
Don Reid
Lou Roe
Otis Thorpe
Mark West

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Michael Curry
Joe Dumars
Grant Hill
Allan Houston
Lindsey Hunter
Eric Leckner
Terry Mills
Theo Ratliff
Don Reid
Lou Roe
Otis Thorpe
Mark West

Awards and records

Grant Hill, All-NBA Second Team

Transactions

References

^ 1995-96 Detroit Pistons
^ "N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Magic Gets First Sweep By Finishing Off Pistons". New York Times. May 1, 1996. Retrieved October 13, 2017.

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

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Regular season

Playoffs

Playoffs

East First Round

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also