The 1965-66 NBA season was the Detroit Pistons' 18th season in the NBA and its ninth season in the city of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. The team played at

Cobo Arena Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washi ...

in Detroit. The Pistons struggled on the season, finishing 22-58 (.275), 5th in the Western Division and with the worst record in the NBA. The team was led on the season by guard

Eddie Miles Edward Miles, Jr. (born July 5, 1940) is a retired American basketball player. A 6'4" guard born in North Little Rock, Arkansas and a graduate of Scipio A. Jones High School, Miles was nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Arm" because of his shoo ...

(19.6 ppg, NBA All-Star) and player-coach Dave DeBusschere (16.4 ppg, 11.6 rpg, NBA All-Star). Rookie guard

Tom Van Arsdale Thomas Arthur Van Arsdale (born February 22, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player. A graduate of Emmerich Manual High School in Indianapolis, the guard played collegiately at Indiana University under longtime head coach ...

(10.5 ppg, NBA First-Team All-Rookie) added to the cause. Adding insult on the year, two Baltimore Bullets,

Don Ohl Donald Jay Ohl (born April 18, 1936) is an American former professional basketball player who spent 10 seasons (1960–1970) in the National Basketball Association (NBA). His nickname was ''Waxie'' because of his crew cut. College career Ohl ...

and

Bailey Howell Bailey E. Howell (born January 20, 1937) is an American former professional basketball player. After playing college basketball at Mississippi State, Howell played 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Howell was a six-time NBA ...

, made the NBA All-Star game, having been traded the year prior by the Pistons, while 1964-65 Pistons All-Star Terry Dischinger, acquired in that trade, was now serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Awards and records

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for playe ...

1st Team

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1965-66 Detroit Pistons Season Detroit Pistons seasons

Detroit Pistons Detroit Pistons