The

1968–69 NBA season The 1968–69 NBA season was the 23rd season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. Notable occurrences * ...

was the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

' 21st season in the NBA and 12th 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 finished with a 32-50 (.390), 6th place in the Eastern Division. The team fired coach

Donnie Butcher Donnis "Donnie" Butcher (February 8, 1936 – October 8, 2012) was an American basketball player. A 6'1" guard from Pikeville College, Butcher was selected by the New York Knicks in the seventh round of the 1961 NBA Draft The 1961 NBA draft was ...

after 22 games, replacing him with assistant Paul Seymour in December. Seymour pushed for what would become an ill-advised trade, dealing All-Star and future

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Dave DeBusschere David Albert DeBusschere (October 16, 1940 – May 14, 2003) was an American professional National Basketball Association (NBA) player and coach and Major League Baseball (MLB) player. He played for the Chicago White Sox of MLB in 1962 and 1963 a ...

to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

for journeyman

Howard Komives Howard K. "Butch" Komives ( ; May 9, 1941 – March 22, 2009) was an American professional basketball player who spent ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Buffalo Braves and Kansas ...

and 7-footer

Walt Bellamy Walter Jones Bellamy (July 24, 1939 – November 2, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. A four-time NBA All-Star, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. College career Bellamy chose to play basket ...

, also a

, but one who had worn out welcomes in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and New York, having a reputation as a malcontent. He proved it in Detroit, lasting a mere 109 games, traded to the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

a year later, netting the Pistons

John Arthurs John Charles Arthurs (born August 15, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. Arthurs played college basketball for the Tulane University, where he was an All-American in 1969. He scored 1,501 points in three seasons, gradu ...

, who would never play for Detroit. DeBusschere became the final component needed for the 1970 NBA champion Knicks. Detroit was led on the season by guard

Dave Bing David Bing (born November 24, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player, businessman, and politician who served as the 74th mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 2009 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. After starring a ...

(23.4 ppg, 7.1 apg, NBA All-Star) and forward

Happy Hairston Harold "Happy" Hairston (May 31, 1942 – May 1, 2001) was an American professional basketball player. A 6'7" (200 cm) 225 lb (102 kg) forward, he was best remembered for playing with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National B ...

(18.1 ppg, 11.8 rpg).

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

:x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Awards and records

All-NBA Second Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sele ...

References

Detroit Pistons seasons

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