The
1981–82 NBA season was the
Detroit Pistons' 34th season in the
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
and 25th season in the city of
Detroit. The team played in the Detroit suburbs at the
Pontiac Silverdome.
The Pistons had the second pick in the
1981 NBA Draft
The 1981 NBA draft was the 35th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1981, before the 1981–82 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the USA Network. In this draft, 23 NBA te ...
and chose
Isiah Thomas
Isiah Lord Thomas III (born April 30, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is an analyst for ''NBA TV''. The 12-time NBA All-Star was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as well as the 75 Grea ...
from
Indiana, adding a future
Hall of Fame
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 Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
player for the centerpiece of the rebuilding franchise. The team finished greatly improved, 39-43 (.476), 3rd in the Central Division, an 18-game improvement from the previous season. The team was led by a pair of rookies, guard Thomas (17.0 ppg, 7.8 apg, NBA All-Star, NBA All Rookie Team) and forward
Kelly Tripucka (21.6 ppg, NBA All-Star, NBA All Rookie Team), along with guard
John Long (21.9 ppg) The team also picked up center
Bill Laimbeer
William J. Laimbeer Jr. (born May 19, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who spent the majority of his career with the Detroit Pistons. Known for his rough and violent style of play, he played a big part in the P ...
(12.8 ppg, 11.3 rpg) in a trade with
Cleveland and guard
Vinnie Johnson from
Seattle (7.7 ppg), two key components of future championship Piston teams.
Draft picks
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
:z - clinched division title
:y - clinched division title
:x - clinched playoff spot
Record vs. opponents
Game log
Regular season
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 1
, October 30
,
Milwaukee
W 118–113,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 1–0
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 2
, October 31
, @
Chicago
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 3
, November 5
,
New Jersey
W 109–103,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 3–0
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 4
, November 6
, @
Washington
L 82–86,
,
,
,
Capital Centre Capitol Center or Capitol Centre or Capital Center or Capital Centre may refer to:
Singapore
*Capitol Centre, Singapore
United Arab Emirates
*Capital Centre (Abu Dhabi)
United Kingdom
*Capitol Centre, Cardiff, a shopping mall
United States
* Ca ...
, 3–1
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 5
, November 7
,
Boston
L 88–129,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 3–2
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 6
, November 10
,
Philadelphia
L 93–95,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 3–3
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 7
, November 12
,
Cleveland
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 8
, November 14
, @
Atlanta
W 117–104,
,
,
,
The Omni
, 5–3
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 9
, November 18
, @
Cleveland
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 10
, November 19
,
Washington
W 122–97,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 6–4
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 11
, November 21
,
Utah
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 12
, November 24
, @
Milwaukee
L 95–103,
,
,
,
MECCA Arena
, 7–5
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 13
, November 25
, @
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 14
, November 27
,
Atlanta
L 112–114 (OT),
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 8–6
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 15
, November 28
, @
Philadelphia
L 103–116,
,
,
,
The Spectrum
, 8–7
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 16
, December 1
, @
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 17
, December 2
, @
Boston
L 114–115,
,
,
,
Boston Garden
, 8–9
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 18
, December 4
, @
Indiana
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 19
, December 5
,
Milwaukee
L 108–111,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 8–11
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 20
, December 10
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 21
, December 12
, @
Seattle
L 111–117,
,
,
,
Kingdome
The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District, Seattle, Industrial District (later SoDo, Seattle, SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. O ...
, 8–13
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 22
, December 13
, @
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 23
, December 15
, @
Golden State
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 24
, December 17
,
Indiana
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 25
, December 19
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 26
, December 22
, @
Dallas
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 27
, December 23
, @
Denver
W 124–119,
,
,
,
McNichols Sports Arena
, 12–15
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 28
, December 26
,
Chicago
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 29
, December 29
, @
Washington
L 125–129,
,
,
,
Capital Centre Capitol Center or Capitol Centre or Capital Center or Capital Centre may refer to:
Singapore
*Capitol Centre, Singapore
United Arab Emirates
*Capital Centre (Abu Dhabi)
United Kingdom
*Capitol Centre, Cardiff, a shopping mall
United States
* Ca ...
, 13–16
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 30
, December 30
, @
New Jersey
L 119–130,
,
,
,
Brendan Byrne Arena
, 13–17
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 31
, January 2
, @
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 32
, January 5
,
Philadelphia
W 124–101,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 14–18
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 33
, January 7
,
Phoenix
L 94–110,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 14–19
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 34
, January 9
,
Los Angeles
L 127–130,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 14–20
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 35
, January 10
, @
Boston
L 124–134,
,
,
,
Hartford Civic Center
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, 14–21
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 36
, January 12
, @
Chicago
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 37
, January 14
,
Washington
L 114–121,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 15–22
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 38
, January 16
,
Boston
L 120–128,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 15–23
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 39
, January 17
, @
Milwaukee
W 108–103,
,
,
,
MECCA Arena
, 16–23
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 40
, January 19
, @
Utah
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 41
, January 21
, @
San Diego
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 42
, January 22
, @
Los Angeles
L 111–123,
,
,
,
The Forum
, 17–25
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 43
, January 23
, @
Phoenix
L 90–113,
,
,
,
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
, 17–26
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 44
, January 27
,
Atlanta
W 108–107,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 18–26
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 45
, February 2
, @
Atlanta
W 106–105,
,
,
,
The Omni
, 19–26
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 46
, February 5
, @
Chicago
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 47
, February 6
,
New Jersey
L 120–125,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 20–27
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 48
, February 9
,
Chicago
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 49
, February 10
, @
New Jersey
L 108–115,
,
,
,
Brendan Byrne Arena
, 21–28
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 50
, February 11
,
Cleveland
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 51
, February 13
,
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 52
, February 16
,
Houston
W 111–109,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 23–29
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 53
, February 17
, @
San Antonio
L 112–126,
,
,
,
HemisFair Arena
, 23–30
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 54
, February 20
,
Indiana
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 55
, February 25
,
San Antonio
L 116–119,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 24–31
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 56
, February 27
,
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 57
, February 28
, @
Indiana
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 58
, March 2
, @
Milwaukee
L 91–101,
,
,
,
MECCA Arena
, 25–33
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 59
, March 4
,
Chicago
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 60
, March 6
, @
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 61
, March 8
,
Boston
L 101–111,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 27–34
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 62
, March 10
,
Denver
L 113–124,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 27–35
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 63
, March 12
,
Golden State
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 64
, March 14
, @
Cleveland
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 65
, March 16
,
San Diego
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 66
, March 18
,
Seattle
W 119–115,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 31–35
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 67
, March 19
, @
Houston
W 111–102,
,
,
,
The Summit
, 32–35
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 68
, March 21
, @
Atlanta
L 111–119,
,
,
,
The Omni
, 32–36
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 69
, March 25
,
Philadelphia
W 100–98,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 33–36
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 70
, March 26
, @
Boston
L 104–125,
,
,
,
Boston Garden
, 33–37
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 71
, March 27
, @
New Jersey
W 123–121,
,
,
,
Brendan Byrne Arena
, 34–37
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 72
, March 30
, @
Washington
L 98–127,
,
,
,
Capital Centre Capitol Center or Capitol Centre or Capital Center or Capital Centre may refer to:
Singapore
*Capitol Centre, Singapore
United Arab Emirates
*Capital Centre (Abu Dhabi)
United Kingdom
*Capitol Centre, Cardiff, a shopping mall
United States
* Ca ...
, 34–38
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 73
, March 31
, @
Indiana
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 74
, April 1
,
Dallas
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 75
, April 3
,
Indiana
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 76
, April 7
,
Atlanta
W 120–115,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 36–40
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 77
, April 9
,
Milwaukee
L 100–118,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 36–41
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 78
, April 11
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 79
, April 14
, @
Philadelphia
L 111–119,
,
,
,
The Spectrum
, 37–42
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 80
, April 15
,
Cleveland
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
, 81
, April 17
,
New Jersey
L 132–147,
,
,
,
Pontiac Silverdome
, 38–43
, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
, 82
, April 18
, @
Cleveland
Player statistics
Awards and records
*
Isiah Thomas
Isiah Lord Thomas III (born April 30, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is an analyst for ''NBA TV''. The 12-time NBA All-Star was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as well as the 75 Grea ...
,
NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team
*
Kelly Tripucka,
NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team
References
See also
*
1981-82 NBA season
{{DEFAULTSORT:1981-82 Detroit Pistons Season
Detroit Pistons seasons
Det
Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons