The

1993–94 NBA season The 1993–94 NBA season was the 48th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals to win the franchise's first championship. Notable occurre ...

was the Pistons' 46th season in the

National Basketball Association 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 S ...

, and 37th 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 ...

. In the

1993 NBA draft The 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Allan Ho ...

, the Pistons selected

Lindsey Hunter Lindsey Benson Hunter Jr. (born December 3, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1993 to 2010, spending most of his career with the Detroit Pistons. He ...

out of

Jackson State Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of studen ...

with the tenth pick, and selected

Allan Houston Allan Wade Houston (born April 20, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1993 to 2005. A shooting guard, Houston played nine seasons for the New York Knicks; he w ...

from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

with the eleventh pick. During the off-season, the Pistons acquired

Sean Elliott Sean Michael Elliott (born February 2, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who starred at small forward in both the college and professional ranks. He attended the University of Arizona, where he had a standout career as ...

from the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

, signed free agent Greg Anderson, and hired

Don Chaney Donald Ray Chaney (born March 22, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, most notable for winning two championships as a player on the Boston Celtics, and winning NBA Coach of The Year while leading the Houston Roc ...

as head coach. Although the Pistons started out 5–4 without

Alvin Robertson Alvin Cyrrale Robertson (born July 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 1993, and for one final season in 1995–96. Robertson holds the record for th ...

, who was out with a back injury and then traded to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

in November. The Pistons continued to struggle as

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 ...

retired after playing just eleven games after an ugly practice scuffle with

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 ...

. Laimbeer averaged 9.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game this season. Things got worse as the team suffered a 14-game losing streak between December and January, and held an 11–37 record at the All-Star break. At midseason,

Olden Polynice Olden Polynice (born November 21, 1964) is a Haitian former professional basketball player. He played center for the Seattle SuperSonics, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings, and Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association ...

was traded to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

in exchange for

Pete Chilcutt Peter Shawn Chilcutt (born September 14, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Sumter, South Carolina, Chilcutt attended Tuscaloosa Academy in Tuscaloosa, ...

, as the Pistons lost their final 13 games of the season, finishing tied for last place in the Central Division with a 20–62 record, their worst record since 1979–80.

Joe Dumars Joe Dumars III ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is the executive vice president and head of basketball operations of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He could play either shoo ...

led the team in scoring with 20.4 points per game, while Terry Mills averaged 17.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, and Elliott provided the team with 12.1 points per game. Hunter contributed 10.3 points, 4.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and was named the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, while Houston provided with 8.5 points per game off the bench, and Anderson averaged 6.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. This season marked an end of an era as Thomas retired, ending his thirteen-year career with the Pistons. In his final season, Thomas averaged 14.8 points and 6.9 assists per game in 58 games. His final game was a 132–104 home loss to the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

on April 19, 1994, where he ruptured his Achilles tendon, which forced him to retire. Also following the season, Elliott would return to his former team, the

after playing just one season with the Pistons, while Anderson signed with 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 ...

, and Chilcutt signed with the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

*Center

retired on December 1.

Regular season

Season standings

:z - clinched division title :y - clinched division title :x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Player Statistics Citation:

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 ...

2nd Team