The

1994–95 NBA season The 1994–95 NBA season was the 49th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the Orlando Magic 4–0 in the NBA Finals to be crowned champions. Notable occurrences *The Housto ...

was the 47th season for 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, and their 38th season in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. After finishing with a miserable 20–62 record the previous season, along with the retirements of

Bill Laimbeer William Laimbeer Jr. (born May 19, 1957) is an American former professional basketball coach and player who spent the majority of his career with the Detroit Pistons. Known for his physical style of play, he played a big part in the Pistons earni ...

and

Isiah Thomas Isiah Lord Thomas III ( ; born April 30, 1961), also known as "Zeke", is an American former professional basketball player who is head coach of the Saginaw Soul of the Basketball Super League, and also an analyst for NBA TV and Fox Sports. H ...

, the Pistons received the third overall pick in the

1994 NBA draft The 1994 NBA draft took place on June 29, 1994, at Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Two NBA rookies of the year were picked in the first round, as Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were co-winners of the award for the 1994–95 NBA season. Kidd and Hill ...

, and selected small forward

Grant Hill Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a part-owner of Orlando City SC of Major League ...

out of

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. The team also signed free agents

Oliver Miller Oliver J. Miller (April 6, 1970 – March 12, 2025) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was nicknamed "the Big O" because of his large size ( and well over throughout his pro career). ...

Johnny Dawkins Johnny Earl Dawkins Jr. (born September 28, 1963) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the UCF men's basketball team. From 2008 to 2016, he was the head coach of Stanford. He was a two-time All-American an ...

, and

Rafael Addison Rafael Addison (born July 22, 1964) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and other leagues. He was listed at 6'7" and 215 lbs. Addison attended Syracuse University an ...

, and acquired Mark West from the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

during the off-season. However, after a respectable 8–7 start to the regular season, the Pistons lost 13 of their next 14 games, which included an 8-game losing streak, as second-year guard

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 ...

only played just 42 games due to foot and ankle injuries, and Dawkins was released to free agency after 50 games. After holding a 17–29 record at the All-Star break, the Pistons continued to struggle losing eight of their final nine games, finishing in last place in the Central Division with a 28–54 record. Hill became an immediate fan favorite averaging 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and was named to the

NBA All-Rookie First 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 play ...

, and was also named the co-

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottlieb T ...

along with

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the List of current NBA head coaches, head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regar ...

of the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

, while

Joe Dumars Joe Dumars III ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is the head of basketball operations for the New Orleans Pelicans. He could play either shooting guard or point guard on offense and was ...

, the last of the original players from the Bad Boys era, averaged 18.1 points and 5.5 assists per game, and contributed 103 three-point field goals. Hill and Dumars were both selected for the

1995 NBA All-Star Game The 1995 NBA All-Star Game was the 45th edition of the All-Star Game. The Western Conference won 139–112. The city of Phoenix hosted the event for the second time (the only previous All-Star game there occurred in 1975). Mitch Richmond of th ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, which was Hill's first ever All-Star appearance, as he also became the first rookie ever to lead in All-Star voting. In addition, Terry Mills provided the team with 15.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while second-year guard

Allan Houston Allan Wade Houston Jr. (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; h ...

showed improvement averaging 14.5 points per game, leading the Pistons with 158 three-point field goals, and finishing in fifth place in Most Improved Player voting, and Miller averaged 8.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Addison contributed 8.3 points per game off the bench, but was released by the team to free agency shortly before the regular season had ended, while Hunter contributed 7.5 points and 1.2 steals per game, and West provided with 7.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Following the season, Miller was left unprotected in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the newly expansion

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

, and head coach

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 Ro ...

was fired. For the season, the Pistons added new red alternate road uniforms with blue side panels, which remained in use until the franchise's

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

teal-colored rebrand.

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

* Small forward

was waived on April 19, 1995.

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="#ffcccc" , 35 , January 20, 1995
8:00p.m. EST ,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

L 96–106
,

Mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places U ...

(33) ,

(9) , Dumars (8) ,

The Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly known as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Opened in 1988, it was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shock of the ...

21,454 , 11–24 , - align="center" , colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff", All-Star Break , - style="background:#cfc;" , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 52 , February 23, 1995
8:30p.m. EST , @

L 99–110
, Dumars (28) ,

Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

(10) , Dumars (8) , The Summit
16,611 , 19–33

Player statistics

Regular season

Player Statistics Citation:

Awards and records

NBA Rookie of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottlieb Tr ...

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 play ...

1st Team

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Regular season

Player statistics

Regular season

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also