The

1996–97 NBA season The 1996–97 NBA season was the 51st season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league used this season to celebrate its 50th anniversary, which included the unveiling of the league's list of its 50 greatest players. This particu ...

was the 49th 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 40th 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 ...

. During the off-season, the Pistons acquired Stacey Augmon and Grant Long from 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

, and re-signed free agent and former "Bad Boy"

Rick Mahorn Derrick Allen Mahorn (born September 21, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player who played power forward and center for the Washington Bullets, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, and the New Jersey Nets of the National Ba ...

, who was a member of the championship team that defeated the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

in the

1989 NBA Finals The 1989 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1988–89 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The series was a rematch of the previous year's championship round between the Ea ...

. The team also signed three-point specialist Kenny Smith, who won two NBA championships 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 of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

, but was released to free agency in November after nine games. The Pistons got off to a fast start by winning ten of their first eleven games of the regular season, on their way to a 20–4 start, and later holding a 34–12 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded Augmon to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

in exchange for Aaron McKie. Despite their successful start, the Pistons struggled a bit down the stretch posting a 20–16 record for the remainder of the season, losing six of their final nine games. The Pistons finished in third place in the Central Division with a 54–28 record, and earned the #5 seed in the Eastern Conference; this was also the team's first 50-win season since the 1990–91 season, and would be their last until the 2001–02 season.

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 ...

averaged 21.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and was named to the

All-NBA First 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 sel ...

, 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 ...

averaged 14.7 points and 4.0 assists per game, and contributed 166 three-point field goals. In addition, Lindsey Hunter showed improvement averaging 14.2 points and 1.6 steals per game, along with 166 three-point field goals, while Otis Thorpe provided the team with 13.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, and sixth man Terry Mills contributed 10.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, and led the Pistons with 175 three-point field goals off the bench. Meanwhile, second-year center

Theo Ratliff Theophalus Curtis Ratliff (born April 17, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Alabama, Ratliff played for and graduated from the University of Wyo ...

averaged 5.8 points and 1.5 blocks per game, and Long provided with 5.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Hill, Dumars, and head coach Doug Collins represented the Eastern Conference during the 1997 NBA All-Star Game in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

; it was also Dumars' sixth and final All-Star appearance. Hill also finished in third place in

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

voting behind

Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spen ...

and

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

, while Dumars finished tied in sixth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, Hunter finished in seventh place in Most Improved Player voting, Mills finished in fourth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, and Collins finished in fifth place in

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

voting. In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1997 NBA playoffs, the Pistons took a 2–1 series lead over the

, but lost the next two games, thus losing the series in five games. Following the season, Thorpe was traded to the

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. The Grizzlies competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Midwest Division (NBA), Midwest Division of the Western Conference ( ...

after feuding with Collins during the regular season, while Mills signed as a free agent with the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

, and Michael Curry signed with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. For the season, the Pistons revealed a new primary logo of a flaming horse head, and changed their uniforms replacing blue with teal to their color scheme. The new primary logo and uniforms both remained in use until

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

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

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , April 25 , @

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

L 75–89
,

(20) ,

(14) ,

(7) ,

Omni Coliseum Omni Coliseum (often called The Omni) was an indoor arena in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Completed in 1972, the arena seated 16,378 for basketball and 15,278 for ice hockey, hockey. It was part of the Omni Complex, now known as the CNN Cente ...

15,795 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , April 27 , @

W 93–80
,

(25) , Otis Thorpe (8) ,

(3) ,

16,378 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , April 29 ,

W 99–91
, Lindsey Hunter (26) , Terry Mills (7) ,

(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 ...

20,059 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , May 2 ,

L 82–94
,

(28) , Terry Mills (10) , three players tied (3) ,

21,454 , 2–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , May 4 , @

L 79–84
,

(21) , Lindsey Hunter (9) ,

(6) ,

16,378 , 2–3 , -

Player statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Player Statistics Citation:

Awards and records

Transactions

* July 15, 1996: Signed Michael Curry; Released Mark West and Lou Roe * July 15, 1996: Traded a 1997 2nd Round Draft Pick (which became Alain Digbeu), two 1999 1st Round Draft Picks ( Cal Bowdler and Dion Glover) and one 1999 2nd Round Draft Pick ( Lari Ketner) to the Atlanta Hawks for Stacey Augmon and Grant Long * August 5, 1996: Signed

* August 30, 1996: Signed Litterial Green * September 17, 1996: Signed Kenny Smith * November 23, 1996: Waived Kenny Smith * January 24, 1997: Acquired Randolph Childress, Reggie Jordan and Aaron McKie from the

for Stacey Augmon * February 18, 1997: Waived Reggie Jordan Player Transactions Citation:

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

Player statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also