The

1997–98 NBA season The 1997–98 NBA season was the 52nd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Chicago Bulls winning their third straight championship and sixth in the last eight years, beating the Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 in ...

was the 50th 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 41st 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 signed free agents

Brian Williams Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an American journalist and television news anchor. He was a correspondent for ''NBC Nightly News'' starting in 1993, before his promotion to anchorman, anchor and managing editor of the broadcast in ...

, and

Malik Sealy Malik Sealy (February 1, 1970 – May 20, 2000) was an American professional basketball player, active from 1992 until his death in an automobile accident at the age of 30. Posthumously inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004, Sealy ...

. After winning their first two games, the Pistons lost five straight and struggled with a 6–11 start, as

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 ...

missed ten games due to a shoulder injury during the first month of the regular season. In late December, the team traded

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 ...

, and

Aaron McKie Aaron Fitzgerald McKie (born October 2, 1972) is an American basketball coach and former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently the special advisor for athletics at his a ...

to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

in exchange for

Jerry Stackhouse Jerry Darnell Stackhouse (born November 5, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. Stackhouse played college basketball f ...

, and

Eric Montross Eric Scott Montross (September 23, 1971 – December 17, 2023) was an American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight seasons with the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey Nets, P ...

. At mid-season, head coach Doug Collins was fired after a 21–24 start to the season, and was replaced with assistant

Alvin Gentry Alvin Harris Gentry (born November 5, 1954) is an American professional basketball executive who is the vice president of basketball engagement for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A former basketball player and ...

; Collins would later on get a job as color analyst for the ''

NBA on NBC Television broadcasts of the National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by NBC Sports has aired on American broadcast network NBC under the ''NBA on NBC'' branding throughout three incarnations in its history. The NBA was first telev ...

''. The Pistons held a 22–25 record at the All-Star break, then later on posted a 7-game losing streak between March and April, missing the

NBA playoffs The NBA playoffs is the annual Playoffs, postseason Tournament#Knockout tournaments, tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held to determine the league champion. Since 1949, the four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held afte ...

by finishing in sixth place in the Central Division with a disappointing 37–45 record.

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 ...

had another stellar season, averaging 21.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and was named to the

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 sel ...

, and selected for the

1998 NBA All-Star Game The 1998 NBA All-Star Game was the 48th edition of the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game. The event was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The East won the game 135–114. Besides the NBA All-Star game, there were t ...

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, while Williams averaged 16.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. In addition, Stackhouse mostly played off the bench as the team's sixth man, averaging 15.7 points per game in 57 games after the trade, while Dumars provided the team with 13.1 points per game, and led them with 158 three-point field goals, and Lindsey Hunter contributed 12.1 points and 1.7 steals per game. Meanwhile, Sealy contributed 7.7 points per game off the bench, and starting power forward Don Reid provided with 3.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. Hill also finished in ninth 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, while Stackhouse finished in fifth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting. Following the season, Sealy signed as a free agent with the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

, while

Grant Long Grant Andrew Long (born March 12, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. He played over 1,000 games for the National Basketball Association over a 15-year career. Long had two relatives who were playing in the NBA during h ...

re-signed with his former team, 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

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 ...

re-signed with his former team, the

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

* Point guard

Rumeal Robinson Rumeal James Robinson (born November 13, 1966) is a Jamaican-American former professional basketball player and convicted felon. Growing up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Robinson graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and went on to pl ...

was signed by the Pistons during the off-season, only playing with the team during the preseason, and did not appear in any regular season games; he was waived on November 20, 1997.

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

Transactions

* August 7, 1997: Acquired the 2003 1st Round Draft Pick (

Darko Miličić Darko Miličić ( sr-Cyrl, Дарко Миличић, ; born 20 June 1985) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. He is , and played the center position. Miličić played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2003 to 2013 ...

) from 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 ( ...

for Otis Thorpe * August 16, 1997: Signed

* October 9, 1997: Waived Randolph Childress * October 25, 1997: Signed

* December 18, 1997: Acquired

and a 2005 2nd Round Draft Pick ( Alex Acker) from the

for

and a 2003 1st Round Draft Pick (

Carlos Delfino Carlos Francisco Delfino (born 29 August 1982) is an Argentine professional basketball player for Baltur Cento of the Italian Serie A2 Basket. Standing at , he plays at the small forward and shooting guard positions. He is also noted for his de ...

) * January 17, 1998: Signed

Steve Henson Steven Michael Henson (born February 2, 1968) is an American basketball coach and former professional basketball player who is an assistant for Baylor University. He previously served as the head coach at the University of Texas at San Antonio ...

to the first of two 10-day contracts * February 9, 1998: Signed Steve Henson for the remainder of the season Player Transactions Citation:

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also