The 1995–96 Detroit Pistons season was the 48th season for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association, and their 39th season in Detroit, Michigan.
Season summary
Off-season The Pistons had the 18th overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected center Theo Ratliff from the University of Wyoming, and also selected power forward Don Reid out of Georgetown University with the 58th overall pick. During the off-season, the team hired Doug Collins as their new head coach, and acquired Otis Thorpe from the Portland Trail Blazers; Thorpe won an NBA championship as a member of the Houston Rockets in the 1994 NBA Finals.
Regular season Under Collins, and with the addition of Thorpe, Ratliff and Reid, the Pistons struggled with a 5–9 record in November, but played above .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the regular season, holding a 23–22 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team signed free agent Michael Curry, who was previously released by the Washington Bullets. The Pistons reemerged as a playoff contender, finishing in fifth place in the Central Division with a 46–36 record, earning the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, and returning to the NBA playoffs after a three-year absence.
Second-year star Grant Hill averaged 20.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Allan Houston averaged 19.7 points per game, and led the Pistons with 191 three-point field goals, and Thorpe provided the team with 14.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. In addition, Joe Dumars played half of the regular season off the bench as the team's sixth man, and contributed 11.8 points and 4.0 assists per game, along with 121 three-point field goals, as Lindsey Hunter was the team's starting point guard for half the season, averaging 8.5 points and 2.4 assists per game, along with 117 three-point field goals, and Terry Mills provided with 9.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game off the bench. On the defensive side, Curry contributed 4.9 points per game in 41 games, while Ratliff averaged 4.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and Reid was the team's starting power forward, averaging 3.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Hill was selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Hill also finished tied in ninth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Houston finished tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting, and Collins finished tied in third place in Coach of the Year voting.
The Pistons finished tenth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 730,573 at The Palace of Auburn Hills during the regular season.
NBA playoffs In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1996 NBA playoffs, the Pistons faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Atlantic Division champion Orlando Magic, who were led by the trio of All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal, All-Star guard Penny Hardaway, and Horace Grant. The Pistons lost the first two games to the Magic on the road at the Orlando Arena, before losing Game 3 at home, 101–98 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep.
Notable incidents One notable incident of the regular season occurred on March 19, 1996, during a road game against the Magic at the Orlando Arena. With the Magic up by 20 points against the Pistons, Magic reverse guard Anthony Bowie called a timeout with 2.7 seconds left to set up a play, so he could get his first career triple-double. Collins got upset and viewed this as poor sportsmanship, as he instructed his players off the court to not defend the final play, and then towards the locker room before the game had ended; Collins was fined $5,000 by the league. Bowie posted his first ever career triple-double of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, as the Magic defeated the Pistons by a score of 113–91.
Aftermath Following the season, Houston signed as a free agent with the New York Knicks, which left a bitter feud between Houston and Hill's relationship, and Mark West signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 18 Theo Ratliff C/PF Wyoming 1 19 Randolph Childress PG Wake Forest 2 30 Lou Roe PF Massachusetts Amherst 2 58 Don Reid PF Georgetown
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot
Game log Regular season
|- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 1 | November 3 | New York | L 100–106 | Grant Hill (29) | Otis Thorpe,Terry Mills (12) | Grant Hill (4) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills21,454 | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 2 | November 4 | @ Washington | L 89–100 | Grant Hill (27) | Otis Thorpe (12) | Grant Hill (6) | USAir Arena18,756 | 0–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 3 | November 7 | @ Charlotte | L 96–108 | Otis Thorpe (24) | Grant Hill (12) | Lindsey Hunter (10) | Charlotte Coliseum24,042 | 0–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 4 | November 8 | Portland | W 107–100 (OT) | Joe Dumars (41) | Otis Thorpe (10) | Lindsey Hunter (8) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills14,369 | 1–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 5 | November 10 | Cleveland | W 100–80 | Grant Hill (28) | Grant Hill (15) | Allan Houston (5) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills16,489 | 2–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 6 | November 15 | Seattle | W 94–87 | Otis Thorpe (27) | Theo Ratliff (15) | Grant Hill,Joe Dumars (7) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills14,732 | 3–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 7 | November 17 | Utah | L 81–86 | Allan Houston (25) | Otis Thorpe (12) | Otis Thorpe,Grant Hill,Allan Houston (4) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills15,739 | 3–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 8 | November 18 | @ Cleveland | L 90–93 | Grant Hill (24) | Otis Thorpe (8) | Grant Hill (5) | Gund Arena17,043 | 3–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 9 | November 22 | Washington | L 97–98 | Grant Hill (35) | Grant Hill,Otis Thorpe,Theo Ratliff (8) | Grant Hill (7) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills15,628 | 3–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 10 | November 24 | Philadelphia | W 101–78 | Allan Houston (23) | Grant Hill (10) | Grant Hill (6) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills16,960 | 4–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 11 | November 26 | Houston | W 102–100 | Allan Houston (35) | Otis Thorpe (11) | Grant Hill (8) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills16,098 | 5–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 12 | November 27 | @ Orlando | L 95–96 | Allan Houston,Terry Mills (19) | Terry Mills (10) | Grant Hill (8) | Orlando Arena17,248 | 5–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 13 | November 29 | @ Boston | L 96–100 | Allan Houston (31) | Grant Hill (14) | Grant Hill,Steve Bardo (3) | FleetCenter17,163 | 5–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 14 | November 30 | Miami | L 107–118 | Grant Hill (33) | Grant Hill (11) | Grant Hill (7) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills14,520 | 5–9
|- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 15 | December 2 | Atlanta | W 104–96 | Grant Hill (24) | Grant Hill (13) | Grant Hill (11) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills15,580 | 6–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 16 | December 4 | @ Denver | L 82–85 | Grant Hill (23) | Otis Thorpe (7) | Otis Thorpe (5) | McNichols Sports Arena15,116 | 6–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 17 | December 7 | @ Vancouver | W 93–84 | Allan Houston (20) | Grant Hill (12) | Joe Dumars (9) | General Motors Place14,685 | 7–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 18 | December 8 | @ Golden State | W 121–114 (OT) | Grant Hill (26) | Grant Hill (8) | Joe Dumars (7) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena15,025 | 8–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 19 | December 10 | @ L.A. Lakers | L 82–87 | Lindsey Hunter (21) | Otis Thorpe (10) | Grant Hill (4) | Great Western Forum16,176 | 8–11 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 20 | December 13 | L.A. Lakers | L 98–101 | Grant Hill (25) | Grant Hill (8) | Grant Hill (9) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills14,579 | 8–12 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 21 | December 15 | New Jersey | W 105–98 | Allan Houston (22) | Grant Hill (10) | Grant Hill (12) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills15,483 | 9–12 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 22 | December 16 | @ New York | L 82–86 | Grant Hill (18) | Otis Thorpe (11) | Grant Hill (4) | Madison Square Garden19,763 | 9–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 23 | December 19 | @ Toronto | W 94–82 | Grant Hill (26) | Grant Hill (11) | Lindsey Hunter (6) | SkyDome21,128 | 10–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 24 | December 20 | Milwaukee | W 102–77 | Allan Houston (29) | Otis Thorpe (9) | Grant Hill (7) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills14,688 | 11–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 25 | December 22 | @ Miami | W 84–75 | Grant Hill (24) | Otis Thorpe (10) | Grant Hill (5) | Miami Arena14,688 | 12–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 26 | December 23 | Orlando | L 79–94 | Allan Houston (19) | Grant Hill (7) | Grant Hill (7) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills19,795 | 12–14 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 27 | December 26 | Golden State | W 100–90 | Otis Thorpe (26) | Otis Thorpe (11) | Lindsey Hunter (8) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills16,666 | 13–14 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 28 | December 28 | Toronto | W 113–91 | Allan Houston (29) | Grant Hill (10) | Grant Hill (11) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills21,454 | 14–14 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 29 | December 30 | Charlotte | W 102–100 (OT) | Grant Hill (28) | Grant Hill,Otis Thorpe (12) | Grant Hill,Otis Thorpe (6) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills17,346 | 15–14
|- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 30 | January 3 | @ Milwaukee | L 82–96 | Allan Houston (17) | Otis Thorpe (12) | Grant Hill (8) | Bradley Center14,081 | 15–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 31 | January 6 | Washington | W 90–82 | Grant Hill,Allan Houston (25) | Otis Thorpe (13) | Grant Hill (7) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills21,454 | 16–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 32 | January 11 | @ Charlotte | W 95–93 | Allan Houston (26) | Grant Hill (12) | Grant Hill (7) | Charlotte Coliseum24,042 | 17–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 33 | January 13 | @ New Jersey | W 91–80 | Grant Hill (26) | Grant Hill (13) | Grant Hill (13) | Brendan Byrne Arena17,381 | 18–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 34 | January 15 | @ Atlanta | L 88–96 | Grant Hill (21) | Don Reid,Otis Thorpe (8) | Grant Hill (7) | Omni Coliseum12,570 | 18–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 35 | January 18 | San Antonio | W 100–98 | Allan Houston (28) | Otis Thorpe (12) | Grant Hill,Allan Houston (8) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills20,112 | 19–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 36 | January 19 | @ Indiana | L 81–89 | Allan Houston (28) | Otis Thorpe (12) | Grant Hill,Allan Houston (8) | Market Square Arena16,651 | 19–17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 37 | January 21 | Chicago | L 96–111 | Grant Hill (24) | Grant Hill,Otis Thorpe (9) | Grant Hill,Lindsey Hunter (6) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills21,454 | 19–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 38 | January 24 | @ San Antonio | W 85–84 | Grant Hill (21) | Grant Hill (13) | Grant Hill (7) | Alamodome13,609 | 20–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 39 | January 25 | @ Dallas | W 93–92 | Terry Mills (24) | Terry Mills (9) | Grant Hill (8) | Reunion Arena16,504 | 21–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 40 | January 27 | @ Houston | L 85–105 | Grant Hill (26) | Grant Hill (12) | Lindsey Hunter (5) | The Summit16,285 | 21–19 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 41 | January 29 | @ Utah | L 97–106 | Grant Hill (34) | Otis Thorpe (8) | Grant Hill (8) | Delta Center19,911 | 21–20
|- align="center" bgcolor="#bfb" | 42 | February 1 | Indiana | W 87–70 | Otis Thorpe (23) | Otis Thorpe (14) | Allan Houston (7) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills16,740 | 22–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 43 | February 3 | Sacramento | L 85–94 | Grant Hill (22) | Theo Ratliff (13) | Grant Hill (8) | The Palace Of Auburn Hills17,350 | 22–21 |- align="center" bgcolor="#fcc" | 44 | February 5 | @ New York | L 91–97