1996–97 Detroit Pistons season

The 1996–97 Detroit Pistons season was the 49th season for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association, and their 40th season in Detroit, Michigan.^[1] During the off-season, the Pistons acquired Stacey Augmon and Grant Long from the Atlanta Hawks,^[2][3][4] and re-signed free agent and former "Bad Boy" Rick Mahorn, who was a member of the championship team that defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1989 NBA Finals.^[5][6][7] The team also signed three-point specialist Kenny Smith, who won two NBA championships with the Houston Rockets, but was released to free agency in November after nine games.^[8][9]

The Pistons got off to a fast start by winning ten of their first eleven games of the regular season, which included a six-game winning streak in November.^[10] The team got off to a 20–4 start to the season,^[11] and later on held a 34–12 record at the All-Star break.^[12] At mid-season, the Pistons traded Augmon to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Aaron McKie.^[13][14][15] The Pistons posted another six-game winning streak in February, holding a 40–13 record as of February 23, 1997. However, despite their successful start, the team posted a 20–16 record after the All-Star break, losing six of their final nine games of the season. The Pistons finished in third place in the Central Division with a 54–28 record, and earned the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference;^[16] it was also the team's first 50-win season since the 1990–91 season, and would be their last until the 2001–02 season.^[1]

Grant Hill 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, while Joe Dumars averaged 14.7 points and 4.0 assists per game, and contributed 166 three-point field goals, and Lindsey Hunter showed improvement averaging 14.2 points and 1.6 steals per game, along with 166 three-point field goals; despite being the starting point guard, Hunter only contributed just 1.9 assists per game. In addition, Otis Thorpe provided the team with 13.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, while 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, McKie contributed 6.3 points per game in 42 games after the trade, second-year center Theo Ratliff averaged 5.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, Long provided with 5.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, and Michael Curry contributed 3.9 points per game.^[17]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Hill and Dumars were both selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, while head coach Doug Collins was selected to coach the Eastern Conference; it was Dumars' sixth and final All-Star appearance.^[18][19][20] Meanwhile, Mills participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout.^[18][21] Hill also finished in third place in Most Valuable Player voting, behind Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz, and Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls;^[22][23] Dumars finished tied in sixth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[23] while Hunter finished in seventh place in Most Improved Player voting,^[23] Mills finished in fourth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,^[24][23] and Collins finished in fifth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[23]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1997 NBA playoffs, the Pistons faced off against the 4th–seeded Atlanta Hawks, who were led by the quartet of All-Star center, and Defensive Player of the Year, Dikembe Mutombo, All-Star forward Christian Laettner, Steve Smith and Mookie Blaylock. The Pistons lost Game 1 to the Hawks on the road, 89–75 at the Omni Coliseum,^[25][26][27] but managed to win the next two games, which included a Game 3 win over the Hawks at home, 99–91 at The Palace of Auburn Hills to take a 2–1 series lead.^[28][29][30] However, the Pistons lost the next two games, including a Game 5 loss to the Hawks at the Omni Coliseum, 84–79, thus losing in a hard-fought five-game series.^[31][32][33]

The Pistons finished sixth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 784,234 at The Palace of Auburn Hills during the regular season.^[17][34] Following the season, Thorpe was traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies after feuding with Collins during the regular season,^[35][36][37] while Mills signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat,^[38][39][40] and Curry signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.^[41][42]

For the season, the Pistons redesigned their primary logo, replacing their traditional blue and red colors with teal, burgundy, black, silver and golden yellow to their color scheme of white. The team's primary logo featured a black and silver horse head with a flaming mane in burgundy and golden yellow, above the team name "Pistons" in white letters with teal shadows, and flaming tailpipes surrounded by a black outline; the flaming horse head and team name are in front of a burgundy basketball with silver seams, surrounded by a teal circle with a silver outline featuring the city name "Detroit" in white letters.^[43] The team also redesigned their home and road uniforms, which featured the flaming horse head along with the team name on the front of their jerseys. The white home uniforms featured a teal, golden yellow and burgundy trim, and teal side panels with golden yellow and burgundy outlines on their jerseys and shorts, while the road uniforms were changed from blue to teal, and featured a black, golden yellow and burgundy trim, and black side panels.^[44][45]

The team's new primary logo, and new uniforms would both remain in use until 2001, while the basic design of the logo would last until 2005.