1990–91 Detroit Pistons season

The 1990–91 NBA season was the 43rd season for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association, and their 34th season in Detroit, Michigan.^[1] The Pistons entered the regular season as both the three-time defending Eastern Conference Champions, the two-time defending NBA Champions, and looked to win a third consecutive title.

1990–91 Detroit Pistons season
Head coach	Chuck Daly
General manager	Jack McCloskey
Owners	William Davidson
Arena	The Palace of Auburn Hills
Results
Record	50–32 (.610)
Place	Division: 2nd (Central) Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Eastern Conference finals (lost to Bulls 0–4)
Local media
Television	WKBD PASS Sports
Radio	WWJ
< 1989–90 1991–92 >

The Pistons posted a nine-game winning streak in November as they finished the first month of the regular season with a 13–2 record.^[2] However, they would lose six of their next seven games in early December, but held a 34–15 record at the All-Star break.^[3] Midway through the season, the Pistons won eleven consecutive games, finishing in second place in the Central Division with a 50–32 record, eleven games behind the Chicago Bulls, and earning the third seed in the Eastern Conference.^[4]

Joe Dumars averaged 20.4 points and 5.5 assists per game, while Isiah Thomas averaged 16.2 points, 9.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game, but only played just 48 games this season due to a wrist injury,^[5][6][7] and sixth man Mark Aguirre provided the team with 14.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game off the bench. In addition, James Edwards contributed 13.6 points per game, while Vinnie Johnson contributed 11.7 points and 3.3 assists per game off the bench, and Bill Laimbeer provided with 11.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Dennis Rodman averaged 8.2 points, led the team with 12.5 rebounds per game, and was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year,^[8][9][10] and John Salley averaged 7.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and led the team with 1.5 blocks per game also off the bench.^[11]

Thomas and Dumars were both selected for the 1991 NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte, North Carolina, but Thomas did not participate due to injury.^[12][13][14] Dumars was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Rodman was selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team.

In the 1991 NBA playoffs, the Pistons lost Game 1 at home, 103–98 to the 6th-seeded Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference First Round,^[15][16] but won the series 3–2.^[17][18][19] In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, they trailed 2–1 to Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics,^[20][21] then won the series, 4–2.^[22][23][24] This put the Pistons in their fifth consecutive Eastern Conference Finals, where they would be swept by the Bulls, and be denied a fourth consecutive appearance in the NBA Finals.^[25][26][27] The Bulls would reach the NBA Finals for the first time, and defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in five games, winning their first ever NBA championship.^[28][29][30]

Toward the end of the loss to the Bulls in Game 4, which occurred on the Pistons' home floor at The Palace of Auburn Hills, most of the Pistons' players walked off the court toward the locker room without congratulating their opponents or shaking hands; this was seen as a sign of disrespect by the outgoing champions, and was concocted by Laimbeer in response to comments made by Michael Jordan about the Pistons' physical playing style being bad for basketball, calling them "undeserving champions", and that he felt the league would be happy to see the Pistons lose.^[31][32][33]

Following the season, Edwards was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers,^[34][35] Johnson signed as a free agent with the San Antonio Spurs,^[36] and reserve center Scott Hastings was dealt to the Denver Nuggets.

Draft picks

Main article: 1990 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	26	Lance Blanks	PG/SG	United States	Texas

Roster

1990–91 Detroit Pistons roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G/F 23 Mark Aguirre 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 232 lb (105 kg) 1959–12–10 DePaul C 00 William Bedford 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1963–12–14 Memphis G 32 Lance Blanks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–09–09 Texas G 4 Joe Dumars 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963–05–24 McNeese State C 53 James Edwards 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1955–11–22 Washington F 35 Scott Hastings 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1960–06–03 Arkansas G 12 Gerald Henderson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1956–01–16 VCU G 15 Vinnie Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1956–09–01 Baylor F/C 40 Bill Laimbeer 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1957–05–19 Notre Dame F 10 Dennis Rodman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1961–05–13 SE Oklahoma State C 30 Tree Rollins 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1955–06–16 Clemson F/C 22 John Salley 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1964–05–16 Georgia Tech G 11 Isiah Thomas 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1961–04–30 Indiana

Head coach Chuck Daly Assistant(s) Brendan Malone Brendan Suhr Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Chicago Bulls	61	21	.744	—	35–6	26–15	25–5
x-Detroit Pistons	50	32	.610	11	32–9	18–23	19-11
x-Milwaukee Bucks	48	34	.585	13	33–8	15–26	16–14
x-Atlanta Hawks	43	39	.524	18	29–12	14–27	11–19
x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	20	29-12	12–29	15-15
Cleveland Cavaliers	33	49	.402	28	23–18	10–31	11-19
Charlotte Hornets	26	56	.317	35	17–24	9–32	8–22

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Chicago Bulls	61	21	.744	–
2	y-Boston Celtics	56	26	.683	5
3	x-Detroit Pistons	50	32	.610	11
4	x-Milwaukee Bucks	48	34	.585	13
5	x-Philadelphia 76ers	44	38	.537	17
6	x-Atlanta Hawks	43	39	.524	18
7	x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	20
8	x-New York Knicks	39	43	.476	22
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	33	49	.402	28
10	Washington Bullets	30	52	.366	31
11	New Jersey Nets	26	56	.317	35
12	Charlotte Hornets	26	56	.317	35
13	Miami Heat	24	58	.293	37

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1990-91 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–1	1–4	1–4	3–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–3	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2
Boston	1–3	—	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–2	2–0	4–1	5–0	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	5–1
Charlotte	4–1	1–3	—	0–5	1–4	1–1	0–2	1–4	1–1	0–2	0–5	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–3	1–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2
Chicago	4–1	2–2	5–0	—	5–0	2–0	2–0	3–2	1–1	0–2	4–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–1	2–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–1
Cleveland	2–3	1–3	4–1	0–5	—	2–0	1–1	2–3	0–2	0–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–3	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3
Dallas	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	3–1	0–2	2–2	1–3	2–0	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–4	2–0	2–0	1–4	1–1	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–4	2–2	0–5	2–0
Denver	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	0–5	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–4	0–4	1–3	1–1
Detroit	5–0	2–2	4–1	2–3	3–2	2–0	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	3–2	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–3	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1
Golden State	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	—	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–3	2–3	2–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	5–0	0–2	2–2	—	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	5–0	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	3–1	2–3	2–2	2–2	1–1
Indiana	1–4	2–2	5–0	1–4	4–1	0–2	2–0	2–3	1–1	1–1	—	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–3	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–3	2–2	1–1	—	0–4	0–2	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	2–3	1–3	3–2	2–2	2–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	—	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	4–0	3–1	3–2	2–2	2–0
Miami	0–4	1–4	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	—	0–4	0–2	3–3	1–4	1–1	1–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–2
Milwaukee	3–2	2–2	3–2	1–4	3–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–1	0–2	3–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	—	1–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Minnesota	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–1	2–3	0–2	1–3	0–5	1–1	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	—	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–4	0–4	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–4	1–1
New Jersey	1–3	1–4	2–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	3–3	2–2	1–1	—	0–5	1–1	2–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–3
New York	1–3	0–5	4–0	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	0–4	1–1	5–0	—	0–2	5–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–2
Orlando	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–1	3–2	0–2	2–2	2–3	1–1	3–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	—	0–2	2–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–4	1–1
Philadelphia	4–0	3–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–2	0–2	3–2	1–5	2–0	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–2
Phoenix	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	—	3–2	3–1	1–3	3–2	2–2	2–0
Portland	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	3–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	2–3	—	3–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–0
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	3–2	1–3	0–2	2–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–3	—	1–3	1–4	1–3	2–0
San Antonio	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	4–1	4–1	2–0	2–2	3–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	3–1	—	3–1	2–3	2–0
Seattle	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–3	0–4	4–1	1–3	—	1–3	2–0
Utah	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	5–0	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	0–2	4–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–2	3–1	—	2–0
Washington	2–2	1–5	2–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–2	2–3	1–3	1–1	3–2	2–3	1–1	2–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

Playoffs

1991 playoff game log
First Round: 3–2 (home: 2–1; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 26 Atlanta L 98–103 Joe Dumars (20) Laimbeer, Rodman (11) Isiah Thomas (14) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 0–1 2 April 28 Atlanta W 101–88 Joe Dumars (28) Dennis Rodman (10) Isiah Thomas (8) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 1–1 3 April 30 @ Atlanta W 103–91 Joe Dumars (30) Dennis Rodman (13) Isiah Thomas (13) Omni Coliseum 13,571 2–1 4 May 2 @ Atlanta L 111–123 Vinnie Johnson (26) Dennis Rodman (12) Isiah Thomas (12) Omni Coliseum 9,854 2–2 5 May 5 Atlanta W 113–81 Isiah Thomas (26) Dennis Rodman (20) Isiah Thomas (11) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 3–2
Conference semifinals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 7 @ Boston W 86–75 James Edwards (18) Dennis Rodman (16) Isiah Thomas (13) Boston Garden 14,890 1–0 2 May 9 @ Boston L 103–109 Joe Dumars (29) Bill Laimbeer (15) Joe Dumars (6) Boston Garden 14,890 1–1 3 May 11 Boston L 83–115 James Edwards (13) Laimbeer, Rodman (12) Vinnie Johnson (5) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 1–2 4 May 13 Boston W 104–97 Mark Aguirre (34) Dennis Rodman (18) Joe Dumars (8) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 2–2 5 May 15 @ Boston W 116–111 Joe Dumars (32) Dennis Rodman (10) Joe Dumars (8) Boston Garden 14,890 3–2 6 May 17 Boston W 117–113 (OT) Joe Dumars (32) Bill Laimbeer (14) Joe Dumars (10) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 4–2
Conference finals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 19 @ Chicago L 83–94 Mark Aguirre (25) Dennis Rodman (9) Isiah Thomas (8) Chicago Stadium 18,676 0–1 2 May 21 @ Chicago L 97–105 Vinnie Johnson (29) Dennis Rodman (11) Dumars, Thomas (5) Chicago Stadium 18,676 0–2 3 May 25 Chicago L 107–113 Isiah Thomas (29) four players tied (7) Isiah Thomas (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 0–3 4 May 27 Chicago L 94–115 Isiah Thomas (16) Thomas, Johnson (7) Isiah Thomas (5) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 0–4
1991 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Joe Dumars	80	80	38.1	.481	.311	.890	2.3	5.5	1.1	0.1	20.4
Isiah Thomas	48	46	34.5	.435	.292	.782	3.3	9.3	1.6	0.2	16.2
Mark Aguirre	78	13	25.7	.462	.308	.757	4.8	1.8	0.6	0.3	14.2
James Edwards	72	70	26.4	.484	.500	.729	3.8	0.9	0.2	0.4	13.6
Vinnie Johnson	82	28	29.1	.434	.324	.646	3.4	3.3	0.9	0.2	11.7
Bill Laimbeer	82	81	32.5	.478	.296	.837	9.0	1.9	0.5	0.7	11.0
Dennis Rodman	82	77	33.5	.493	.200	.631	12.5	1.0	0.8	0.7	8.2
John Salley	74	1	22.3	.475	.000	.727	4.4	0.9	0.7	1.5	7.4
Gerald Henderson	23	10	17.0	.427	.333	.762	1.6	2.7	0.5	0.1	5.3
William Bedford	60	4	9.4	.438	.385	.705	2.2	0.5	0.0	0.6	4.5
John Long	25	0	10.2	.412	.333	.960	1.3	0.7	0.4	0.1	3.8
Scott Hastings	27	0	4.2	.571	.750	1.000	1.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	1.8
Lance Blanks	38	0	5.6	.426	.125	.714	0.5	0.7	0.2	0.1	1.7
Tree Rollins	37	0	5.5	.424		.571	1.1	0.1	0.1	0.5	1.0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Joe Dumars	15	15	39.2	.429	.405	.845	3.3	4.1	1.1	0.1	20.6
Mark Aguirre	15	2	26.5	.506	.364	.824	4.1	1.9	0.8	0.1	15.6
Vinnie Johnson	15	3	29.2	.464	.154	.710	5.1	2.9	0.7	0.3	15.2
Isiah Thomas	13	11	33.5	.403	.273	.725	4.2	8.5	1.0	0.2	13.5
Bill Laimbeer	15	15	29.7	.446	.294	.871	8.1	1.3	0.3	0.8	10.9
James Edwards	15	11	23.0	.407		.691	2.5	0.6	0.1	0.2	10.7
John Salley	15	0	20.5	.543		.600	4.1	0.7	0.4	1.3	7.5
Dennis Rodman	15	14	33.0	.451	.222	.417	11.8	0.9	0.7	0.7	6.3
William Bedford	8	3	8.1	.208	.000	.643	2.8	0.5	0.3	0.5	2.4
Gerald Henderson	10	1	4.0	.250	.000		0.1	0.6	0.1	0.0	0.8
Scott Hastings	10	0	3.5	.500	.500		0.6	0.3	0.0	0.1	0.8
Tree Rollins	6	0	5.3	1.000			0.5	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.7

Player Statistics Citation:^[11]

Awards and records

• Dennis Rodman, NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
• Joe Dumars, All-NBA Third Team
• Joe Dumars, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Dennis Rodman, NBA All-Defensive First Team

Transactions