1991–92 Detroit Pistons season

The 1991–92 NBA season was the 44th season for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association, and their 35th season in Detroit, Michigan.^[1] During the off-season, the Pistons acquired Orlando Woolridge from the Denver Nuggets,^[2][3] and acquired Darrell Walker from the Washington Bullets.^[4][5]

1991–92 Detroit Pistons season
Head coach	Chuck Daly
General manager	Jack McCloskey
Owners	William Davidson
Arena	The Palace of Auburn Hills
Results
Record	48–34 (.585)
Place	Division: 3rd (Central) Conference: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Knicks 2–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WKBD-TV PASS Sports
Radio	WWJ
< 1990–91 1992–93 >

The Pistons got off to a slow start to the regular season with a 9–13 record, but managed to win 10 of their next 13 games. In December, during a road game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center, Karl Malone committed a flagrant foul on Isiah Thomas, in which Malone hit Thomas's forehead with his elbow, and Thomas had to receive 40 stitches; Malone was suspended for one game.^[6][7][8] The Pistons held a 28–20 record at the All-Star break,^[9] and won seven consecutive games in March, then won six in a row in April, finishing in third place in the Central Division with a 48–34 record, and earning the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.^[10]

Joe Dumars averaged 19.9 points and 4.6 assists per game, while Thomas averaged 18.5 points, 7.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and Woolridge provided the team with 14.0 points per game. In addition, sixth man Mark Aguirre contributed 11.3 points per game off the bench, while Bill Laimbeer provided with 9.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and Dennis Rodman averaged 9.8 points, and led the league with 18.7 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, off the bench, John Salley provided with 9.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and Walker contributed 5.2 points and 2.8 assists per game.^[11]

Dumars, Thomas and Rodman were all selected for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida,^{[12][13][14][15]} while Dumars and Rodman were both named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and Rodman was selected to the All-NBA Third Team; Rodman also finished in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.^[16]

Throughout the season, speculation that it was Chuck Daly's last season as head coach of the Pistons lingered in the media, intensifying as the season went out and well into the NBA playoffs.^{[17][18][19][20]} As the “Bad Boys” era was fading, the Pistons were eliminated in five games in the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1992 NBA playoffs by the New York Knicks.^[21][22][23] The Pistons would not return to the playoffs until 1996. Following the season, Daly left to coach the New Jersey Nets,^[24][25][26] and Salley was traded to the Miami Heat.^{[27][28][29][30]}

Meanwhile, the Bulls-Pistons rivalry took another ugly turn as Thomas was left off the Dream Team coached by Daly, reportedly at the request of Michael Jordan.^{[31][32][33][34]}

Draft picks

Main article: 1991 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	40	Doug Overton	PG	United States	La Salle

Roster

1991–92 Detroit Pistons roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From SF 23 Mark Aguirre 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 232 lb (105 kg) 1959–12–10 DePaul C 50 William Bedford 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1963–12–14 Memphis SG 32 Lance Blanks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–09–09 Texas SG 4 Joe Dumars 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963–05–24 McNeese State PG 12 Gerald Henderson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1956–01–16 VCU C 40 Bill Laimbeer 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1957–05–19 Notre Dame PF 30 Bob McCann 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 244 lb (111 kg) 1964–04–22 Morehead State PF 10 Dennis Rodman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1961–05–13 SE Oklahoma State PF 22 John Salley 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1964–05–16 Georgia Tech C 2 Brad Sellers 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1962–12–17 Ohio State PG 14 Charles Thomas 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1969–10–03 Eastern Michigan PG 11 Isiah Thomas 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1961–04–30 Indiana SG 5 Darrell Walker 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1961–03–09 Arkansas PF 6 /0 Orlando Woolridge 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1959–12–16 Notre Dame

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	67	15	.817	—	36–5	31–10	22–6
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	57	25	.695	10	35–6	22–19	21–7
x-Detroit Pistons	48	34	.585	19	25–16	23–18	15–13
x-Indiana Pacers	40	42	.488	27	26–15	14–27	13–15
Atlanta Hawks	38	44	.463	29	23–18	15–26	7–21
Milwaukee Bucks	31	51	.378	36	25–16	6–35	10–18
Charlotte Hornets	31	51	.378	36	22–19	9–32	10–18

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Chicago Bulls	67	15	.817	–
2	y-Boston Celtics	51	31	.622	16
3	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	57	25	.695	10
4	x-New York Knicks	51	31	.622	16
5	x-Detroit Pistons	48	34	.585	19
6	x-New Jersey Nets	40	42	.488	27
7	x-Indiana Pacers	40	42	.488	27
8	x-Miami Heat	38	44	.463	29
9	Atlanta Hawks	38	44	.463	29
10	Philadelphia 76ers	35	47	.427	32
11	Milwaukee Bucks	31	51	.378	36
12	Charlotte Hornets	31	51	.378	36
13	Washington Bullets	25	57	.305	42
14	Orlando Magic	21	61	.256	46

z - clinched conference title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1991-92 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	2–2	0–5	0–5	2–0	2–0	1–4	1–1	2–0	1–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2
Boston	1–3	—	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–2	0–2	2–3	3–2	5–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1
Charlotte	2–2	1–3	—	0–4	2–3	1–1	1–1	1–4	1–1	0–2	3–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–3	1–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–2
Chicago	5–0	3–1	4–0	—	3–2	2–0	2–0	4–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	3–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0
Cleveland	5–0	1–3	3–2	2–3	—	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	5–0	1–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0
Dallas	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	—	3–2	0–2	0–4	4–2	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	0–5	0–4	1–4	0–2
Denver	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–3	—	0–2	0–4	2–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–4	1–3	1–5	1–1
Detroit	4–1	0–4	4–1	1–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–2	3–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Golden State	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	—	2–2	2–0	3–2	3–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	5–0	2–2	3–2	1–3	2–0
Houston	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–4	3–2	0–2	2–2	—	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	3–1	3–1	3–2	1–3	1–4	2–0
Indiana	4–1	2–2	2–3	1–3	0–5	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	—	0–2	2–0	3–1	4–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–2
L.A. Clippers	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–3	2–2	2–0	—	2–3	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–3	2–2	2–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–3	2–2	0–2	3–2	—	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–3	1–4	4–1	1–3	1–4	1–3	1–1
Miami	2–2	2–3	3–1	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	—	4–0	2–0	2–2	1–4	3–1	1–4	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–0
Milwaukee	1–3	2–2	3–2	2–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	0–2	1–1	1–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	—	2–0	0–4	1–3	3–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Minnesota	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–3	3–2	1–1	0–4	2–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	0–6	0–4	2–3	0–2
New Jersey	1–3	3–2	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	4–0	2–0	—	2–3	3–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–3
New York	2–2	2–3	4–0	0–4	0–4	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	4–1	3–1	2–0	3–2	—	4–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	4–0
Orlando	2–2	0–5	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–3	1–4	—	3–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–3
Philadelphia	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	4–1	1–3	2–0	2–3	1–3	2–3	—	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	5–0
Phoenix	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–3	3–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	—	3–2	4–1	3–1	3–2	2–2	2–0
Portland	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	3–2	1–3	2–0	3–2	4–1	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–3	—	5–0	2–2	4–1	2–2	2–0
Sacramento	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	0–5	1–3	1–1	3–2	1–4	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–4	0–5	—	1–3	1–4	1–3	2–0
San Antonio	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	5–0	4–1	1–1	2–2	2–3	0–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	6–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	—	3–1	1–4	0–2
Seattle	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–3	3–1	2–0	3–2	4–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–3	1–4	4–1	1–3	—	3–1	2–0
Utah	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	5–1	1–1	3–1	4–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	4–1	1–3	—	2–0
Washington	2–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	0–4	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	1–3	2–0	3–2	0–4	3–2	0–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

Playoffs

1992 playoff game log
First Round: 2–3 (home: 1–1; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 24 @ New York L 75–109 Joe Dumars (13) John Salley (5) Joe Dumars (5) Madison Square Garden 19,081 1–0 2 April 26 @ New York W 89–88 Joe Dumars (21) Bill Laimbeer (12) Isiah Thomas (6) Madison Square Garden 18,793 1–1 3 April 28 New York L 87–90 (OT) John Salley (20) Dennis Rodman (14) Isiah Thomas (11) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 2–1 4 May 1 New York W 86–82 Joe Dumars (23) Dennis Rodman (17) Isiah Thomas (12) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 2–2 5 May 3 @ New York L 87–94 Isiah Thomas (31) Isiah Thomas (10) Isiah Thomas (6) Madison Square Garden 19,135 3–2
1992 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

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Mark Aguirre	75	12	21.1	.431	.211	.687	3.1	1.7	0.68	0.15	11.3
William Bedford	32	8	11.3	.413	.000	.636	2.0	0.4	0.19	0.56	3.6
Lance Blanks	43	0	4.4	.455	.375	.727	0.5	0.4	0.33	0.02	1.5
Joe Dumars	82	82	38.9	.448	.408	.867	2.3	4.6	0.87	0.15	19.9
Gerald Henderson	8	0	7.8	.381	.600	1.000	0.8	0.6	0.38	0.00	3.0
Bill Laimbeer	81	46	27.6	.470	.376	.893	5.6	2.0	0.63	0.67	9.7
Bob McCann	26	0	5.0	.394	.000	.308	1.2	0.2	0.23	0.15	1.2
Dennis Rodman	82	80	40.3	.539	.317	.600	18.7	2.3	0.83	0.85	9.8
John Salley	72	38	24.6	.512	.000	.715	4.1	1.6	0.68	1.53	9.5
Brad Sellers	43	1	5.3	.466	.000	.769	1.0	0.3	0.02	0.23	2.4
Charles Thomas	36	0	4.3	.353	.118	.667	0.6	0.6	0.11	0.03	1.3
Isiah Thomas	78	78	37.4	.446	.291	.772	3.2	7.2	1.51	0.19	18.5
Darrell Walker	74	4	20.8	.423	.000	.619	3.2	2.8	0.85	0.24	5.2
Orlando Woolridge	82	61	25.8	.498	.111	.683	3.2	1.1	0.50	0.40	14.0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Mark Aguirre	5	0	22.6	.333	.200	.750	1.8	2.4	.4	.2	9.0
William Bedford	1	0	9.0	.500			2.0	.0	1.0	.0	6.0
Lance Blanks	1	0	10.0	.500			1.0	3.0	3.0	.0	2.0
Joe Dumars	5	5	44.2	.471	.500	.789	1.6	3.2	1.0	.2	16.8
Bill Laimbeer	5	4	29.0	.370	.200	1.000	6.6	1.6	.8	.2	8.2
Bob McCann	1	0	13.0	.500			2.0	.0	.0	1.0	6.0
Dennis Rodman	5	5	31.2	.593	.000	.500	10.2	1.8	.8	.4	7.2
John Salley	5	1	29.8	.455	.000	.821	6.0	2.8	.6	2.8	12.6
Brad Sellers	2	0	6.5	.500		1.000	.0	1.0	.0	1.0	3.0
Isiah Thomas	5	5	40.0	.338	.364	.786	5.2	7.4	1.0	.0	14.0
Darrell Walker	5	0	13.6	.333		1.000	2.4	.8	.2	.0	2.0
Orlando Woolridge	5	5	25.6	.442		.563	2.0	.6	.2	.2	11.0

Player Statistics Citation:^[11]

Awards and records

• Dennis Rodman, All-NBA Third Team
• Joe Dumars, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Dennis Rodman, NBA All-Defensive First Team

Transactions

See also

• 1991–92 NBA season