1986–87 Detroit Pistons season

The 1986–87 NBA season was the Detroit Pistons' 39th season in the NBA and 30th season in the city of Detroit.^[1] The team played at the Pontiac Silverdome in suburban Pontiac, Michigan.

1986–87 Detroit Pistons season
Head coach	Chuck Daly
General manager	Jack McCloskey
Owner(s)	William Davidson
Arena	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	52–30 (.634)
Place	Division: 2nd (Central) Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Eastern Conference finals (lost to Celtics 3–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
< 1985–86 1987–88 >

The disappointing finish of the previous year caused a roster shake-up as the team dealt Earl Cureton to the Chicago Bulls for Sidney Green, Kent Benson and Kelly Tripucka to the Utah Jazz for Adrian Dantley, and guard John Long to the Seattle SuperSonics for draft picks. The team added John Salley and Dennis Rodman in the 1986 NBA draft to complete the turnover. The moves by GM "Trader Jack" McCloskey paid immediate dividends as the team finished 52–30 (.634), 2nd in the Central Division. The team advanced to the playoffs, defeating the Washington Bullets 3–0 in the first round and then the Atlanta Hawks 4–1 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics.^[1]

The tightly contested conference finals went to a 7th game thanks to Celtics star Larry Bird when he made an improbable steal in the closing seconds of Game 5 to keep the Boston season alive. Leading by 1 point, Pistons star Isiah Thomas waived off a timeout request from Pistons coach Chuck Daly, hurried a lofting inbound pass to center Bill Laimbeer, as Bird stepped in for the steal, passing to teammate Dennis Johnson for the 108–107 Boston win. Long-time Celtic announcer Johnny Most's call of Bird's game-saving steal in the 1987 playoffs at the end of Game 5 in the Eastern Conference finals vs. Detroit was memorable with "Aaaaaaand now there's a steal by Bird, underneath to DEE-Jay, he lays it in...and Boston has a one-point lead right with one second to go... What a play by Bird!...Oh my this place is goin' crazy!"^[2][3][4] After a Pistons home win in Game 6, the series returned to the Boston Garden for the 7th game with the Celtics holding off Detroit 117–114 for the series victory.

Detroit was led on the season by guard Thomas (20.6 ppg, 10.0 apg, NBA All-Star), center Laimbeer (15.4 ppg, 11.6 rpg, NBA All-Star), and forward Dantley (21.5 ppg).

Draft picks

Main article: 1986 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	11	John Salley	PF/C	United States	Georgia Tech
2	27	Dennis Rodman	SF/PF	United States	Southeastern Oklahoma State

Roster

1986–87 Detroit Pistons roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From SF 00 Campbell, Tony 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1962-05-07 Ohio State SF 45 Dantley, Adrian 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1955-02-28 Notre Dame SG 4 Dumars, Joe 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963-05-24 McNeese State PF 12 Green, Sidney 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1961-01-04 UNLV SG 15 Johnson, Vinnie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1956-09-01 Baylor C 40 Laimbeer, Bill 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1957-05-19 Notre Dame F/C 44 Mahorn, Rick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1958-09-21 Hampton C 42 Nevitt, Chuck 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m) 217 lb (98 kg) 1959-06-13 North Carolina State PF 41 Nimphius, Kurt 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1958-03-13 Arizona State SF 10 Rodman, Dennis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1961-05-13 SE Oklahoma State F/C 22 Salley, John 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1964-05-16 Georgia Tech PG 11 Thomas, Isiah 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1961-04-30 Indiana

Head coach Chuck Daly Assistant coach(es) Ron Rothstein Dick Versace Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: February 10, 1987

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Atlanta Hawks	57	25	.695	–	35–6	22–19	17–13
x-Detroit Pistons	52	30	.634	5	32–9	20–21	17–13
x-Milwaukee Bucks	50	32	.610	7	32–9	18–23	17–13
x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	16	28–13	13–28	13–16
x-Chicago Bulls	40	42	.488	17	29–12	11–30	17–12
Cleveland Cavaliers	31	51	.378	26	25–16	6–35	8–22

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Boston Celtics	59	23	.720	–
2	y-Atlanta Hawks	57	25	.695	2
3	x-Detroit Pistons	52	30	.634	7
4	x-Milwaukee Bucks	50	32	.610	9
5	x-Philadelphia 76ers	45	37	.549	14
6	x-Washington Bullets	42	40	.512	17
7	x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	18
8	x-Chicago Bulls	40	42	.488	19
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	31	51	.378	28
10	New Jersey Nets	24	58	.293	35
11	New York Knicks	24	58	.293	35

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1986–87 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–3	4–2	4–2	2–0	2–0	3–3	1–1	1–1	3–3	2–0	1–1	3–3	5–0	5–1	3–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–0
Boston	3–3	—	6–0	3–2	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–0	2–0	5–1	2–0	0–2	3–3	4–2	4–2	3–3	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–2
Chicago	2–4	0–6	—	5–1	1–1	1–1	3–3	0–2	0–2	3–2	2–0	0–2	4–2	3–2	4–2	3–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–3
Cleveland	2–4	2–3	1–5	—	0–2	1–1	1–5	1–1	0–2	3–3	2–0	0–2	1–5	4–2	4–1	2–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–4
Dallas	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	—	4–2	1–1	5–0	3–3	0–2	5–0	3–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–3	5–1	4–2	5–0	3–3	1–1
Denver	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	—	0–2	4–1	3–3	1–1	2–3	0–5	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–2	3–2	2–4	5–1	2–3	2–4	1–1
Detroit	3–3	2–3	3–3	5–1	1–1	2–0	—	1–1	1–1	3–3	2–0	1–1	3–3	5–1	6–0	5–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–3
Golden State	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	1–4	1–1	—	4–1	0–2	6–0	2–4	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–5	4–2	4–1	4–1	4–2	2–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–3	3–3	1–1	1–4	—	2–0	4–1	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–2	2–3	5–1	5–1	1–4	3–3	1–1
Indiana	3–3	1–5	2–3	3–3	2–0	1–1	3–3	2–0	0–2	—	2–0	0–2	2–4	5–1	3–2	2–4	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–2
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–5	3–2	0–2	0–6	1–4	0–2	—	0–6	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–5	0–6	1–4	1–4	2–4	2–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–3	5–0	1–1	4–2	4–1	2–0	6–0	—	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–1	5–1	5–0	4–1	4–2	3–2	1–1
Milwaukee	3–3	3–3	2–4	5–1	0–2	1–1	3–3	2–0	2–0	4–2	2–0	1–1	—	4–2	4–2	2–3	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–1
New Jersey	0–5	2–4	2–3	2–4	0–2	0–2	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–5	1–1	0–2	2–4	—	5–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–4
New York	1–5	2–4	2–4	1–4	0–2	0–2	0–6	0–2	1–1	2–3	2–0	0–2	2–4	1–5	—	3–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–4
Philadelphia	3–3	3–3	3–3	4–2	0–2	2–0	0–5	1–1	2–0	4–2	2–0	0–2	3–2	3–3	3–3	—	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–3
Phoenix	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	2–3	1–1	5–1	2–3	1–1	5–1	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	—	2–4	2–3	2–3	1–5	4–1	0–2
Portland	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	2–4	3–2	2–0	6–0	1–5	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	4–2	—	3–2	4–1	4–2	3–2	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–5	4–2	1–1	1–4	1–5	1–1	4–1	0–5	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–2	2–3	—	3–3	2–3	1–5	1–1
San Antonio	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	1–5	1–1	1–4	1–5	0–2	4–1	1–4	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–4	3–3	—	1–4	2–4	0–2
Seattle	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–5	3–2	0–2	2–4	4–1	1–1	4–2	2–4	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	5–1	2–4	3–2	4–1	—	3–2	1–1
Utah	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–3	4–2	1–1	3–2	3–3	1–1	3–2	2–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–4	2–3	5–1	4–2	2–3	—	1–1
Washington	0–5	2–4	3–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	3–3	2–0	1–1	2–4	2–0	1–1	1–4	4–2	4–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	—

Game log

Regular season

1986–87 game log Total: 52–30 (home: 32–9; road: 20–21)
October: 0–1 (home: 0–1; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
November: 6–5 (home: 5–2; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 8 November 15, 1986 Boston L 111–118 Pontiac Silverdome 3–5
December: 11–3 (home: 6–1; road: 5–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 18 December 13, 1986 L.A. Lakers W 119–114 Pontiac Silverdome 10–8
January: 11–6 (home: 7–1; road: 4–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 31 January 10, 1987 Boston W 118–101 Pontiac Silverdome 21–10
February: 9–3 (home: 6–2; road: 3–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record All-Star Break 50 February 19, 1987 Seattle W 117–105 Pontiac Silverdome 33–17
March: 10–7 (home: 4–2; road: 6–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 56 March 1, 1987 @ Boston L 102–112 Boston Garden 37–19 59 March 8, 1987 Boston W 122–119 (OT) Pontiac Silverdome 39–20 69 March 26, 1987 @ L.A. Lakers L 111–128 The Forum 45–24 71 March 29, 1987 @ Seattle W 108–107 Seattle Center Coliseum 47–24
April: 5–5 (home: 4–0; road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 74 April 3, 1987 @ Boston L 115–119 (OT) Boston Garden 48–26
1986–87 schedule

Playoffs

1987 playoff game log
First Round: 3–0 (home: 2–0; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 24 Washington W 106–92 Isiah Thomas (34) Laimbeer, Rodman (10) Isiah Thomas (9) Pontiac Silverdome 15,419 1–0 2 April 26 Washington W 128–85 Adrian Dantley (24) Bill Laimbeer (9) Vinnie Johnson (13) Pontiac Silverdome 14,389 2–0 3 April 29 @ Washington W 97–96 Dantley, Johnson (21) Rick Mahorn (12) Isiah Thomas (10) Capital Centre 10,831 3–0
Conference semifinals: 4–1 (home: 2–0; road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 3 @ Atlanta W 112–111 Isiah Thomas (30) Dennis Rodman (10) Isiah Thomas (10) Omni Coliseum 14,361 1–0 2 May 5 @ Atlanta L 102–115 Laimbeer, Rodman (20) Bill Laimbeer (12) Isiah Thomas (6) Omni Coliseum 16,522 1–1 3 May 8 Atlanta W 108–99 Isiah Thomas (35) Dennis Rodman (9) Isiah Thomas (8) Pontiac Silverdome 24,544 2–1 4 May 10 Atlanta W 89–88 Isiah Thomas (31) Rick Mahorn (17) Joe Dumars (5) Pontiac Silverdome 17,269 3–1 5 May 13 @ Atlanta W 104–96 Joe Dumars (21) Rick Mahorn (16) Isiah Thomas (12) Omni Coliseum 16,522 4–1
Eastern Conference Finals: 3–4 (home: 3–0; road: 0–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 19, 1987 @ Boston L 91–104 Isiah Thomas (18) Rick Mahorn (11) Isiah Thomas (10) Boston Garden 14,890 0–1 2 May 21, 198 @ Boston L 101–110 Isiah Thomas (36) Bill Laimbeer (16) Bill Laimbeer (7) Boston Garden 14,890 0–2 3 May 23, 1987 Boston W 122–104 Adrian Dantley (25) Rick Mahorn (12) Vinnie Johnson (8) Pontiac Silverdome 23,525 1–2 4 May 24, 1987 Boston W 145–119 Adrian Dantley (32) Bill Laimbeer (13) Thomas, Dumars (8) Pontiac Silverdome 27,387 2–2 5 May 26, 1987 @ Boston L 107–108 Adrian Dantley (25) Bill Laimbeer (14) Isiah Thomas (11) Boston Garden 14,890 2–3 6 May 28, 1987 Boston W 113–105 Dantley, Johnson (24) Rick Mahorn (18) Isiah Thomas (9) Pontiac Silverdome 28,383 3–3 7 May 30, 1987 @ Boston L 114–117 Joe Dumars (35) Bill Laimbeer (13) Isiah Thomas (9) Boston Garden 14,890 3–4
1987 schedule

Awards and records

• Isiah Thomas, All-NBA Second Team

References

1. "1986–87 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
2. "History on This Day: Larry Bird steals the pass from Isiah Thomas". May 26, 2021.
3. Parquet, Professor (August 18, 2017). "History week: The anatomy of Larry Bird's legendary steal to beat Detroit in 1987 East Finals". CelticsBlog.
4. "Top Moments: Larry Bird's steal saves Celtics against Pistons". www.nba.com.

See also

• 1986-87 NBA season