1997–98 Detroit Pistons season

The 1997–98 NBA season was the Pistons' 50th season in the National Basketball Association, and 41st season in the city of Detroit.^[1] During the off-season, the Pistons signed free agents Brian Williams,^[2][3][4][5] and Malik Sealy.^[6][7][8] After winning their first two games, the Pistons lost five straight and struggled with a 6–11 start, as Joe Dumars missed ten games due to a shoulder injury during the first month of the regular season.^{[9][10][11][12]} In late December, the team traded Theo Ratliff and Aaron McKie to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Jerry Stackhouse and Eric Montross.^{[13][14][15][16]}

1997–98 Detroit Pistons season
Head coach	Doug Collins (fired) Alvin Gentry
General manager	Rick Sund
Owner(s)	Bill Davidson
Arena	The Palace of Auburn Hills
Results
Record	37–45 (.451)
Place	Division: 6th (Central) Conference: 11th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WKBD-TV Fox Sports Detroit
< 1996–97 1998–99 >

At mid-season, head coach Doug Collins was fired after a 21–24 start, and was replaced with assistant Alvin Gentry;^[17][18][19] Collins would later on get a job as color analyst for the NBA on NBC.^[20][21][22] The Pistons held a 22–25 record at the All-Star break,^[23] then later on posted a 7-game losing streak between March and April, missing the playoffs by finishing in sixth place in the Central Division with a disappointing 37–45 record.^[24]

Grant Hill had another stellar season, averaging 21.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game in New York City, New York,^{[25][26][27][28][29]} while Williams averaged 16.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. In addition, Stackhouse mostly played off the bench as the team's sixth man, averaging 15.7 points per game in 57 games after the trade, while Dumars provided the team with 13.1 points per game, and led them with 158 three-point field goals, and Lindsey Hunter contributed 12.1 points and 1.7 steals per game. Sealy contributed 7.7 points per game off the bench, and starting power forward Don Reid provided with 3.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.^[30] Hill also finished in ninth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Stackhouse finished in fifth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.^[31][32]

Following the season, Sealy signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Timberwolves,^[33][34][35] while Grant Long re-signed with his former team, the Atlanta Hawks,^[36][37][38] and Rick Mahorn re-signed with his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers.^[39][40]

Draft picks

Main article: 1997 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	19	Scot Pollard	C/PF	United States	Kansas
2	31	Charles O'Bannon	SG/SF	United States	UCLA

Roster

1997–98 Detroit Pistons roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 4 Joe Dumars 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963–05–24 McNeese State G 12 Steve Henson 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 1968–02–02 Kansas State F 33 Grant Hill 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1972–10–05 Duke G 1 Lindsey Hunter 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1970–12–03 Jackson State F 43 Grant Long 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1966–03–12 Eastern Michigan C 44 Rick Mahorn 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1958–09–21 Hampton C 00 Eric Montross 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (122 kg) 1971–09–23 North Carolina G 5 Charles O'Bannon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1975–02–22 UCLA C 31 Scot Pollard 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1975–02–12 Kansas F 52 Don Reid 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1973–12–30 Georgetown G 14 Malik Sealy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970–02–01 St. John's G 42 Jerry Stackhouse 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1974–11–05 North Carolina C 8 Brian Williams 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1969–04–06 Arizona F 13 Jerome Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 1973–05–10 Georgetown

Head coach Doug Collins (fired) Alvin Gentry Assistant(s) Johnny Bach John Hammond Brian James Mike Abdenour (trainer) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: February 9, 1998

Roster Notes

• Point guard Rumeal Robinson was signed by the Pistons during the off-season, only playing with the team during the preseason, and did not appear in any regular season games; he was waived on November 20, 1997.^[41][42]

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Chicago Bulls	62	20	.756	–	37–4	25–16	21–7
x-Indiana Pacers	58	24	.707	4	32–9	26–15	19–9
x-Charlotte Hornets	51	31	.622	11	32–9	19–22	16–12
x-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	12	29–12	21–20	19–9
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	47	35	.573	15	27–14	20–21	14–14
Detroit Pistons	37	45	.451	25	25–16	12–29	12–16
Milwaukee Bucks	36	46	.439	26	21–20	15–26	9–19
Toronto Raptors	16	66	.195	46	9–32	7–34	2–26

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Chicago Bulls	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Miami Heat	55	27	.671	7
3	x-Indiana Pacers	58	24	.707	4
4	x-Charlotte Hornets	51	31	.622	11
5	x-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	12
6	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	47	35	.573	15
7	x-New York Knicks	43	39	.524	19
8	x-New Jersey Nets	43	39	.524	19
9	Washington Wizards	42	40	.512	20
10	Orlando Magic	41	41	.500	21
11	Detroit Pistons	37	45	.451	25
12	Boston Celtics	36	46	.439	26
12	Milwaukee Bucks	36	46	.439	26
14	Philadelphia 76ers	31	51	.378	31
15	Toronto Raptors	16	66	.195	46

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1997-98 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	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	4–0
Boston	1–2	—	1–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
Charlotte	0–4	2–1	—	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Chicago	3–1	3–1	3–1	—	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–1
Cleveland	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–2
Dallas	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	—	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–1	0–4	4–0	1–1
Denver	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1
Detroit	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	0–2	0–2	2–2
Golden State	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	—	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	—	1–1	4–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–0	0–4	3–1	1–1
Indiana	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	—	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	4–0
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	—	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	—	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	4–0	1–3	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
Miami	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	—	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Milwaukee	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–3	—	1–1	0–4	3–1	2–1	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–2
Minnesota	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
New Jersey	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
New York	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–4	2–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	—	4–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
Orlando	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–2	2–0	1–3	0–4	—	4–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Philadelphia	1–3	1–3	1–2	1–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	0–4	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	3–1
Phoenix	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Portland	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	—	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–3	—	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	—	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Seattle	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	—	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Toronto	0–4	0–3	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	1–1	0–3
Utah	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–0	—	4–0	0–2
Vancouver	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	3–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	0–4	—	1–1
Washington	0–4	2–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–1	—

Game log

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

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Joe Dumars	72	72	32.3	.416	.371	.825	1.4	3.5	0.6	0.0	13.1
Steve Henson	23	0	2.8	.500	.375	1.000	0.1	0.2	0.0	0.0	1.6
Grant Hill	81	81	40.7	.452	.143	.740	7.7	6.8	1.8	0.7	21.1
Lindsey Hunter	71	67	35.3	.383	.321	.740	3.5	3.2	1.7	0.1	12.1
Grant Long	40	17	18.5	.427	.000	.719	3.8	0.6	0.7	0.3	3.5
Rick Mahorn	59	0	12.0	.457	—	.676	3.3	0.3	0.2	0.1	2.4
Aaron McKie	24	1	19.7	.413	.176	.870	2.8	1.6	1.0	0.0	4.5
Eric Montross	28	10	12.6	.456	—	.429	3.8	0.1	0.2	0.5	2.5
Charles O'Bannon	30	0	7.8	.377	.000	.800	1.1	0.6	0.3	0.0	2.1
Scot Pollard	33	0	9.6	.500	—	.826	2.2	0.3	0.2	0.3	2.7
Theo Ratliff	24	12	24.4	.514	—	.683	5.0	0.6	0.5	2.3	6.5
Don Reid	68	44	14.6	.534	—	.704	2.6	0.4	0.4	0.8	3.5
Malik Sealy	77	10	21.3	.428	.220	.824	2.8	1.3	0.8	0.3	7.7
Jerry Stackhouse	57	15	31.5	.428	.208	.782	3.3	3.1	1.0	0.7	15.7
Brian Williams	78	78	33.6	.511	.333	.707	8.9	1.2	0.9	0.7	16.2
Jerome Williams	77	3	16.9	.524	.000	.651	4.9	0.6	0.7	0.1	5.3

Player Statistics Citation:^[30]

Awards and records

• Grant Hill, All-NBA Second Team

Transactions

• August 7, 1997: Acquired the 2003 1st Round Draft Pick (Darko Miličić) from the Vancouver Grizzlies for Otis Thorpe
• August 16, 1997: Signed Brian Williams
• October 9, 1997: Waived Randolph Childress
• October 25, 1997: Signed Malik Sealy
• December 18, 1997: Acquired Jerry Stackhouse, Eric Montross and a 2005 2nd Round Draft Pick (Alex Acker) from the Philadelphia 76ers for Aaron McKie, Theo Ratliff and a 2003 1st Round Draft Pick (Carlos Delfino)
• January 17, 1998: Signed Steve Henson to the first of two 10-day contracts
• February 9, 1998: Signed Steve Henson for the remainder of the season

Player Transactions Citation:^[43]