List of Detroit Pistons seasons

This is a list of seasons completed by the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association. The franchise was founded in 1941 as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons in the National Basketball League and as the Fort Wayne Pistons joined the Basketball Association of America, which was the precursor to the NBA. However, the games won and lost in the NBL are not included in the franchise total.

The Pistons have had three main periods of success. In the early years of the NBA the team reached the NBA Finals twice in consecutive years before falling to the Lakers and then to the St. Louis Hawks. Following an extended era of mediocrity the Pistons, led by the Hall of Fame backcourt of Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars and nicknamed the "Bad Boys" for their intimidating defence, posted winning records every seasons from 1983–84 to 1991–92, and after narrowly losing in 1988, ended the Lakers dynasty of the 1980s the following season and repeated the following year. The Pistons’ third period of success, with former on-court star Dumars serving as general manager and building a top team from other franchises’ discards, occurred between 2001–02 and 2007–08 when the team won fifty games or more during every season, including a third NBA title in 2003–04 and a franchise record total of wins two seasons later.

The Pistons have experienced two major periods of failure. Between 1956–57 and 1982–83, the Pistons had just three winning seasons and overall had a winning percentage of .417, culminating in a combined record of 37–127 (win percent .226) in the 1979–80 and 1980–81 seasons, after which the drafting of Isiah Thomas completely revitalized the franchise. Since 2009–10, the Pistons have only once finished out of the bottom two in their division or had a winning record.

Seasons

NBL champions

NBA champions

Conference champions

Division champions

Playoff berth

Season	Team	Conference	Finish	Division	Finish	Wins	Losses	Win%	GB	Playoffs	Awards	Head Coach
Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (NBL)
—	1941–42	—	—	—	2nd	15	9	.625	5	Won NBL Semifinals (Wingfoots) 2–1 Lost NBL Championship (All-Stars) 2–1		Carl Bennett
—	1942–43	—	—	—	1st	17	6	.739	—	Won NBL Semifinals (Flyers) 2–1 Lost NBL Championship (Red Skins) 2–1	Bobby McDermott (MVP)
—	1943–44	—	—	—	1st	18	4	.818	—	Won NBL Semifinals (Brassmen) 2–0 Won NBL Championship (Red Skins) 3–0	Bobby McDermott (MVP, COY)	Bobby McDermott
—	1944–45	—	—	Eastern	1st	25	5	.833	—	Won Division semifinals (Transfers) 2–0 Won NBL Championship (Red Skins) 3–2	Bobby McDermott (MVP, COY)
—	1945–46	—	—	Eastern	1st	26	8	.765	—	Lost Division semifinals (Royals) 3–1	Bobby McDermott (MVP)	Carl Bennett
—	1946–47	—	—	Eastern	2nd	25	19	.568	6	Won Opening Round (Jeeps) 3–2 Lost Division semifinals (Royals) 2–1		Bobby McDermott Carl Bennett Curly Armstrong
—	1947–48	—	—	Eastern	3rd	40	20	.667	4	Lost Opening Round (Royals) 3–1		Carl Bennett
Fort Wayne Pistons
1948–49	1948–49	—	—	Western	5th	22	38	.367	23			Carl Bennett Curly Armstrong
1949–50	1949–50	—	—	Central	4th	40	28	.588	11	Won Division semifinals (Royals) 2–0 Lost Division finals (Lakers) 2–0		Murray Mendenhall
1950–51	1950–51	—	—	Western	3rd	32	36	.471	12	Lost Division semifinals (Royals) 2–1
1951–52	1951–52	—	—	Western	4th	29	37	.439	12	Lost Division semifinals (Royals) 2–0		Paul Birch
1952–53	1952–53	—	—	Western	3rd	36	33	.522	11.5	Won Division semifinals (Royals) 2–1 Lost Division finals (Lakers) 3–2	Don Meineke (ROY)
1953–54	1953–54	—	—	Western	3rd	40	32	.556	6	Lost Round-Robin (Royals) 2–0 Lost Round-Robin (Lakers) 2–0
1954–55	1954–55	—	—	Western	1st	43	29	.597	—	Won Division finals (Lakers) 3–1 Lost NBA Finals (Nationals) 4–3		Charley Eckman
1955–56	1955–56	—	—	Western	1st	37	35	.514	—	Won Division finals (Hawks) 3–2 Lost NBA Finals (Warriors) 4–1
1956–57	1956–57	—	—	Western	3rd	34	38	.472	—	Lost Division semifinals (Lakers) 2–0
Detroit Pistons
1957–58	1957–58	—	—	Western	2nd	33	39	.458	8	Won Division semifinals (Royals) 2–0 Lost Division finals (Hawks) 4–1		Charley Eckman Red Rocha
1958–59	1958–59	—	—	Western	3rd	28	44	.389	21	Lost Division semifinals (Lakers) 2–1		Red Rocha
1959–60	1959–60	—	—	Western	2nd	30	45	.400	16	Lost Division semifinals (Lakers) 2–0		Red Rocha Dick McGuire
1960–61	1960–61	—	—	Western	3rd	34	45	.430	17	Lost Division semifinals (Lakers) 3–2		Dick McGuire
1961–62	1961–62	—	—	Western	3rd	37	43	.463	17	Won Division semifinals (Royals) 3–1 Lost Division finals (Lakers) 4–2
1962–63	1962–63	—	—	Western	3rd	34	46	.425	19	Lost Division semifinals (Hawks) 3–1
1963–64	1963–64	—	—	Western	5th	23	57	.288	25			Charles Wolf
1964–65	1964–65	—	—	Western	4th	31	49	.388	18			Charles Wolf Dave DeBusschere
1965–66	1965–66	—	—	Western	5th	22	58	.275	23			Dave DeBusschere
1966–67	1966–67	—	—	Western	5th	30	51	.370	14		Dave Bing (ROY)	Dave DeBusschere Donnis Butcher
1967–68	1967–68	—	—	Eastern	4th	40	42	.488	22	Lost Division semifinals (Celtics) 4–2		Donnis Butcher
1968–69	1968–69	—	—	Eastern	6th	32	50	.390	25			Donnis Butcher Paul Seymour
1969–70	1969–70	—	—	Eastern	7th	31	51	.378	29			Butch van Breda Kolff
1970–71	1970–71	Western	6th	Midwest	4th	45	37	.549	21
1971–72	1971–72	Western	8th	Midwest	4th	26	56	.317	37			Butch van Breda Kolff Terry Dischinger Earl Lloyd
1972–73	1972–73	Western	5th	Midwest	3rd	40	42	.488	20			Earl Lloyd Ray Scott
1973–74	1973–74	Western	4th	Midwest	3rd	52	30	.634	7	Lost conference semifinals (Bulls) 4–3	Ray Scott (COY) Bob Lanier (ASG MVP)	Ray Scott
1974–75	1974–75	Western	5th	Midwest	3rd	40	42	.488	7	Lost First round (SuperSonics) 2–1
1975–76	1975–76	Western	5th	Midwest	2nd	36	46	.439	2	Won First round (Bucks) 2–1 Lost conference semifinals (Warriors) 4–2		Ray Scott Herb Brown
1976–77	1976–77	Western	5th	Midwest	2nd	44	38	.537	6	Lost First round (Warriors) 2–1		Herb Brown
1977–78	1977–78	Western	9th	Midwest	4th	38	44	.463	10		Bob Lanier (JWKC)	Herb Brown Bob Kauffman
1978–79	1978–79	Eastern	9th	Central	5th	30	52	.366	18			Dick Vitale
1979–80	1979–80	Eastern	11th	Central	6th	16	66	.195	34			Dick Vitale Richie Adubato
1980–81	1980–81	Eastern	11th	Central	6th	21	61	.256	39			Scotty Robertson
1981–82	1981–82	Eastern	7th	Central	3rd	39	43	.476	16		Kent Benson (JWKC)
1982–83	1982–83	Eastern	8th	Central	3rd	37	45	.451	14
1983–84	1983–84	Eastern	4th	Central	2nd	49	33	.598	1	Lost First round (Knicks) 3–2	Isiah Thomas (ASG MVP)	Chuck Daly
1984–85	1984–85	Eastern	4th	Central	2nd	46	36	.561	13	Won First round (Nets) 3–0 Lost conference semifinals (Celtics) 4–2
1985–86	1985–86	Eastern	5th	Central	3rd	46	36	.561	11	Lost First round (Hawks) 3–1	Isiah Thomas (ASG MVP)
1986–87	1986–87	Eastern	3rd	Central	2nd	52	30	.634	5	Won First round (Bullets) 3–0 Won conference semifinals (Hawks) 4–1 Lost conference finals (Celtics) 4–3	Isiah Thomas (JWKC)
1987–88	1987–88	Eastern	2nd	Central	1st	54	28	.659	—	Won First round (Bullets) 3–2 Won conference semifinals (Bulls) 4–1 Won conference finals (Celtics) 4–2 Lost NBA Finals (Lakers) 4–3
1988–89	1988–89	Eastern	1st	Central	1st	63	19	.768	—	Won First round (Celtics) 3–0 Won conference semifinals (Bucks) 4–0 Won conference finals (Bulls) 4–2 Won NBA Finals (Lakers) 4–0	Joe Dumars (FMVP)
1989–90	1989–90	Eastern	1st	Central	1st	59	23	.720	—	Won First round (Pacers) 3–0 Won conference semifinals (Knicks) 4–1 Won conference finals (Bulls) 4–3 Won NBA Finals (Trail Blazers) 4–1	Isiah Thomas (FMVP) Dennis Rodman (DPOY)
1990–91	1990–91	Eastern	3rd	Central	2nd	50	32	.610	11	Won First round (Hawks) 3–2 Won conference semifinals (Celtics) 4–2 Lost conference finals (Bulls) 4–0	Dennis Rodman (DPOY)
1991–92	1991–92	Eastern	5th	Central	3rd	48	34	.585	19	Lost First round (Knicks) 3–2
1992–93	1992–93	Eastern	10th	Central	6th	40	42	.488	17			Ron Rothstein
1993–94	1993–94	Eastern	14th	Central	6th	20	62	.244	37		Joe Dumars (JWKC)	Don Chaney
1994–95	1994–95	Eastern	12th	Central	7th	28	54	.341	24		Grant Hill (ROY)
1995–96	1995–96	Eastern	7th	Central	5th	46	36	.561	26	Lost First round (Magic) 3–0	Joe Dumars (SPOR)	Doug Collins
1996–97	1996–97	Eastern	5th	Central	4th	54	28	.659	15	Lost First round (Hawks) 3–2
1997–98	1997–98	Eastern	11th	Central	6th	37	45	.451	25			Doug Collins Alvin Gentry
1998–99	1998–99	Eastern	5th	Central	3rd	29	21	.580	4	Lost First round (Hawks) 3–2		Alvin Gentry
1999–00	1999–00	Eastern	7th	Central	5th	42	40	.512	14	Lost First round (Heat) 3–0		Alvin Gentry George Irvine
2000–01	2000–01	Eastern	10th	Central	5th	32	50	.390	20			George Irvine
2001–02	2001–02	Eastern	2nd	Central	1st	50	32	.610	—	Won First round (Raptors) 3–2 Lost conference semifinals (Celtics) 4–1	Ben Wallace (DPOY) Corliss Williamson (SIX) Rick Carlisle (COY)	Rick Carlisle
2002–03	2002–03	Eastern	1st	Central	1st	50	32	.610	—	Won First round (Magic) 4–3 Won conference semifinals (76ers) 4–2 Lost conference finals (Nets) 4–0	Ben Wallace (DPOY) Joe Dumars (EOY)
2003–04	2003–04	Eastern	3rd	Central	2nd	54	28	.659	7	Won First round (Bucks) 4–1 Won conference semifinals (Nets) 4–3 Won conference finals (Pacers) 4–2 Won NBA Finals (Lakers) 4–1	Chauncey Billups (FMVP)	Larry Brown
2004–05	2004–05	Eastern	2nd	Central	1st	54	28	.659	—	Won First round (76ers) 4–1 Won conference semifinals (Pacers) 4–2 Won conference finals (Heat) 4–3 Lost NBA Finals (Spurs) 4–3	Ben Wallace (DPOY)
2005–06	2005–06	Eastern	1st	Central	1st	64	18	.780	—	Won First round (Bucks) 4–1 Won conference semifinals (Cavaliers) 4–3 Lost conference finals (Heat) 4–2	Ben Wallace (DPOY)	Flip Saunders
2006–07	2006–07	Eastern	1st	Central	1st	53	29	.646	—	Won First round (Magic) 4–0 Won conference semifinals (Bulls) 4–2 Lost conference finals (Cavaliers) 4–2
2007–08	2007–08	Eastern	2nd	Central	1st	59	23	.720	—	Won First round (76ers) 4–2 Won conference semifinals (Magic) 4–1 Lost conference finals (Celtics) 4–2	Chauncey Billups (JWKC)
2008–09	2008–09	Eastern	8th	Central	3rd	39	43	.476	27	Lost First round (Cavaliers) 4–0		Michael Curry
2009–10	2009–10	Eastern	12th	Central	5th	27	55	.329	34			John Kuester
2010–11	2010–11	Eastern	11th	Central	4th	30	52	.366	32
2011–12	2011–12	Eastern	10th	Central	4th	25	41	.379	25			Lawrence Frank
2012–13	2012–13	Eastern	11th	Central	4th	29	53	.354	20.5
2013–14	2013–14	Eastern	11th	Central	4th	29	53	.354	27			Maurice Cheeks John Loyer
2014–15	2014–15	Eastern	12th	Central	5th	32	50	.390	21			Stan Van Gundy
2015–16	2015–16	Eastern	8th	Central	3rd	44	38	.537	13	Lost First round (Cavaliers) 4–0
2016–17	2016–17	Eastern	10th	Central	5th	37	45	.451	14
2017–18	2017–18	Eastern	9th	Central	4th	39	43	.476	11
2018–19	2018–19	Eastern	8th	Central	3rd	41	41	.500	19	Lost First round (Bucks) 4–0		Dwane Casey
2019–20	2019–20	Eastern	13th	Central	4th	20	46	.303	32.5
2020–21	2020–21	Eastern	15th	Central	5th	20	52	.278	26
2021–22	2021–22	Eastern	14th	Central	5th	23	59	.280	30
2022–23	2022–23	Eastern	15th	Central	5th	17	65	.207	41
2023–24	2023–24	Eastern	15th	Central	5th	14	68	.171	50			Monty Williams

All-time records

NBA records

Statistic	Wins	Losses	Win%
Regular season record (1948–present)	2,827	3,171	.471
Post-season record (1948–present)	188	182	.508
All-time regular and post-season record	3,015	3,353	.473

^[1][2]

NBL records

Statistic	Wins	Losses	Win%
Regular season record (1941–1948)	166	71	.700
Post-season record (1941–1948)	22	18	.550
All-time regular and post-season record	188	89	.679

^[3][4]

References

1. Detroit Pistons at Basketball Reference
2. Detroit Pistons at Land of Basketball
3. NBL records at Basketball Reference
4. Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons at Basketball Reference