1997–98 Detroit Pistons season

1997–98 Detroit Pistons season
Head coach	Doug Collins Alvin Gentry
General manager	Rick Sund
Owner(s)	William Davidson
Arena	The Palace of Auburn Hills
Results
Record	37–45 (.451)
Place	Division: 6th (Central) Conference: 11th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 1997-98 NBA season was the Pistons' 50th season in the NBA and 41st season in the city of Detroit. Despite signing free agent Brian Williams during the offseason, the Pistons got off to a slow start with a 5-11 record in November. In late December, they traded Theo Ratliff and Aaron McKie to the Philadelphia 76ers for Jerry Stackhouse and Eric Montross. At midseason, head coach Doug Collins was fired and replaced by Alvin Gentry. Despite another stellar season from Grant Hill, the Pistons missed the playoffs finishing sixth in the Central Division with a 37-45 record.

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

Detroit Pistons roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From SG 4 Dumars, Joe 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) McNeese State PG 12 Henson, Steve 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 177 lb (80 kg) Kansas State SF 33 Hill, Grant 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Duke PG 1 Hunter, Lindsey 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jackson State PF 43 Long, Grant  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Eastern Michigan C 44 Mahorn, Rick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Hampton C 00 Montross, Eric 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (122 kg) North Carolina SG 5 O'Bannon, Charles 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 209 lb (95 kg) UCLA C 31 Pollard, Scot 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Kansas PF 52 Reid, Don 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Georgetown SG 14 Sealy, Malik 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) St. John's SG 42 Stackhouse, Jerry 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) North Carolina C 8 Williams, Brian 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Arizona PF 13 Williams, Jerome 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Georgetown	Head coach Alvin Gentry Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division	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
	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

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%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Bison Dele
Joe Dumars
Steve Henson
Grant Hill
Lindsey Hunter
Grant Long
Rick Mahorn
Aaron McKie
Eric Montross
Charles O'Bannon
Scot Pollard
Theo Ratliff
Don Reid
Malik Sealy
Jerry Stackhouse
Jerome Williams

Awards and records

• Grant Hill, All-NBA Second Team

See also

• 1997-98 NBA season