1990–91 Detroit Pistons season

1990–91 Detroit Pistons season
Head coach	Chuck Daly
General manager	Jack McCloskey
Owner(s)	William Davidson
Arena	The Palace of Auburn Hills
Results
Record	50–32 (.610)
Place	Division: 2nd (Central) Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East Conference Finals (eliminated by Bulls 0-4)
Local media
Television	PASS Sports, WKBD
Radio	WCXI

The 1990–91 NBA season was the Pistons' 43rd season in the National Basketball Association, and 34th season in the city of Detroit.^[1] The Pistons entered the season as the two-time defending NBA champions and looked to win a third consecutive title. The team posted a nine-game winning streak in November as they finished the first month of the season with a 13–2 record. However, they would lose six of their next seven games in early December. Midway through the season, the Pistons won eleven consecutive games, finishing second in the Central Division with a 50–32 record, eleven games behind the Chicago Bulls. Last year's Finals MVP Isiah Thomas played just 48 games this season due to a wrist injury.^[2] Dennis Rodman was named Defensive Player of The Year for the second straight season. Thomas and Joe Dumars were both selected for the 1991 NBA All-Star Game, but Thomas did not play due to injury.

Entering the playoffs as the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons won their first series against the Atlanta Hawks 3–2, and their second against the Boston Celtics 4–1. This put them in their fifth consecutive Eastern Conference Finals, where they would be swept by the Bulls and be denied a fourth consecutive appearance in the NBA Finals.

Toward the end of the loss to the Bulls in Game 4, which occurred on the Pistons' home floor at The Palace of Auburn Hills, most of the Pistons' players walked off the court toward the locker room without congratulating their opponents or shaking hands.^[3] It was seen as a sign of disrespect by the outgoing champions, and was concocted by Thomas and Bill Laimbeer in response to comments made by Michael Jordan about the Pistons' physical playing style being bad for basketball, and that he felt the league would be happy to see the Pistons lose.

Following the season, James Edwards was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, and Vinnie Johnson was released, where he would sign as a free agent with the San Antonio Spurs during the next season.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	26	Lance Blanks	PG/SG	United States	Texas

Roster

Detroit Pistons roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (YYYY-MM-DD)
3.0 !SF	23	USA !	Aguirre, Mark	7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	232 lb (105 kg)	DePaul
6.0 !C	00	USA !	Bedford, William	7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Memphis
2.0 !SG	32	USA !	Blanks, Lance	7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Texas
2.0 !SG	4	USA !	Dumars, Joe	7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	McNeese State
6.0 !C	53	USA !	Edwards, James	7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Washington
4.5 !PF	35	USA !	Hastings, Scott	7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Arkansas
1.0 !PG	12	USA !	Henderson, Gerald	7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Virginia Commonwealth
1.0 !PG	15	USA !	Johnson, Vinnie	7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Baylor
6.0 !C	40	USA !	Laimbeer, Bill	7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Notre Dame
4.5 !PF	10	USA !	Rodman, Dennis	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Southeastern Oklahoma State
6.0 !C	30	USA !	Rollins, Tree	7000215899999999999♠7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Clemson
4.5 !PF	22	USA !	Salley, John	7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Georgia Tech
1.0 !PG	11	USA !	Thomas, Isiah	7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Indiana

Head coach

Chuck Daly (Bloomsburg)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Chicago Bulls	61	21	.744	—	35–6	26–15	25–5
x-Detroit Pistons	50	32	.610	11	32–9	18–23	19-11
x-Milwaukee Bucks	48	34	.585	13	33–8	15–26	16–14
x-Atlanta Hawks	43	39	.524	18	29–12	14–27	11–19
x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	20	29-12	12–29	15-15
Cleveland Cavaliers	33	49	.402	28	23–18	10–31	11-19
Charlotte Hornets	26	56	.317	35	17–24	9–32	8–22

#	Eastern Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Chicago Bulls	61	21	.744	–
2	y-Boston Celtics	56	26	.683	5
3	x-Detroit Pistons	50	32	.610	11
4	x-Milwaukee Bucks	48	34	.585	13
5	x-Philadelphia 76ers	44	38	.537	17
6	x-Atlanta Hawks	43	39	.524	18
7	x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	20
8	x-New York Knicks	39	43	.476	22

9	Cleveland Cavaliers	33	49	.402	28
10	Washington Bullets	30	52	.366	31
11	New Jersey Nets	26	56	.317	35
12	Charlotte Hornets	26	56	.317	35
13	Miami Heat	24	58	.293	37

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1990-91 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	1–4	1–4	3–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–3	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2
Boston	1–3	—	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–2	2–0	4–1	5–0	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	5–1
Charlotte	4–1	1–3	—	0–5	1–4	1–1	0–2	1–4	1–1	0–2	0–5	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–3	1–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2
Chicago	4–1	2–2	5–0	—	5–0	2–0	2–0	3–2	1–1	0–2	4–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–1	2–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–1
Cleveland	2–3	1–3	4–1	0–5	—	2–0	1–1	2–3	0–2	0–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–3	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3
Dallas	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	3–1	0–2	2–2	1–3	2–0	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–4	2–0	2–0	1–4	1–1	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–4	2–2	0–5	2–0
Denver	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	0–5	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–4	0–4	1–3	1–1
Detroit	5–0	2–2	4–1	2–3	3–2	2–0	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	3–2	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–3	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1
Golden State	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	—	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–3	2–3	2–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	5–0	0–2	2–2	—	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	5–0	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	3–1	2–3	2–2	2–2	1–1
Indiana	1–4	2–2	5–0	1–4	4–1	0–2	2–0	2–3	1–1	1–1	—	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–3	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–3	2–2	1–1	—	0–4	0–2	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	2–3	1–3	3–2	2–2	2–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	—	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	4–0	3–1	3–2	2–2	2–0
Miami	0–4	1–4	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	—	0–4	0–2	3–3	1–4	1–1	1–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–2
Milwaukee	3–2	2–2	3–2	1–4	3–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–1	0–2	3–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	—	1–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Minnesota	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–1	2–3	0–2	1–3	0–5	1–1	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	—	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–4	0–4	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–4	1–1
New Jersey	1–3	1–4	2–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	3–3	2–2	1–1	—	0–5	1–1	2–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–3
New York	1–3	0–5	4–0	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	0–4	1–1	5–0	—	0–2	5–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–2
Orlando	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–1	3–2	0–2	2–2	2–3	1–1	3–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	—	0–2	2–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–4	1–1
Philadelphia	4–0	3–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–2	0–2	3–2	1–5	2–0	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–2
Phoenix	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	—	3–2	3–1	1–3	3–2	2–2	2–0
Portland	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	3–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	2–3	—	3–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–0
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	3–2	1–3	0–2	2–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–3	—	1–3	1–4	1–3	2–0
San Antonio	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	4–1	4–1	2–0	2–2	3–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	3–1	—	3–1	2–3	2–0
Seattle	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–3	0–4	4–1	1–3	—	1–3	2–0
Utah	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	5–0	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	0–2	4–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–2	3–1	—	2–0
Washington	2–2	1–5	2–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–2	2–3	1–3	1–1	3–2	2–3	1–1	2–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	—

Playoffs

East First Round

(3) Detroit Pistons vs. (6) Atlanta Hawks: Pistons win series 3-2

Game 1 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills (April 26): Atlanta 103, Detroit 98
Game 2 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills (April 28): Detroit 101, Atlanta 88
Game 3 @ The Omni, Atlanta (April 30): Detroit 103, Atlanta 91
Game 4 @ The Omni, Atlanta (May 2): Atlanta 123, Detroit 111
Game 5 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills (May 5): Detroit 113, Atlanta 81

Last Playoff Meeting: 1987 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Detroit won 4-1)

East Conference Semifinals

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Detroit Pistons: Pistons win series 4-2

Game 1 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 7): Detroit 86, Boston 75
Game 2 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 9): Boston 109, Detroit 103
Game 3 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills (May 11): Boston 115, Detroit 83
Game 4 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills (May 13): Detroit 104, Boston 97
Game 5 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 15): Detroit 116, Boston 111
Game 6 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills (May 17): Detroit 117, Boston 113 (OT)

Last Playoff Meeting: 1989 Eastern Conference First Round (Detroit won 3-0)

East Conference Finals

(1) Chicago Bulls vs. (3) Detroit Pistons: Bulls win series 4-0

Game 1 @ Chicago Stadium, Chicago (May 19): Chicago 94, Detroit 83
Game 2 @ Chicago Stadium, Chicago (May 21): Chicago 105, Detroit 97
Game 3 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills (May 25): Chicago 113, Detroit 107
Game 4 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills (May 27): Chicago 115, Detroit 94

Last Playoff Meeting: 1990 Eastern Conference Finals (Detroit won 4-3)

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%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Aguirre, Mark !Mark Aguirre
Bedford, William !William Bedford
Blanks, Lance !Lance Blanks
Dumars, Joe !Joe Dumars
Edwards, James !James Edwards
Hastings, Scott !Scott Hastings
Henderson, Gerald !Gerald Henderson
Johnson, Vinnie !Vinnie Johnson
Laimbeer, Bill !Bill Laimbeer
Long, John !John Long
Rodman, Dennis !Dennis Rodman
Rollins, Tree !Tree Rollins
Salley, John !John Salley
Thomas, Isiah !Isiah Thomas

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Aguirre, Mark !Mark Aguirre
Bedford, William !William Bedford
Dumars, Joe !Joe Dumars
Edwards, James !James Edwards
Hastings, Scott !Scott Hastings
Henderson, Gerald !Gerald Henderson
Johnson, Vinnie !Vinnie Johnson
Laimbeer, Bill !Bill Laimbeer
Rodman, Dennis !Dennis Rodman
Rollins, Tree !Tree Rollins
Salley, John !John Salley
Thomas, Isiah !Isiah Thomas

Awards and records

References

↑ 1990-91 Detroit Pistons
↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Isiah Thomas To Undergo Surgery". New York Times. January 26, 1991. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
↑ http://bleacherreport.com/articles/158201-the-day-the-bad-boys-walked-out

Detroit Pistons
Founded in 1941 Formerly the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (1941–1948) and the Fort Wayne Pistons (1948–1957) Based in Detroit, Michigan
Franchise	Franchise All-time roster Seasons Draft history Head coaches Current season
Arenas	North Side High School Gym Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Olympia Stadium Memorial Building Grosse Pointe High School Cobo Arena Pontiac Silverdome Joe Louis Arena The Palace of Auburn Hills Little Caesars Arena
G League affiliate	Grand Rapids Drive
Retired numbers	Bill Davidson Jack McCloskey 1 2 3 4 10 11 15 16 21 32 40
Hall of Famers	Walt Bellamy Dave Bing Larry Brown Chuck Daly Adrian Dantley Dave DeBusschere Joe Dumars Harry Gallatin Bob Houbregs Bailey Howell Allen Iverson Bob Lanier Earl Lloyd Bob McAdoo Bobby McDermott Dick McGuire Andy Phillip Dennis Rodman Isiah Thomas George Yardley Fred Zollner
NBA Championships (3)	1989 1990 2004
Conference Championships (7)	1955 1956 1988 1989 1990 2004 2005
Culture and lore	Hooper Jordan Rules John Mason Pacers–Pistons brawl
Rivals	Chicago Bulls Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers
Broadcasters	TV Fox Sports Detroit Radio WXYT-FM Announcers George Blaha Greg Kelser Mark Champion Rick Mahorn

1990–91 Detroit Pistons season

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs

East First Round

East Conference Semifinals

East Conference Finals

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

References

See also