1988–89 Detroit Pistons season

The 1988-89 NBA season was the Detroit Pistons' 41st season in the NBA and 32nd season in the Detroit metropolitan area.[1] The Pistons moved from the Pontiac Silverdome to the brand-new Palace of Auburn Hills before the start of the season.[1]

1988–89 Detroit Pistons season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachChuck Daly
General managerJack McCloskey
Owner(s)William Davidson
ArenaThe Palace of Auburn Hills
Results
Record63–19 (.768)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Central)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Lakers 4–0)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWKBD-TV
(George Blaha, Dick Motta)
PASS Sports
(Fred McLeod, Tom Wilson)
RadioWWJ
(George Blaha, Dick Motta)
A ticket for a November 1988 game between the Pistons and the Charlotte Hornets.

The team won their first eight games of the season and held a 31–13 record at the All-Star break. However, Adrian Dantley was unhappy with his role on the team, losing playing time to Dennis Rodman at small forward.[2] At midseason, the team traded Dantley to the Dallas Mavericks for All-Star forward Mark Aguirre, a childhood friend of Isiah Thomas.[3] Dantley felt that Thomas had a major role in engineering the trade, so that Aguirre could have the opportunity of winning a championship; an accusation that Thomas denied.[2] The Pistons posted a nine-game winning streak in March, won eight consecutive games between March and April, then won their final five games, finishing with a league best record of 63–19.[4][5]

Thomas led the team with 18.2 points, 8.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and was selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game,[6] while Joe Dumars averaged 17.2 points and 5.7 assists per game, and Vinnie Johnson contributed 13.8 points per game. In addition, Bill Laimbeer provided the team with 13.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, while Rodman provided with 9.0 points and 9.4 rebounds per game off the bench, and Rick Mahorn averaged 7.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.[7] Dumars and Rodman were both named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, while Rodman finished in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and in third place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.[8]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Pistons swept the Boston Celtics in three straight games,[9] then swept the 5th-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in four straight games in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.[10] In the Eastern Conference Finals, they trailed 2–1 to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, but managed to win the series in six games to advance to the NBA Finals,[11] where the Pistons would win their first ever NBA championship, sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in four straight games, as Dumars was named Finals MVP.[12] This series was a rematch from last year's NBA Finals, with the Pistons avenging their NBA Finals loss. Following the season, Mahorn was selected by the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1989 NBA Expansion Draft,[13] but never played for them, as he was then traded to the Philadelphia 76ers soon after.[14]

The Pistons and Lakers would face each other again 15 years later in the NBA Finals in 2004, where the Pistons won in five games en route to their third NBA championship, despite being underdogs to the heavily-favored Lakers.

Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
2 30 Fennis Dembo Forward  United States Wyoming
2 48 Micheal Williams Guard  United States Baylor

[15]

Roster
1988–89 Detroit Pistons roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
F 23 Aguirre, Mark 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 232 lb (105 kg) 1959–12–10 DePaul
F 34 Dembo, Fennis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1966–01–24 Wyoming
G 4 Dumars, Joe 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963–05–24 McNeese State
C 53 Edwards, James 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1955–11–22 Washington
G 15 Johnson, Vinnie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1956–09–01 Baylor University
C 40 Laimbeer, Bill 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1957–05–19 University of Notre Dame
G 25 Long, John 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1956–08–28 University of Detroit Mercy
F/C 44 Mahorn, Rick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1958–09–21 Hampton
F 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
G 11 Thomas, Isiah (C) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1961–04–30 Indiana
G 24 Williams, Micheal 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1966–07–23 Baylor
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

On February 15, 1989, the Pistons traded Adrian Dantley to the Dallas Mavericks for Mark Aguirre. Dantley was unhappy relegating the leadership role on the Pistons to Isiah Thomas, while Aguirre had clashed with his coaches and teammates in Dallas. Aguirre was more amenable to deferring to Thomas, and accepted his role in Chuck Daly's system. His ability to shoot the three, post up, run the floor, and pass was instrumental in the growth of the team.

Season standings
Central Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Detroit Pistons 6319.768–37–426–1520–10
x-Cleveland Cavaliers 5725.695637–420–2119–11
x-Atlanta Hawks 5230.6341133–819–2220–10
x-Milwaukee Bucks 4933.5981431–1018–2311–19
x-Chicago Bulls 4735.5731630–1117–2412–18
Indiana Pacers 2854.3413520–218–338–22
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Detroit Pistons6319.768–
2 y-New York Knicks5230.63411
3 x-Cleveland Cavaliers5725.6956
4 x-Atlanta Hawks5230.63411
5 x-Milwaukee Bucks4933.59814
6 x-Chicago Bulls4735.57316
7 x-Philadelphia 76ers4636.56117
8 x-Boston Celtics4240.51221
9 Washington Bullets4042.48823
10 Indiana Pacers2854.34135
11 New Jersey Nets2656.31737
12 Charlotte Hornets2062.24443

Record vs. opponents
1988–89 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —3–14–14–24–21–10–21–51–11–15–12–01–11–16–04–12–22–21–11–12–01–11–11–13–1
Boston 1–3—6–01–31–41–11–11–31–11–12–32–01–12–02–25–13–33–30–21–12–02–00–21–12–4
Charlotte 1–40–6—1–40–40–20–20–40–20–22–22–00–21–10–42–42–43–30–20–21–12–01–11–11–5
Chicago 2–43–14–1—0–62–01–10–61–11–14–21–12–02–06–02–23–21–31–12–02–02–02–00–23–1
Cleveland 2–44–14–06–0—2–02–03–31–11–15–11–10–22–03–34–02–23–22–02–02–02–01–11–12–2
Dallas 1–11–12–00–20–2—3–30–21–31–51–13–10–46–00–21–10–21–11–32–22–25–12–24–21–1
Denver 2–01–12–01–10–23–3—1–13–14–21–12–21–35–10–21–11–11–11–32–23–13–32–23–31–1
Detroit 5–13–14–06–03–32–01–1—1–11–14–22–02–02–02–44–00–45–02–01–12–02–02–02–05–0
Golden State 1–11–12–01–11–13–11–31–1—1–31–15–12–34–00–22–02–01–12–42–42–33–12–42–21–1
Houston 1–11–12–01–11–15–12–41–13–1—2–02–21–34–21–12–00–20–21–33–12–26–02–22–40–2
Indiana 1–53–22–22–41–51–11–12–41–10–2—1–10–21–12–41–30–50–41–12–01–12–01–11–11–3
L.A. Clippers 0–20–20–21–11–11–32–20–21–52–21–1—1–51–30–21–10–20–21–51–52–33–11–41–30–2
L.A. Lakers 1–11–12–00–22–04–03–10–23–23–12–05–1—4–01–11–11–12–03–35–05–13–14–21–31–1
Miami 1–10–21–10–20–20–61–50–20–42–41–13–10–4—0–21–11–10–20–40–41–32–40–41–50–2
Milwaukee 0–62–24–00–63–32–02–04–22–01–14–22–01–12–0—4–11–33–11–12–02–01–11–11–14–1
New Jersey 1–41–54–22–20–41–11–10–40–20–23–11–11–11–11–4—2–41–51–10–21–11–12–00–21–5
New York 2–23–34–22–32–22–01–14–00–22–05–02–01–11–13–14–2—2–41–12–01–11–11–11–15–1
Philadelphia 2–23–33–33–12–31–11–10–51–12–04–02–00–22–01–35–14–2—0–21–12–01–11–11–14–2
Phoenix 1–12–02–01–10–23–13–10–24–23–11–15–13–34–01–11–11–12–0—2–35–13–14–12–22–0
Portland 1–11–12–00–20–22–22–21–14–21–30–25–10–54–00–22–00–21–13–2—3–34–02–40–41–1
Sacramento 0–20–21–10–20–22–21–30–23–22–21–13–21–53–10–21–11–10–21–53–3—2–21–51–30–2
San Antonio 1–10–20–20–20–21–53–30–21–30–60–21–31–34–21–11–11–11–11–30–42–2—0–41–51–1
Seattle 1–12–01–10–21–12–22–20–24–22–21–14–12–44–01–10–21–11–11–44–25–14–0—3–11–1
Utah 1–11–11–12–01–12–43–30–22–24–21–13–13–15–11–12–01–11–12–24–03–15–11–3—2–0
Washington 1–34–25–11–32–21–11–10–51–12–03–12–01–12–01–45–11–52–40–21–12–01–11–10–2—

Game log

Regular season
1988–89 game log
Total: 63–19 (Home: 37–4; Road: 26–15)
November: 11–3 (Home: 4–1; Road: 7–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1 November 4, 1988 @ Chicago W 107–94 Chicago Stadium 1–0
8 November 18, 1988 @ Phoenix W 121–105 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8–0
11 November 23, 1988 New York L 111–133 The Palace of Auburn Hills 9–2
12 November 26, 1988 L.A. Lakers W 102–99 The Palace of Auburn Hills 10–2
December: 9–4 (Home: 6–1; Road: 3–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
17 December 6, 1988 @ Milwaukee L 84–109 Bradley Center 13–4
18 December 7, 1988 Chicago W 102–89 The Palace of Auburn Hills 14–4
21 December 14, 1988 Milwaukee L 110–119 The Palace of Auburn Hills 16–5
25 December 22, 1988 @ New York L 85–88 Madison Square Garden 18–7
26 December 28, 1988 Phoenix W 106–100 The Palace of Auburn Hills 19–7
January: 8–6 (Home: 7–2; Road: 1–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
31 January 11, 1989 New York L 93–100 The Palace of Auburn Hills 21–10
33 January 15, 1989 @ Milwaukee L 112–120 Bradley Center 22–11
38 January 25, 1989 Golden State W 105–104 The Palace of Auburn Hills 26–12
41 January 31, 1989 @ Chicago W 104–98 (OT) Chicago Stadium 28–13
February: 8–3 (Home: 4–0; Road: 4–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
43 February 5, 1989 Chicago W 113–102 The Palace of Auburn Hills 30–13
44 February 8, 1989 Milwaukee W 107–96 The Palace of Auburn Hills 31–13
45 February 14, 1989 @ L.A. Lakers W 111–103 Great Western Forum 32–13
47 February 18, 1989 @ Golden State L 119–121 (OT) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 33–14
March: 16–1 (Home: 9–0; Road: 7–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
57 March 8, 1989 Seattle W 112–96 The Palace of Auburn Hills 41–16
62 March 18, 1989 @ Milwaukee L 100–117 Bradley Center 45–17
69 March 31, 1989 @ Seattle W 111–108 Seattle Center Coliseum 52–17
April: 11–2 (Home: 7–0; Road: 4–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
72 April 6, 1989 Chicago W 115–108 The Palace of Auburn Hills 54–18
73 April 7, 1989 @ Chicago W 114–112 (OT) Chicago Stadium 55–18
74 April 9, 1989 Milwaukee W 100–91 The Palace of Auburn Hills 56–18
77 April 14, 1989 @ New York L 100–104 Madison Square Garden 58–19
1988–89 schedule

Playoffs
1989 playoff game log
First Round: 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 28, 1989 Boston W 101–91 Joe Dumars (25) Bill Laimbeer (12) Isiah Thomas (10) The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454		 1–0
2 April 30, 1989 Boston W 102–95 Isiah Thomas (26) Bill Laimbeer (15) Isiah Thomas (8) The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454		 2–0
3 May 2, 1989 @ Boston W 100–85 Vinnie Johnson (25) Dennis Rodman (9) Isiah Thomas (10) Boston Garden
14,890		 3–0
Conference Semifinals: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 10, 1989 Milwaukee W 85–80 Bill Laimbeer (19) Bill Laimbeer (17) Joe Dumars (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454		 1–0
2 May 12, 1989 Milwaukee W 112–92 John Salley (23) Dennis Rodman (13) Isiah Thomas (10) The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454		 2–0
3 May 14, 1989 @ Milwaukee W 110–90 Isiah Thomas (26) Bill Laimbeer (11) Joe Dumars (10) Bradley Center
18,633		 3–0
4 May 15, 1989 @ Milwaukee W 96–94 Joe Dumars (22) Isiah Thomas (10) Isiah Thomas (13) Bradley Center
18,633		 4–0
Conference Finals: 4–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 21, 1989 Chicago L 88–94 Rick Mahorn (17) Bill Laimbeer (15) Isiah Thomas (10) The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454		 0–1
2 May 23, 1989 Chicago W 100–91 Isiah Thomas (33) Dennis Rodman (12) Isiah Thomas (4) The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454		 1–1
3 May 27, 1989 @ Chicago L 97–99 Mark Aguirre (25) Dennis Rodman (13) Isiah Thomas (11) Chicago Stadium
18,676		 1–2
4 May 29, 1989 @ Chicago W 86–80 Isiah Thomas (27) Dennis Rodman (18) Isiah Thomas (6) Chicago Stadium
18,676		 2–2
5 May 31, 1989 Chicago W 94–85 Vinnie Johnson (22) Dennis Rodman (14) Isiah Thomas (12) The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454		 3–2
6 June 2, 1989 @ Chicago W 103–94 Isiah Thomas (33) Dennis Rodman (15) Joe Dumars (9) Chicago Stadium
18,676		 4–2
NBA Finals: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 June 6, 1989 L.A. Lakers W 109–97 Isiah Thomas (24) Aguirre, Rodman (10) Isiah Thomas (9) The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454		 1–0
2 June 8, 1989 L.A. Lakers W 108–105 Joe Dumars (33) Mark Aguirre (6) Isiah Thomas (7) The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454		 2–0
3 June 11, 1989 @ L.A. Lakers W 114–110 Joe Dumars (31) Dennis Rodman (19) Isiah Thomas (8) Great Western Forum
17,505		 3–0
4 June 13, 1989 @ L.A. Lakers W 105–97 Joe Dumars (23) Johnson, Laimbeer (6) three players tied (5) Great Western Forum
17,505		 4–0
1989 schedule

Playoffs

After finishing with the best record in the NBA, the Pistons swept through the first two rounds of the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference finals, they faced the Chicago Bulls, whom they had defeated in the conference semifinals a year earlier. Although the Bulls were able to win two of the first three games, the Pistons' use of their "Jordan Rules" defense wore out Michael Jordan, setting up Detroit's second consecutive NBA Finals appearance against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Player stats
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

Regular season
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Mark Aguirre 363229.7.483.293.7384.22.5.44.1915.5
Adrian Dantley 424231.9.521.000.8393.92.2.55.1418.4
Darryl Dawkins 1403.4.474.000.500.5.1.00.071.9
Fennis Dembo 3102.4.333.000.800.7.2.03.001.2
Joe Dumars 696734.9.505.483.8502.55.7.91.0717.2
James Edwards 76116.5.500.000.6863.0.6.14.417.3
Steve Harris 302.3.250.0001.000.7.0.33.001.3
Vinnie Johnson 822125.3.464.295.7343.13.0.90.2113.8
Bill Laimbeer 818132.6.499.349.8409.62.2.631.2313.7
John Long 2416.3.475.000.846.5.6.00.082.0
Rick Mahorn 726124.9.517.000.7486.9.8.56.927.2
Pace Mannion 502.81.000.000.000.6.0.20.00.8
Dennis Rodman 82826.9.595.231.6269.41.2.67.939.0
Jim Rowinski 601.3.000.0001.000.3.0.00.00.7
John Salley 672121.8.498.000.6925.01.1.601.077.0
Isiah Thomas 807636.6.464.273.8183.48.31.66.2518.2
Micheal Williams 4907.3.364.222.660.61.4.27.062.6

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Mark Aguirre 171727.2.489.276.7374.41.6.47.1812.6
Fennis Dembo 202.01.000.000.000.0.0.00.001.0
Joe Dumars 171736.5.455.083.8612.65.6.71.0617.6
James Edwards 17018.6.471.000.7842.1.7.06.477.1
Vinnie Johnson 17021.9.455.417.7582.62.5.24.1814.1
Bill Laimbeer 171729.2.465.357.8068.21.8.35.4710.1
John Long 402.01.000.0001.000.0.0.00.001.2
Rick Mahorn 171721.2.580.000.6545.1.4.53.765.7
Dennis Rodman 17024.1.529.000.68610.0.9.35.715.8
John Salley 17023.1.586.000.6674.6.5.531.478.9
Isiah Thomas 171737.2.412.267.7404.38.31.59.2418.2
Micheal Williams 401.5.000.0001.000.5.5.25.00.5

NBA Finals
Main article: 1989 NBA Finals

The Pistons' overpowering play allowed them to sweep the Lakers, who struggled to fill the defensive void left by Byron Scott's injury prior to the start of the Finals. Joe Dumars was named Finals MVP. In addition, Magic Johnson pulled a hamstring early in the second game, and unable to play the rest of the series. The Lakers' depleted backcourt allowed the Pistons to easily win the 1988–89 NBA Championship.

GameHome TeamRoad Teamseries
Game 1Detroit 109L.A. Lakers 971–0
Game 2Detroit 108L.A. Lakers 1052–0
Game 3:L.A. Lakers 110Detroit 1143–0
Game 4:L.A. Lakers 97Detroit 1054–0

Pistons win series 4–0

Award winners

References
  1. "1988–89 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  2. "Dantley was ushered out of Detroit before he could win a title". Vintage Detroit. March 19, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  3. "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Mavericks Send Aguirre To Pistons for Dantley". New York Times. February 16, 1989. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  4. "1988–89 Detroit Pistons Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  5. "Chevette to Corvette No. 1: The 1988–89 Detroit Pistons". January 9, 2012.
  6. "1989 NBA All-Star Game: West 143, East 134". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  7. "1988–89 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  8. "1988–89 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  9. "Pistons' Defense Smothers Celtics' Season". New York Times. May 3, 1989. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  10. "Pistons Edge Bucks To Complete a Sweep". New York Times. May 16, 1989. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  11. "Pistons Earn a Rematch With Lakers in Final". New York Times. June 3, 1989. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  12. "Pistons Earn First Title by Sweeping Lakers". New York Times. June 14, 1989. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  13. "1989 NBA Expansion Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  14. "Mahorn Traded to 76ers". New York Times. October 28, 1989. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-03-17. Retrieved 2009-05-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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