The

1993–94 NBA season The 1993–94 NBA season was the 48th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the 1994 NBA Finals, NBA Finals to win the franchise's first champ ...

was the 46th season for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, and their 37th season in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. In the

1993 NBA draft The 1993–94 NBA season, 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Pen ...

, the Pistons selected point guard Lindsey Hunter out of

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a Public university, public Historically Black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and ...

with the tenth overall pick, and selected shooting guard

Allan Houston Allan Wade Houston Jr. (born April 20, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1993 to 2005. A shooting guard, Houston played nine seasons for the New York Knicks; h ...

from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

with the eleventh overall pick. During the off-season, the team acquired All-Star forward

Sean Elliott Sean Michael Elliott (born February 2, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who starred as a small forward in both the college and professional ranks. He attended the University of Arizona, where he had a standout career a ...

from the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, signed free agent Greg Anderson, and hired

Don Chaney Donald Ray Chaney (born March 22, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, most notable for winning two championships as a player on the Boston Celtics, and winning NBA Coach of the Year while leading the Houston Ro ...

as their new head coach. Early into the regular season, the Pistons traded

Alvin Robertson Alvin Cyrrale Robertson (born July 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 1993, and for one final season in 1995–96. Robertson holds the record for th ...

, who was out with a back injury, to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

in exchange for

Mark Macon Mark L. Macon (born April 14, 1969) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He is the former head coach of Binghamton University and a current staff member at his alma mater, Temple University. Playing career Macon atten ...

and

Marcus Liberty Marcus Liberty (born October 27, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player. He played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Liberty played college basketball for the University of Illinois. High school Afte ...

. After only playing just eleven games early into the season,

Bill Laimbeer William Laimbeer Jr. (born May 19, 1957) is an American former professional basketball coach and player who spent the majority of his career with the Detroit Pistons. Known for his physical style of play, he played a big part in the Pistons earni ...

retired after an ugly practice altercation with his teammate

Isiah Thomas Isiah Lord Thomas III ( ; born April 30, 1961), also known as "Zeke", is an American former professional basketball player who is head coach of the Saginaw Soul of the Basketball Super League, and also an analyst for NBA TV and Fox Sports. H ...

, where Thomas broke his hand after punching Laimbeer; Laimbeer averaged 9.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game this season. After a 5–4 start to the regular season, the Pistons struggled and suffered a 14-game losing streak between December and January, and held an 11–37 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded

Olden Polynice Olden Polynice (born November 21, 1964) is a Haitian former professional basketball player. He played center for the Seattle SuperSonics, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings, and Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Associa ...

to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

in exchange for Pete Chilcutt, and signed free agent Charles Jones. The Pistons lost their final 13 games of the regular season, finishing tied for last place in the Central Division with an awful 20–62 record, their worst record since 1979–80.

Joe Dumars Joe Dumars III ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is the head of basketball operations for the New Orleans Pelicans. He could play either shooting guard or point guard on offense and was ...

led the team in scoring with 20.4 points per game and 124 three-point field goals, while Terry Mills averaged 17.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, and Thomas provided the team with 14.8 points and 6.9 assists per game. In addition, Elliott contributed 12.1 points per game, while Hunter provided with 10.3 points, 4.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and was named the

NBA All-Rookie Second Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

, Houston contributed 8.5 points per game off the bench, Anderson averaged 6.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, and Jones provided with 2.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game off the bench in 42 games. This season marked an end of an era as Thomas retired, ending his thirteen-year career in the NBA with the Pistons; Thomas played in his final game in a 132–104 home loss to the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

on April 19, 1994, where he ruptured his Achilles tendon, which forced him to retire. Also following the season, Elliott was traded back to his former team, the

after only one season with the Pistons, while Anderson signed with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

, Chilcutt signed with the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

, and Jones briefly retired.

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

*Center

retired on December 1, 1993.

Regular season

Season standings

:z - clinched division title :y - clinched division title :x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Player Statistics Citation:

Awards and records

* Lindsey Hunter,

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

2nd Team