The 1989–90 Detroit Pistons season was the 42nd season for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association, and their 33rd season in Detroit, Michigan. The Pistons entered the regular season as the defending NBA champions, after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in a four-game sweep in the 1989 NBA Finals, winning their first ever NBA championship. This team is widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in NBA history.

Season summary

Regular season As the defending champions, the Pistons got off to a 13–10 start to the regular season, but then won ten of their next eleven games, and later on held a 35–14 record at the All-Star break. The team posted a 13-game winning streak between January and February, and then posted a 12-game winning streak between February and March. The Pistons finished in first place in the Central Division with a 59–23 record, and earned the first seed in the Eastern Conference; the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the seventh consecutive year.

Isiah Thomas averaged 18.4 points, 9.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game, while Joe Dumars averaged 17.8 points and 4.9 assists per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and James Edwards provided the team with 14.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. In addition, Mark Aguirre contributed 14.1 points per game, while Bill Laimbeer provided with 12.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, and Vinnie Johnson contributed 9.8 points and 3.1 assists per game. Meanwhile, Dennis Rodman averaged 8.8 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, and was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and John Salley provided with 7.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida, Thomas, Dumars and Rodman were all selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, while head coach Chuck Daly was selected to coach the Eastern Conference; it was the first ever All-Star appearance for both Dumars and Rodman. Dumars and Rodman were also both named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team; Thomas and Dumars both finished tied in 13th place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Dumars also finished tied in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and Daly finished in fourth place in Coach of the Year voting.

The Pistons finished third in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 879,705 at The Palace of Auburn Hills during the regular season.

NBA playoffs In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1990 NBA playoffs, the Pistons faced off against the 8th–seeded Indiana Pacers, a team that featured All-Star guard Reggie Miller, Chuck Person, and sixth man Detlef Schrempf. The Pistons won the first two games over the Pacers at home at The Palace of Auburn Hills, before winning Game 3 on the road, 108–96 at the Market Square Arena to win the series in a three-game sweep.

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 5th–seeded New York Knicks, a team that featured All-Star center Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley and Maurice Cheeks. The Pistons took a 2–0 series lead before losing Game 3 to the Knicks on the road, 111–103 at Madison Square Garden. The Pistons managed to win the next two games, which included a Game 5 win over the Knicks at The Palace of Auburn Hills, 95–84 to win the series in five games.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, and for the third consecutive year, the Pistons faced off against the 3rd–seeded Chicago Bulls, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard Michael Jordan, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant. The Pistons won the first two games over the Bulls at The Palace of Auburn Hills, before losing the next two games on the road at the Chicago Stadium, as the Bulls evened the series. After winning Game 5 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, 97–83, the Pistons lost Game 6 to the Bulls at the Chicago Stadium, 109–91. With the series tied at 3–3, the Pistons won Game 7 over the Bulls at The Palace of Auburn Hills, 93–74 to win in a hard-fought seven-game series, and advance to the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year.

In the 1990 NBA Finals, the Pistons faced off against the 3rd–seeded Portland Trail Blazers, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, and All-Star center Kevin Duckworth. The Pistons won Game 1 over the Trail Blazers at home, 105–99 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, but then lost Game 2 at home in overtime, 106–105 as the Trail Blazers evened the series. The Pistons managed to win the next three games on the road, including a Game 5 win over the Trail Blazers at the Memorial Coliseum, 92–90 to win the series in five games, and win their second consecutive NBA championship, as Thomas was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.

Aftermath The Pistons would not reach the NBA Finals again until 2004, in which they won the Finals in five games against their heavily favored rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers to win their third NBA championship.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

1989-90 NBA Season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com

Game log

Playoffs

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | April 26 | Indiana | W 104–92 | James Edwards (21) | Bill Laimbeer (14) | Thomas, Dumars (5) | The Palace of Auburn Hills21,454 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | April 28 | Indiana | W 100–87 | Bill Laimbeer (22) | Bill Laimbeer (11) | Isiah Thomas (12) | The Palace of Auburn Hills21,454 | 2–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | May 1 | @ Indiana | W 108–96 | Isiah Thomas (23) | Bill Laimbeer (19) | Isiah Thomas (9) | Market Square Arena15,301 | 3–0

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | May 8 | New York | W 112–77 | Isiah Thomas (21) | Bill Laimbeer (13) | Isiah Thomas (7) | The Palace of Auburn Hills21,454 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | May 10 | New York | W 104–97 | James Edwards (32) | Bill Laimbeer (13) | Isiah Thomas (12) | The Palace of Auburn Hills21,454 | 2–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | May 12 | @ New York | L 103–111 | Isiah Thomas (20) | Dennis Rodman (8) | Isiah Thomas (6) | Madison Square Garden18,212 | 2–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | May 13 | @ New York | W 102–90 | James Edwards (19) | Dennis Rodman (14) | Isiah Thomas (11) | Madison Square Garden18,212 | 3–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | May 15 | New York | W 95–84 | Mark Aguirre (25) | Dennis Rodman (11) | Isiah Thomas (6) | The Palace of Auburn Hills21,454 | 4–1

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | May 20 | Chicago | W 86–77 | Joe Dumars (27) | Dennis Rodman (13) | Isiah Thomas (6) | The Palace of Auburn Hills21,454 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | May 22 | Chicago | W 102–93 | Joe Dumars (31) | Laimbeer, Johnson (8) | Thomas, Johnson (7) | The Palace of Auburn Hills21,454 | 2–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | May 26 | @ Chicago | L 102–107 | Isiah Thomas (36) | Bill Laimbeer (8) | Isiah Thomas (8) | Chicago Stadium18,676 | 2–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 4 | May 28 | @ Chicago | L 101–108 | Isiah Thomas (26) | Dennis Rodman (20) | Isiah Thomas (8) | Chicago Stadium18,676 | 2–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | May 30 | Chicago | W 97–83 | Joe Dumars (20) | John Salley (10) | Isiah Thomas (10) | The Palace of Auburn Hills21,454 | 3–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 6 | June 1 | @ Chicago | L 91–109 | Joe Dumars (23) | Rodman, Laimbeer (8) | Isiah Thomas (10) | Chicago Stadium18,676 | 3–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 7 | June 3 | Chicago | W 93–74 | Isiah Thomas (21) | Mark Aguirre (10) | Isiah Thomas (11) | The Palace of Auburn Hills21,454 | 4–3

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | June 5 | Portland | W 105–99 | Isiah Thomas (33) | Bill Laimbeer (15) | Isiah Thomas (6) | The Palace at Auburn Hills21,454 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | June 7 | Portland | L 105–106 (OT) | Edwards, Laimbeer (26) | Bill Laimbeer (11) | Isiah Thomas (11) | The Palace at Auburn Hills21,454 | 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | June 10 | @ Portland | W 121–106 | Joe Dumars (33) | Bill Laimbeer (12) | Isiah Thomas (8) | Memorial Coliseum12,884 | 2–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | June 12 | @ Portland | W 112–109 | Isiah Thomas (32) | Bill Laimbeer (12) | Isiah Thomas (5) | Memorial Coliseum12,642 | 3–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | June 14 | @ Portland | W 92–90 | Isiah Thomas (29) | Bill Laimbeer (17) | Joe Dumars (7) | Memorial Coliseum12,642 | 4–1

Player statistics

Season PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG 78 40 25.7 .488 .333 .756 3.9 1.9 .44 .24 14.1 42 0 5.9 .432 .167 .409 1.4 .1 .07 .40 2.8 75 71 34.4 .480 .400 .900 2.8 4.9 .84 .03 17.8 82 70 27.8 .498 .000 .749 4.2 .8 .28 .45 14.5 37 0 5.5 .423 .000 .552 2.1 .3 .11 .24 1.6 40 0 4.2 .303 .250 .864 .8 .2 .08 .08 1.0 46 0 7.3 .506 .452 .769 .7 1.3 .17 .04 2.3 82 12 24.0 .431 .147 .668 3.1 3.1 .87 .16 9.8 10 0 5.0 .438 .000 1.000 .7 .5 .40 .00 1.6 81 81 33.0 .484 .361 .854 9.6 2.1 .70 1.04 12.1 4 0 1.5 .000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .00 .00 .0 82 43 29.0 .581 .111 .654 9.7 .9 .63 .73 8.8 82 12 23.3 .512 .250 .713 5.4 .8 .62 1.87 7.2 81 81 37.0 .438 .309 .775 3.8 9.4 1.72 .23 18.4

Playoffs PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG 20 3 22.0 .467 .333 .750 4.6 1.4 .50 .15 11.0 5 0 3.8 .167 .000 1.000 .4 .0 .00 .20 .8 20 20 37.7 .458 .263 .876 2.2 4.8 1.10 .00 18.2 20 20 26.8 .494 .000 .604 3.6 .6 .25 .55 14.3 5 0 9.4 .500 .000 .250 1.8 .0 .40 .00 1.0 5 0 3.2 .250 .000 .000 .0 .0 .20 .00 .4 8 0 2.4 .200 .000 .000 .4 .5 .25 .00 .2 20 0 23.2 .462 .286 .791 2.8 2.7 .40 .20 10.3 20 20 33.4 .457 .349 .862 10.6 1.4 1.15 .90 11.1 19 17 29.5 .568 .000 .514 8.5 .9 .47 .68 6.6 20 0 27.4 .475 .000 .755 5.8 1.0 .45 1.65 9.5 20 20 37.9 .463 .471 .794 5.4 8.2 2.15 .35 20.4

Player statistics citation:

Awards and records Isiah Thomas, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award Dennis Rodman, NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award Joe Dumars, All-NBA Third Team Joe Dumars, NBA All-Defensive First Team Dennis Rodman, NBA All-Defensive First Team

Transactions

Free agents

SubtractionsPlayerDate signedNew teamRick MahornExpansion Draft June 15, 1989Minnesota Timberwolves

References

External links

Detroit Pistons on Basketball Reference