Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | John Salley | PF/C |  United States | Georgia Tech |
| 2 | 27 | Dennis Rodman | SF/PF | United States | Southeastern Oklahoma State |
| 1986–87 Detroit Pistons season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Chuck Daly |
| General manager | Jack McCloskey |
| Owner | William Davidson |
| Arena | Pontiac Silverdome |
| Results | |
| Record | 52–30 (.634) |
| Place | Division: 2nd (Central) Conference: 3rd (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Eastern Conference finals (lost to Celtics 3–4) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
The 1986–87 Detroit Pistons season was the Detroit Pistons' 39th season in the NBA and 30th season in the city of Detroit. [1] The team played at the Pontiac Silverdome in suburban Pontiac, Michigan.
The disappointing finish of the previous year caused a roster shake-up as the team dealt Earl Cureton to the Chicago Bulls for Sidney Green, Kent Benson and Kelly Tripucka to the Utah Jazz for Adrian Dantley, and guard John Long to the Seattle SuperSonics for draft picks. The team added John Salley and Dennis Rodman in the 1986 NBA draft to complete the turnover. The moves by GM "Trader Jack" McCloskey paid immediate dividends as the team finished 52–30 (.634), 2nd in the Central Division. The team advanced to the playoffs, defeating the Washington Bullets 3–0 in the first round and then the Atlanta Hawks 4–1 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. [1]
The tightly contested conference finals went to a 7th game thanks to Celtics star Larry Bird when he made an improbable steal in the closing seconds of Game 5. Leading by 1 point, Pistons star Isiah Thomas waived off a timeout request from Pistons coach Chuck Daly, hurried a lofting inbound pass to center Bill Laimbeer, as Bird stepped in for the steal, passing to teammate Dennis Johnson for the 108–107 Boston win. Long-time Celtic announcer Johnny Most's call of Bird's game-saving steal in the 1987 playoffs at the end of Game 5 in the Eastern Conference finals vs. Detroit was memorable with "Aaaaaaand now there's a steal by Bird, underneath to DEE-Jay, he lays it in...and Boston has a one-point lead right with one second to go... What a play by Bird!...Oh my this place is goin' crazy!" [2] [3] [4] After a Pistons home win in Game 6, the series returned to the Boston Garden for the 7th game with the Celtics holding off Detroit 117–114 for the series victory.
Detroit was led on the season by guard Thomas (20.6 ppg, 10.0 apg, NBA All-Star), center Laimbeer (15.4 ppg, 11.6 rpg, NBA All-Star), and forward Dantley (21.5 ppg).
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | John Salley | PF/C | United States | Georgia Tech |
| 2 | 27 | Dennis Rodman | SF/PF | United States | Southeastern Oklahoma State |
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach Assistant(s) Legend
Roster |
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Atlanta Hawks | 57 | 25 | .695 | – | 35–6 | 22–19 | 17–13 |
| x-Detroit Pistons | 52 | 30 | .634 | 5 | 32–9 | 20–21 | 17–13 |
| x-Milwaukee Bucks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 7 | 32–9 | 18–23 | 17–13 |
| x-Indiana Pacers | 41 | 41 | .500 | 16 | 28–13 | 13–28 | 13–16 |
| x-Chicago Bulls | 40 | 42 | .488 | 17 | 29–12 | 11–30 | 17–12 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 31 | 51 | .378 | 26 | 25–16 | 6–35 | 8–22 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | c-Boston Celtics | 59 | 23 | .720 | – |
| 2 | y-Atlanta Hawks | 57 | 25 | .695 | 2 |
| 3 | x-Detroit Pistons | 52 | 30 | .634 | 7 |
| 4 | x-Milwaukee Bucks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 9 |
| 5 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 14 |
| 6 | x-Washington Bullets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 17 |
| 7 | x-Indiana Pacers | 41 | 41 | .500 | 18 |
| 8 | x-Chicago Bulls | 40 | 42 | .488 | 19 |
| 9 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 31 | 51 | .378 | 28 |
| 10 | New Jersey Nets | 24 | 58 | .293 | 35 |
| 11 | New York Knicks | 24 | 58 | .293 | 35 |
| 1986–87 game log Total: 52–30 (home: 32–9; road: 20–21) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 0–1 (home: 0–1; road: 0–0)
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November: 6–5 (home: 5–2; road: 1–3)
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December: 11–3 (home: 6–1; road: 5–2)
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January: 11–6 (home: 7–1; road: 4–5)
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February: 9–3 (home: 6–2; road: 3–1)
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March: 10–7 (home: 4–2; road: 6–5)
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April: 5–5 (home: 4–0; road: 1–5)
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| 1986–87 schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
