1985–86 Detroit Pistons season

1985–86 Detroit Pistons season
1985–86 Detroit Pistons season
Head coach	Chuck Daly
General manager	Jack McCloskey
Owner(s)	Bill Davidson
Arena	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	46–36 (.561)
Place	Division: 3rd (Central); Conference: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	First round; (lost to Hawks 1–3)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WKBD-TV; PASS Sports;
Radio	WJR
< 1984–85	1986–87 >

The 1985–86 NBA season was the Detroit Pistons' 38th season in the NBA and 29th season in Detroit.^[1] The team played at the Pontiac Silverdome in suburban Pontiac, Michigan.

The year got off to an excellent start as the Pistons drafted future Hall of Famer Joe Dumars with the 18th pick in the first-round of the 1985 NBA draft. The team's steady rise in recent years stalled during the 1985–86 season as the Pistons finished 46–36 (.561), 3rd in the Central Division. The team advanced to the playoffs but were beaten 3–1 by Dominique Wilkins and the rising Atlanta Hawks. When the series ended, Piston guard and team leader Isiah Thomas said, “All I know,” Isiah would say, eyes fixed straight ahead and locked on nothing in particular, jaw firmly set, amid the spartan if spacious locker room underneath the stands at the Silverdome, “is something has to change next year.”^[2]

The Pistons were led by guard Thomas (20.9 ppg, 10.8 apg, NBA All-Star), center Bill Laimbeer (16.6 ppg, 13.1 rpg), and guard Vinnie "the Microwave" Johnson (13.9 ppg). Dumars (9.4 ppg) was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. Before the 1986-87 Detroit Pistons season began, driven by Thomas, the Pistons would trade away several key players, including forward Kelly Tripucka, center Kent Benson and guard John Long.^[3]

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	18	Joe Dumars	G	United States	McNeese State

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	From
C	54	Benson, Kent	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Indiana
SF	00	Campbell, Tony	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Ohio State
C	42	Crevier, Ron	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Boston College
F	23	Cureton, Earl	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Detroit Mercy
SG	4	Dumars, Joe	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	McNeese State
PF	35	Gibson, Mike	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	USC Upstate
SG	15	Johnson, Vinnie	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Baylor
C	40	Laimbeer, Bill	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Notre Dame
SG	25	Long, John	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Detroit Mercy
PF	44	Mahorn, Rick	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Hampton
C	42	Nevitt, Chuck	7 ft 5 in (2.26 m)	217 lb (98 kg)	NC State
PG	33	Russell, Walker	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Western Michigan
PG	11	Thomas, Isiah	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Indiana
SF	7	Tripucka, Kelly	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Notre Dame

Head coach

Chuck Daly (Bloomsburg)

Legend

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

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks	57	25	.695	–	33–8	24–17	21–9
x-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	7	34–7	16–25	21–9
x-Detroit Pistons	46	36	.561	11	31–10	15–26	18–12
x-Chicago Bulls	30	52	.366	27	22–19	8–33	10–20
Cleveland Cavaliers	29	53	.354	28	16–25	13–28	10–19
Indiana Pacers	26	56	.317	31	19–22	7–34	9–20

#	Eastern Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Boston Celtics	67	15	.817	–
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	57	25	.695	10
3	x-Philadelphia 76ers	54	28	.659	13
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	17
5	x-Detroit Pistons	46	36	.561	21
6	x-Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	28
7	x-New Jersey Nets	39	43	.476	28
8	x-Chicago Bulls	30	52	.366	37

9	Cleveland Cavaliers	29	53	.354	38
10	Indiana Pacers	26	56	.317	41
11	New York Knicks	23	59	.280	44

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1985–86 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	0–6	5–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	3–3	4–2	5–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–4
Boston	6–0	—	5–1	5–1	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	5–1	2–0	2–0	5–0	4–2	5–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–1
Chicago	1–5	1–5	—	3–3	0–2	2–0	2–4	2–0	1–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	1–5	2–3	4–2	1–5	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–4
Cleveland	2–4	1–5	3–3	—	1–1	1–1	1–5	0–2	0–2	3–2	1–1	1–1	1–5	3–3	4–1	0–6	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–5
Dallas	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	—	3–3	0–2	4–1	1–5	2–0	2–3	1–4	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	5–0	2–3	3–3	4–2	3–2	5–1	1–1
Denver	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–3	—	1–1	3–2	3–3	2–0	4–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1	3–2	3–3	3–3	2–3	3–3	2–0
Detroit	2–4	1–4	4–2	5–1	2–0	1–1	—	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	2–4	4–2	4–1	2–4	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–2
Golden State	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–4	2–3	1–1	—	0–5	1–1	5–1	2–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–4	1–5	2–3	2–3	2–4	2–3	1–1
Houston	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	5–1	3–3	1–1	5–0	—	2–0	3–2	1–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2	3–2	4–2	5–1	3–2	3–3	2–0
Indiana	1–5	1–5	3–3	2–3	0–2	0–2	1–5	1–1	0–2	—	2–0	0–2	2–4	2–3	2–4	0–6	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	5–1
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–4	0–2	1–5	2–3	0–2	—	2–4	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–4	2–4	5–0	1–4	3–3	3–2	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–3	1–1	4–2	4–1	2–0	4–2	—	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	5–1	6–0	5–0	4–1	4–2	5–0	2–0
Milwaukee	3–3	0–5	5–1	5–1	2–0	0–2	4–2	2–0	2–0	4–2	1–1	0–2	—	4–2	6–0	4–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–2
New Jersey	2–4	2–4	3–2	3–3	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–2	1–1	2–4	—	5–1	2–4	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–4
New York	1–5	1–5	2–4	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–4	1–1	0–2	4–2	0–2	1–1	0–6	1–5	—	0–6	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–3
Philadelphia	1–4	2–4	5–1	6–0	2–0	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	6–0	2–0	0–2	1–4	4–2	6–0	—	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–3
Phoenix	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–5	1–4	2–0	4–2	2–3	1–1	4–2	1–5	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	—	2–4	2–3	3–2	5–1	1–4	1–1
Portland	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–2	2–3	1–1	5–1	2–3	2–0	4–2	0–6	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	4–2	—	3–2	1–4	5–1	2–3	0–2
Sacramento	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–3	3–3	2–0	3–2	2–4	2–0	0–5	0–5	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–2	2–3	—	5–1	5–0	2–4	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	3–3	1–1	3–2	1–5	1–1	4–1	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	4–1	1–5	—	2–3	2–4	2–0
Seattle	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	0–2	4–2	2–3	0–2	3–3	2–4	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–5	1–5	0–5	3–2	—	2–3	1–1
Utah	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–5	3–3	1–1	3–2	3–3	2–0	2–3	0–5	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	3–2	4–2	4–2	3–2	—	1–1
Washington	4–1	1–5	4–1	5–1	1–1	0–2	2–4	1–1	0–2	1–5	2–0	0–2	2–4	4–2	3–3	3–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	—

Game log

Regular season

1985–86 game log
Total: 46–36 (home: 31–10; road: 15–26)

October: 2–2 (home: 2–0; road: 0–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
1	October 25, 1985	Milwaukee	W 118–116	Pontiac Silverdome	1–0
2	October 26, 1985	@ Chicago	L 118–121	Chicago Stadium	1–1
3	October 29, 1985	New Jersey	W 124–107	Pontiac Silverdome	2–1
4	October 30, 1985	@ Philadelphia	L 125–132 (OT)	The Spectrum	2–2

November: 10–5 (home: 7–1; road: 3–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
5	November 1, 1985	Indiana	W 124–116				Pontiac Silverdome	3–2
6	November 2, 1985	@ Indiana	W 128–117				Market Square Arena	4–2
7	November 6, 1985	Chicago	W 122–105				Pontiac Silverdome	5–2
8	November 8, 1985	@ Washington	W 117–110				Capital Centre	6–2
9	November 9, 1985	Boston	L 105–124				Pontiac Silverdome	6–3
10	November 12, 1985	Washington	W 124–122 (OT)				Pontiac Silverdome	7–3
11	November 13, 1985	@ Milwaukee	L 118–137				MECCA Arena	7–4
12	November 15, 1985 7:30 p.m. EST	@ Atlanta	L 118–122	Thomas (26)	Laimbeer (14)	Thomas (14)	The Omni 12,924	7–5
13	November 20, 1985	New York	W 109–98				Pontiac Silverdome	8–5
14	November 22, 1985	Golden State	W 115–96				Pontiac Silverdome	9–5
15	November 23, 1985	@ Philadelphia	W 119–114				The Spectrum	10–5
16	November 26, 1985	Cleveland	W 113–98				Pontiac Silverdome	11–5
17	November 27, 1985	@ Boston	L 124–132				Boston Garden	11–6
18	November 29, 1985	Milwaukee	W 111–102				Pontiac Silverdome	12–6
19	November 30, 1985	@ Washington	L 119–133				Capital Centre	12–7

December: 3–10 (home: 1–5; road: 2–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
20	December 3, 1985	Philadelphia	L 107–127	Pontiac Silverdome	12–8
21	December 5, 1985	New Jersey	W 113–111	Pontiac Silverdome	13–8
22	December 7, 1985	Sacramento	L 112–122	Pontiac Silverdome	13–9
23	December 10, 1985	@ Cleveland	W 130–120	Richfield Coliseum	14–9
24	December 11, 1985	Washington	L 100–108	Pontiac Silverdome	14–10
25	December 13, 1985	San Antonio	L 113–119	Pontiac Silverdome	14–11
26	December 15, 1985	@ L.A. Lakers	L 119–132	The Forum	14–12
27	December 17, 1985	@ Sacramento	L 121–132	ARCO Arena	14–13
28	December 19, 1985	@ Seattle	W 99–97	Seattle Center Coliseum	15–13
29	December 21, 1985	@ New York	L 110–112	Madison Square Garden	15–14
30	December 26, 1985	@ New Jersey	L 116–124	Brendan Byrne Arena	15–15
31	December 27, 1985	Cleveland	L 105–119	Pontiac Silverdome	15–16
32	December 30, 1985	@ Milwaukee	L 110–121	MECCA Arena	15–17

January: 8–7 (home: 5–2; road: 3–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
33	January 2, 1986	@ Chicago	L 122–131				Chicago Stadium	15–18
34	January 3, 1986 7:30 p.m. EST	@ Atlanta	L 101–111	Tripucka (26)	Laimbeer (17)	Thomas (5)	The Omni 15,817	15–19
35	January 7, 1986	Boston	W 113–109				Pontiac Silverdome	16–19
36	January 9, 1986 7:30 p.m. EST	Atlanta	L 99–110	Dumars (21)	Laimbeer (14)	Thomas (9)	Pontiac Silverdome 9,400	16–20
37	January 11, 1986	Philadelphia	L 101–102				Pontiac Silverdome	16–21
38	January 15, 1986	Chicago	W 123–115				Pontiac Silverdome	17–21
39	January 17, 1986	Denver	W 129–113				Pontiac Silverdome	18–21
40	January 19, 1986	L.A. Lakers	W 118–115				Pontiac Silverdome	19–21
41	January 20, 1986	@ Indiana	L 99–105				Market Square Arena	19–22
42	January 22, 1986	@ Cleveland	W 107–104				Richfield Coliseum	20–22
43	January 24, 1986	@ Dallas	W 129–120				Reunion Arena	21–22
44	January 25, 1986	@ Houston	L 112–117				The Summit	21–23
45	January 27, 1986	@ San Antonio	W 118–117				HemisFair Arena	22–23
46	January 29, 1986 7:30 p.m. EST	Atlanta	W 107–94	Johnson (24)	Laimbeer (10)	Thomas (13)	Pontiac Silverdome 12,386	23–23
47	January 31, 1986 7:30 p.m. EST	@ Atlanta	L 103–116	Dumars (22)	Laimbeer (16)	Thomas (9)	The Omni 12,624	23–24

February: 13–1 (home: 10–0; road: 3–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
48	February 1, 1986	Washington	W 116–101				Pontiac Silverdome	24–24
49	February 4, 1986	@ Chicago	W 117–115				Chicago Stadium	25–24
50	February 6, 1986	@ Washington	W 111–109 (OT)				Capital Centre	26–24
All-Star Break
51	February 11, 1986	@ New Jersey	L 122–130				Brendan Byrne Arena	26–25
52	February 12, 1986	New York	W 113–99				Pontiac Silverdome	27–25
53	February 14, 1986	Dallas	W 119–110				Pontiac Silverdome	28–25
54	February 15, 1986	Philadelphia	W 134–133 (OT)				Pontiac Silverdome	29–25
55	February 17, 1986	Utah	W 117–96				Pontiac Silverdome	30–25
56	February 19, 1986	Seattle	W 118–113				Pontiac Silverdome	31–25
57	February 20, 1986	@ Cleveland	W 109–107				Richfield Coliseum	32–25
58	February 22, 1986	Portland	W 113–106				Pontiac Silverdome	33–25
59	February 24, 1986	Chicago	W 110–100				Pontiac Silverdome	34–25
60	February 26, 1986	L.A. Clippers	W 111–104				Pontiac Silverdome	35–25
61	February 28, 1986 7:30 p.m. EST	Atlanta	W 115–103	Thomas (30)	Laimbeer (11)	Dumars, Thomas (6)	Pontiac Silverdome 25,888	36–25

March: 6–8 (home: 4–1; road: 2–7)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
62	March 2, 1986	@ Boston	L 109–129	Boston Garden	36–26
63	March 4, 1986	New Jersey	W 120–103	Pontiac Silverdome	37–26
64	March 7, 1986	@ New Jersey	W 104–102	Brendan Byrne Arena	38–26
65	March 10, 1986	Phoenix	L 109–120	Pontiac Silverdome	38–27
66	March 12, 1986	Indiana	W 111–101	Pontiac Silverdome	39–27
67	March 14, 1986	New York	W 112–89	Pontiac Silverdome	40–27
68	March 16, 1986	@ Portland	L 109–119	Memorial Coliseum	40–28
69	March 17, 1986	@ Utah	L 106–107	Salt Palace Acord Arena	40–29
70	March 19, 1986	@ Denver	L 98–114	McNichols Sports Arena	40–30
71	March 21, 1986	@ Phoenix	L 103–105	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	40–31
72	March 22, 1986	@ L.A. Clippers	W 119–99	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	41–31
73	March 25, 1986	@ Golden State	L 121–125	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena	41–32
74	March 28, 1986	Houston	W 116–107	Pontiac Silverdome	42–32
75	March 29, 1986	@ Milwaukee	L 121–130	MECCA Arena	42–33

April: 4–3 (home: 2–1; road: 2–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
76	April 1, 1986	Indiana	W 116–108	Pontiac Silverdome	43–33
77	April 2, 1986	@ Boston	L 106–122	Boston Garden	43–34
78	April 4, 1986	Milwaukee	L 108–115	Pontiac Silverdome	43–35
79	April 5, 1986	@ Indiana	W 115–106	Market Square Arena	44–35
80	April 7, 1986	Cleveland	W 128–104	Pontiac Silverdome	45–35
81	April 8, 1986	@ Philadelphia	L 112–116	The Spectrum	45–36
82	April 11, 1986	@ New York	W 108–95	Madison Square Garden	46–36

1985–86 schedule

Playoffs

1986 playoff game log

First Round: 1–3 (home: 1–1; road: 0–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 17, 1986 8:00 p.m. EST	@ Atlanta	L 122–140	Laimbeer (26)	Laimbeer (17)	Thomas (16)	The Omni 12,538	0–1
2	April 19, 1986 3:30 p.m. EST	@ Atlanta	L 125–137	Thomas (36)	Laimbeer (12)	Thomas (9)	The Omni 12,964	0–2
3	April 22, 1986 8:00 p.m. EST	Atlanta	W 106–97	Tripucka (33)	Laimbeer (14)	Thomas (11)	Pontiac Silverdome 13,312	1–2
4	April 25, 1986 8:00 p.m. EST	Atlanta	L 113–114 (2OT)	Thomas (30)	Laimbeer (13)	Thomas (12)	Pontiac Silverdome 15,288	1–3

1986 schedule

Awards and records

Isiah Thomas, All-NBA First Team
Joe Dumars, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team

References

^ "1983–84 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
^ "Chevette to Corvette No. 19: The 1985–86 Detroit Pistons". November 28, 2011.
^ "1986–87 Detroit Pistons Transactions". Basketball-Reference.com.

1985–86 Detroit Pistons season

Contents

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards and records

References

See also