1995–96 Detroit Pistons season

The 1995–96 Detroit Pistons season was the 48th season for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association, and their 39th season in Detroit, Michigan. The Pistons had the 18th overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected center Theo Ratliff from the University of Wyoming, and also selected power forward Don Reid out of Georgetown University with the 58th overall pick. During the off-season, the team hired Doug Collins as their new head coach, and acquired Otis Thorpe from the Portland Trail Blazers; Thorpe won an NBA championship as a member of the Houston Rockets in the 1994 NBA Finals.

Under Collins, and with the addition of Thorpe, Ratliff and Reid, the Pistons struggled with a 5–9 record in November, but played above .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the regular season, holding a 23–22 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team signed free agent Michael Curry, who was previously released by the Washington Bullets. The Pistons reemerged as a playoff contender, finishing in fifth place in the Central Division with a 46–36 record, earning the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, and returning to the NBA playoffs after a three-year absence.

Second-year star Grant Hill averaged 20.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Allan Houston averaged 19.7 points per game, and led the Pistons with 191 three-point field goals, and Thorpe provided the team with 14.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. In addition, Joe Dumars played half of the regular season off the bench as the team's sixth man, and contributed 11.8 points and 4.0 assists per game, along with 121 three-point field goals, as Lindsey Hunter was the team's starting point guard for half the season, averaging 8.5 points and 2.4 assists per game, along with 117 three-point field goals, and Terry Mills provided with 9.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game off the bench. On the defensive side, Curry contributed 4.9 points per game in 41 games, while Ratliff averaged 4.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and Reid was the team's starting power forward, averaging 3.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Hill was selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Hill also finished tied in ninth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Houston finished tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting, and Collins finished tied in third place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1996 NBA playoffs, the Pistons faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Atlantic Division champion Orlando Magic, who were led by the trio of All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal, All-Star guard Penny Hardaway, and Horace Grant. The Pistons lost the first two games to the Magic on the road at the Orlando Arena, before losing Game 3 at home, 101–98 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep.

The Pistons finished tenth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 730,573 at The Palace of Auburn Hills during the regular season. Following the season, Houston signed as a free agent with the New York Knicks, which left a bitter feud between Houston and Hill's relationship, and Mark West signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

One notable incident of the regular season occurred on March 20, 1996, during a road game against the Magic at the Orlando Arena. With the Magic up by 20 points against the Pistons, Magic reverse guard Anthony Bowie called a timeout with 2.7 seconds left to set up a play, so he could get his first career triple-double; Collins got upset and viewed this as poor sportsmanship, as he ordered his players off the court to the locker room before the game had ended. Collins was fined $5,000 by the league, as the Magic defeated the Pistons, 113–91.