1984–85 Detroit Pistons season

1984–85 Detroit Pistons season
1984–85 Detroit Pistons season
Head coach	Chuck Daly
General manager	Jack McCloskey
Owner(s)	Bill Davidson
Arena	Pontiac Silverdome; Joe Louis Arena;
Results
Record	46–36 (.561)
Place	Division: 2nd (Central); Conference: 4th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals; (lost to Celtics 2–4)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WKBD-TV; (George Blaha, Dave Bing); PASS Sports; (Fred McLeod, Tom Wilson)
Radio	WJR; (George Blaha, Dave Bing)
< 1983–84	1985–86 >

The 1984–85 NBA season was the Detroit Pistons' 37th season in the NBA and 28th season in the city of Detroit.^[1] Due to repairs to their home at the time, Pontiac Silverdome, the Pistons spent the latter part of the season – and all five of their post-season games – at the Detroit Red Wings' arena, Joe Louis Arena, in Detroit proper.^[1]

Detroit continued their winning ways, finishing the season 46–36 (.561), 2nd place in the Central Division. The team advanced to the playoffs, defeating the

1976, but fell 4–2 to Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics in the conference semi-finals. 1985 was also perhaps the start of bad blood between the Chicago Bulls and star Michael Jordan and the Pistons. At the 1985 NBA All-Star Game, reports were that Pistons star Isiah Thomas and friend Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson conspired to "freeze-out" rookie Jordan on the national stage.^[2] As the Pistons and Bulls battled over the next few years, Jordan may have exacted his revenge in ensuring Thomas was not named to the 1992 Olympic Dream Team.^[3]

The Pistons were led in 1984–85 by Thomas (21.2 ppg, 13.9 apg, NBA All-Star) and center Bill Laimbeer (17.5 ppg, 12.4 rpg, NBA All-Star).^[4]

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	20	Tony Campbell	SF/SG	United States	Ohio State

Roster

1984–85 Detroit Pistons 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
G/F	00	Campbell, Tony	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Ohio State
F	23	Cureton, Earl	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Detroit Mercy
SG	15	Johnson, Vinnie	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Baylor
PF	35	Jones, Major	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Albany State
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
PG	14	Romar, Lorenzo	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Washington
PF	32	Roundfield, Dan	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Central Michigan
SG	31	Steppe, Brook	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Georgia Tech
SG	22	Teagle, Terry	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Baylor
SF	22	Thirdkill, David	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Bradley
PG	11	Thomas, Isiah	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Indiana
F	7	Tripucka, Kelly	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Notre Dame
G/F	41	Tyler, Terry	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Detroit Mercy
PF	31	Wilkinson, Dale	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Idaho State

Head coach

Chuck Daly

Assistant coach(es)

Dick Harter

Legend

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

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks	59	23	.720	–	36–5	23–18	20–10
x-Detroit Pistons	46	36	.561	13	26–15	20–21	21–8
x-Chicago Bulls	38	44	.463	21	26–15	12–29	13–17
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	36	46	.439	23	20–21	16–25	13–16
Atlanta Hawks	34	48	.415	25	19–22	15–26	15–15
Indiana Pacers	22	60	.268	37	16–25	6–35	7–23

#	Eastern Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Boston Celtics	63	19	.768	–
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	59	23	.720	4
3	x-Philadelphia 76ers	58	24	.707	5
4	x-Detroit Pistons	46	36	.561	17
5	x-New Jersey Nets	42	40	.512	21
6	x-Washington Bullets	40	42	.488	23
7	x-Chicago Bulls	38	44	.463	25
8	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	36	46	.439	27

9	Atlanta Hawks	34	48	.415	29
10	New York Knicks	24	58	.293	39
11	Indiana Pacers	22	60	.268	41

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1984–85 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAC	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	1–4	3–3	3–3	0–2	0–2	1–5	2–0	0–2	6–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–4	3–3	3–3	0–5	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	3–3
Boston	4–1	—	4–2	6–0	2–0	1–1	4–2	2–0	2–0	5–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–4	5–1	6–0	3–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	5–1
Chicago	3–3	2–4	—	2–4	2–0	1–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	2–4	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–3	2–4	4–2	0–5	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–2
Cleveland	3–3	0–6	4–2	—	1–1	0–2	1–4	1–1	0–2	4–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–5	2–3	3–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–3
Dallas	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	—	2–4	0–2	4–1	2–4	2–0	5–1	3–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–3	4–1	4–2	5–0	1–5	1–1
Denver	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–2	—	0–2	5–0	2–4	2–0	4–2	2–3	2–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	4–1	3–3	3–2	4–2	2–0
Detroit	5–1	2–4	3–3	4–1	2–0	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–3	1–5	3–2	1–5	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–3
Golden State	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–4	0–5	0–2	—	2–3	0–2	2–3	2–4	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–4	2–4	1–4	3–3	1–4	1–1
Houston	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	4–2	4–2	1–1	3–2	—	1–1	5–1	2–3	1–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–1	3–2	4–2	3–2	3–3	0–2
Indiana	0–6	1–5	4–2	2–4	0–2	0–2	0–6	2–0	1–1	—	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–5	2–3	2–4	1–5	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–4
Kansas City	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–5	2–4	1–1	3–2	1–5	1–1	—	3–2	0–5	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	2–4	3–2	2–4	1–1
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–3	3–2	1–1	4–2	3–2	2–0	2–3	—	0–6	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	4–2	1–5	2–3	2–4	3–2	1–1
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–1	3–2	1–1	5–1	4–1	1–1	5–0	6–0	—	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	5–1	5–1	3–2	3–3	4–1	1–1
Milwaukee	4–2	4–1	3–3	5–1	1–1	1–1	3–3	2–0	2–0	5–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	—	3–3	5–0	3–3	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–2
New Jersey	3–3	1–5	4–2	3–2	1–1	0–2	5–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	3–3	—	6–0	2–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	4–2
New York	3–3	0–6	2–4	3–3	0–2	1–1	2–3	1–1	0–2	4–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–5	0–6	—	2–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–6
Philadelphia	5–0	3–3	5–0	2–4	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	5–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–3	4–2	4–2	—	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	4–2
Phoenix	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–4	0–2	4–2	1–4	2–0	3–2	2–4	1–5	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	—	3–3	1–4	5–1	3–2	1–1
Portland	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–4	1–4	1–1	4–2	2–3	2–0	2–3	5–1	1–5	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–3	—	3–2	4–2	3–2	1–1
San Antonio	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	3–3	1–1	4–1	2–4	1–1	4–2	3–2	2–3	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–3	—	4–1	1–5	0–2
Seattle	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–5	2–3	1–1	3–3	2–3	2–0	2–3	4–2	3–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–5	2–4	1–4	—	3–2	2–0
Utah	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	5–1	2–4	2–0	4–1	3–3	0–2	4–2	2–3	1–4	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–3	2–3	5–1	2–3	—	1–1
Washington	3–3	1–5	2–3	3–3	1–1	0–2	3–3	1–1	2–0	4–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–4	2–4	6–0	2–4	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	—

Game log

Regular season

1984–85 game log
Total: 46–36 (home: 26–15; road: 20–21)

October: 1–2 (home: 1–1; road: 0–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	October 26, 1984	Boston	L 123–130	Isiah Thomas (35)	Bill Laimbeer (13)	Isiah Thomas (11)	Pontiac Silverdome	0–1
2	October 27, 1984	@ New York	L 118–137	Bill Laimbeer (28)	Bill Laimbeer (16)	Isiah Thomas (16)	Madison Square Garden	0–2
3	October 30, 1984	Cleveland	W 124–107				Pontiac Silverdome	1–2

November: 7–7 (home: 2–4; road: 5–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
4	November 1, 1984	@ Atlanta	W 118–114	The Omni	2–2
5	November 2, 1984	@ Boston	L 116–127	Boston Garden	2–3
6	November 5, 1984	@ Cleveland	W 107–98	Richfield Coliseum	3–3
7	November 7, 1984	Chicago	L 118–122	Pontiac Silverdome	3–4
8	November 10, 1984	Milwaukee	W 104–100	Pontiac Silverdome	4–4
9	November 14, 1984	@ Philadelphia	W 137–133 (OT)	The Spectrum	5–4
10	November 16, 1984	Philadelphia	L 90–101	Pontiac Silverdome	5–5
11	November 17, 1984	@ Dallas	W 124–110	Reunion Arena	6–5
12	November 20, 1984	@ Houston	L 117–123	The Summit	6–6
13	November 21, 1984	@ San Antonio	W 114–101	HemisFair Arena	7–6
14	November 23, 1984	New York	L 97–120	Pontiac Silverdome	7–7
15	November 24, 1984	@ Washington	L 106–112	Capital Centre	7–8
16	November 28, 1984	Portland	W 120–113	Pontiac Silverdome	8–8
17	November 30, 1984	Washington	L 106–114	Pontiac Silverdome	8–9

December: 8–6 (home: 4–2; road: 4–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
18	December 1, 1984	@ Indiana	W 131–109	Market Square Arena	9–9
19	December 4, 1984	Boston	W 104–99	Pontiac Silverdome	10–9
20	December 6, 1984	@ Milwaukee	L 99–114	MECCA Arena	10–10
21	December 7, 1984	Denver	W 122–115	Pontiac Silverdome	11–10
22	December 11, 1984	@ Chicago	W 108–101	Chicago Stadium	12–10
23	December 12, 1984	Chicago	W 102–95	Pontiac Silverdome	13–10
24	December 14, 1984	Indiana	W 120–96	Pontiac Silverdome	14–10
25	December 19, 1984	@ Denver	W 148–129	McNichols Sports Arena	15–10
26	December 20, 1984	@ Utah	L 116–117	Salt Palace Acord Arena	15–11
27	December 22, 1984	@ Kansas City	L 123–129	Kemper Arena	15–12
28	December 25, 1984	Philadelphia	L 108–109	Pontiac Silverdome	15–13
29	December 26, 1984	@ New Jersey	L 97–112	Brendan Byrne Arena	15–14
30	December 28, 1984	@ Indiana	W 116–110	Market Square Arena	16–14
31	December 29, 1984	New Jersey	L 108–110	Pontiac Silverdome	16–15

January: 12–2 (home: 8–0; road: 4–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
32	January 2, 1985	Cleveland	W 108–100				Pontiac Silverdome	17–15
33	January 4, 1985	Atlanta	W 134–111				Pontiac Silverdome	18–15
34	January 5, 1985	@ Washington	W 121–113				Capital Centre	19–15
35	January 9, 1985	@ Philadelphia	L 122–126				The Spectrum	19–16
36	January 11, 1985	Indiana	W 120–109				Pontiac Silverdome	20–16
37	January 13, 1985 12 Noon EST	L.A. Lakers	W 121–98	Thomas (30)	Roundfield (14)	Thomas (20)	Pontiac Silverdome 23,475	21–16
38	January 17, 1985	@ New York	W 105–89				Madison Square Garden	22–16
39	January 19, 1985	@ New Jersey	W 109–107				Brendan Byrne Arena	23–16
40	January 22, 1985	@ New Orleans, LA )	W 130–113				Lakefront Arena	24–16
41	January 24, 1985	Golden State	W 137–118				Pontiac Silverdome	25–16
42	January 26, 1985	Seattle	W 132–113				Pontiac Silverdome	27–16
43	January 27, 1985	Washington	W 115–105				Pontiac Silverdome	27–16
44	January 29, 1985	@ Hartford, CT )	L 130–131				Hartford Civic Center	27–17
45	January 30, 1985	Kansas City	W 120–116				Pontiac Silverdome	28–17

February: 5–8 (home: 4–4; road: 1–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
46	February 2, 1985	Atlanta	W 110–102 (OT)	Pontiac Silverdome	29–17
47	February 4, 1985	@ Milwaukee	W 113–111 (OT)	MECCA Arena	30–17
48	February 5, 1985	New Jersey	L 117–119	Pontiac Silverdome	30–18
49	February 7, 1985	@ Washington	L 126–128 (2OT)	Capital Centre	30–19
All-Star Break
50	February 12, 1985	@ Chicago	L 126–139 (OT)	Chicago Stadium	30–20
51	February 13, 1985	Dallas	W 124–119	Pontiac Silverdome	31–20
52	February 15, 1985	@ New Jersey	L 123–124	Brendan Byrne Arena	31–21
53	February 16, 1985	Philadelphia	L 114–125	Pontiac Silverdome	31–22
54	February 18, 1985	Phoenix	W 122–103	Pontiac Silverdome	32–22
55	February 20, 1985	Milwaukee	L 112–113	Pontiac Silverdome	32–23
56	February 22, 1985	@ Philadelphia	L 99–110	The Spectrum	32–24
57	February 23, 1985	New Jersey	L 103–111	Pontiac Silverdome	32–25
58	February 27, 1985	Chicago	W 108–99	Pontiac Silverdome	33–25

March: 7–8 (home: 4–2; road: 3–6)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
59	March 1, 1985	San Antonio	L 98–108				Pontiac Silverdome	33–26
60	March 3, 1985	@ Boston	L 129–138				Boston Garden	33–27
61	March 6, 1985	New York	W 114–90				Joe Louis Arena	34–27
62	March 7, 1985	Utah	L 114–122				Joe Louis Arena	34–28
63	March 9, 1985	@ Atlanta	W 115–113				The Omni	35–28
64	March 11, 1985	L.A. Clippers	W 121–114				Joe Louis Arena	36–28
65	March 12, 1985	@ Chicago	L 110–111				Chicago Stadium	36–29
66	March 17, 1985	@ Seattle	L 98–106				Kingdome	36–30
67	March 18, 1985	@ L.A. Clippers	L 116–136				Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	36–31
68	March 19, 1985	@ Portland	L 123–143				Memorial Coliseum	36–32
69	March 21, 1985	@ Golden State	W 122–113				Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena	38–33
70	March 24, 1985 10:30 p.m. EST	@ L.A. Lakers	L 130–148	Thomas (30)	Laimbeer (14)	Thomas (15)	The Forum 17,505	37–33
71	March 26, 1985	@ Phoenix	W 119–93				Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	38–33
72	March 27, 1985	Houston	W 127–110				Joe Louis Arena	39–33
73	March 31, 1985	Boston	W 113–105				Joe Louis Arena	40–33

April: 6–3 (home: 3–2; road: 3–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	Location Attendance	Record
74	April 1, 1985	Atlanta	L 100–114	Joe Louis Arena	40–34
75	April 2, 1985	@ Indiana	W 124–121	Market Square Arena	41–34
76	April 4, 1985	@ Milwaukee	L 121–130	MECCA Arena	41–35
77	April 5, 1985	Cleveland	L 118–119	Joe Louis Arena	41–36
78	April 7, 1985	Milwaukee	W 113–91	Joe Louis Arena	42–36
79	April 9, 1985	@ New York	W 107–97	Madison Square Garden	43–36
80	April 10, 1985	Indiana	W 116–114	Joe Louis Arena	44–36
81	April 12, 1985	Washington	W 102–96	Joe Louis Arena	45–36
82	April 14, 1985	@ Cleveland	W 116–113	Richfield Coliseum	46–36

1984–85 schedule

Playoffs

1985 playoff game log

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

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 18, 1985	New Jersey	W 125–105	Bill Laimbeer (23)	Bill Laimbeer (13)	Isiah Thomas (11)	Joe Louis Arena 10,465	1–0
2	April 21, 1985	New Jersey	W 121–111	Isiah Thomas (29)	Bill Laimbeer (12)	Isiah Thomas (14)	Joe Louis Arena 11,501	2–0
3	April 24, 1985	@ New Jersey	W 116–115	Terry Tyler (23)	Tripucka, Tyler (11)	Isiah Thomas (11)	Brendan Byrne Arena 9,999	3–0

Conference semifinals: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 28, 1985	@ Boston	L 99–133	Isiah Thomas (23)	three players tied (5)	Isiah Thomas (8)	Boston Garden 14,890	0–1
2	April 30, 1985	@ Boston	L 114–121	Isiah Thomas (28)	Thomas, Laimbeer (9)	Isiah Thomas (15)	Boston Garden 14,890	0–2
3	May 2, 1985	Boston	W 125–117	Bill Laimbeer (27)	Bill Laimbeer (13)	Isiah Thomas (16)	Joe Louis Arena 14,209	1–2
4	May 5, 1985	Boston	W 102–99	Vinnie Johnson (34)	Bill Laimbeer (12)	Isiah Thomas (10)	Joe Louis Arena 14,350	2–2
5	May 8, 1985	@ Boston	L 123–130	Vinnie Johnson (30)	Bill Laimbeer (13)	Isiah Thomas (7)	Boston Garden 14,890	2–3
6	May 10, 1985	Boston	L 113–123	Isiah Thomas (37)	Bill Laimbeer (13)	Isiah Thomas (9)	Joe Louis Arena 21,193	2–4

1985 schedule

Awards and records

All-NBA First Team

References

^ ^a ^b "1984–85 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
^ Starjacki, Will. "The infamous 'Freeze Out' game of Michael Jordan in the 1985 All-Star game". Basketball Network – Your daily dose of basketball.
^ Zillgitt, Jeff (May 3, 2020). "'The Last Dance': Why was Isiah Thomas left off the 1992 Olympic Dream Team?". USA Today.
^ "Chevette to Corvette No. 17: The 1984–85 Detroit Pistons". November 30, 2011.

v t e Detroit Pistons
Founded in 1937 Formerly the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (1937–1948) and the Fort Wayne Pistons (1948–1957) Based in Detroit, Michigan
Franchise	All-time roster Draft history Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	North Side High School Gym Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Detroit Olympia Memorial Building Cobo Arena Pontiac Silverdome The Palace of Auburn Hills Little Caesars Arena
Personnel	Owner(s) Tom Gores President Ed Stefanski General manager Troy Weaver Head coach Monty Williams
G League affiliate	Motor City Cruise
Retired numbers	1 2 3 4 10 11 15 16 21 32 40
NBA championships	1989 1990 2004
Rivalries	Boston Celtics Chicago Bulls Los Angeles Lakers
Culture and lore	Broadcasters Hooper Jordan Rules 1990 Detroit riot John Mason Malice at the Palace

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards and records

References

See also