Detroit Pistons Regular Season Rosters

1981-1982 Detroit Pistons Regular Season Roster

Player Pos HT WT YOS Pre-Draft Team Draft Status Nationality
Kent Benson C 6-10 235 4 Indiana 1977 Rnd 1 Pick 1 United States
Kenny Carr GF 6-7 220 4 NC State 1977 Rnd 1 Pick 6 United States
Glenn Hagan PG 6-0 170 2 St. Bonaventure 1978 Rnd 2 Pick 21 United States
Alan Hardy SG 6-7 195 2 Michigan 1979 NBA Draft, Undrafted United States
Steve Hayes C 7-0 205 2 Idaho State 1977 Rnd 4 Pick 10 United States
Phil Hubbard FC 6-8 215 2 Michigan 1979 Rnd 1 Pick 15 United States
Vinnie Johnson G 6-2 200 2 Baylor 1979 Rnd 1 Pick 7 United States
Edgar Jones FC 6-10 225 0 Nevada 1979 Rnd 2 Pick 9 United States
Jeff Judkins SF 6-6 185 3 Utah 1978 Rnd 2 Pick 8 United States
Greg Kelser F 6-7 190 2 Michigan State 1979 Rnd 1 Pick 4 United States
Bill Laimbeer C 6-11 245 1 Notre Dame 1979 Rnd 3 Pick 21 United States
Ron Lee PG 6-4 193 5 Oregon 1976 Rnd 1 Pick 10 United States
John Long GF 6-5 195 3 Detroit-Mercy 1978 Rnd 2 Pick 7 United States
Paul Mokeski C 7-0 250 2 Kansas 1979 Rnd 2 Pick 20 United States
Vernon Smith PF 6-8 220 0 Texas A&M 1981 Rnd 2 Pick 23 United States
Isiah Thomas PG 6-1 180 0 Indiana 1981 Rnd 1 Pick 2 United States
Kelly Tripucka SF 6-6 220 0 Notre Dame 1981 Rnd 1 Pick 12 United States
Terry Tyler GF 6-7 215 3 Detroit-Mercy 1978 Rnd 2 Pick 1 United States
Larry Wright PG 6-1 160 5 Grambling State 1976 Rnd 1 Pick 14 United States

1981-1982 Detroit Depth Chart

  PG SG SF PF C
Starters I. Thomas J. Long K. Tripucka E. Jones K. Benson
Rotation R. Lee A. Hardy T. Tyler    
Rotation     J. Judkins    
Lim PT L. Wright V. Johnson K. Carr   B. Laimbeer
Lim PT         S. Hayes

1981-1982 Central Division Standings

RankTeamRecordGB
1Milwaukee Bucks55-27-
2Atlanta Hawks42-4013
3Detroit Pistons39-4316
4Indiana Pacers35-4720
5Chicago Bulls34-4821
6Cleveland Cavaliers15-6740

1981-1982 Detroit Awards & Honors

Player Award / Honor
Kelly Tripucka Player Of The Week (03/14/82)
Kelly Tripucka All-Rookie First Team (1982)
Isiah Thomas All-Rookie First Team (1982)
Isiah Thomas Rookie Of The Month (Nov 81)
Kelly Tripucka Rookie Of The Month (Dec 81, Mar 82)
Isiah Thomas Eastern All-Star Fan Vote Selection (1982)
Kelly Tripucka Eastern All-Star Coaches Selection (1982)
Kent Benson J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (1982)

1981-1982 Detroit Season Stat Leaders

Player GP MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV
Kelly Tripucka 82 37.5 21.6 5.4 3.3 1.1 0.2 3.4
John Long 69 32.0 21.9 3.7 2.1 0.9 0.4 2.4
Isiah Thomas 72 33.8 17.0 2.9 7.8 2.1 0.2 4.2
Kent Benson 75 32.9 12.5 8.7 2.1 0.9 1.3 2.1
Terry Tyler 82 24.3 9.9 6.0 1.5 0.9 2.0 1.5
Phil Hubbard 52 21.2 10.0 5.2 1.3 0.7 0.3 1.9
Vinnie Johnson 67 17.8 7.7 2.1 2.4 0.7 0.3 1.4
Bill Laimbeer 30 31.2 12.8 11.3 1.8 0.6 1.1 2.0
Edgar Jones 48 16.7 7.8 4.3 0.8 0.6 1.9 1.4
Ron Lee 81 18.1 3.4 1.9 3.9 1.4 0.2 1.5
Kenny Carr 28 15.9 7.4 4.9 0.8 0.2 0.2 1.4
Alan Hardy 38 8.2 3.7 0.9 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.5
Paul Mokeski 39 13.4 3.2 3.1 0.6 0.3 0.6 1.0
Steve Hayes 26 15.8 4.5 3.8 0.9 0.1 0.7 0.7
Greg Kelser 11 16.6 8.8 3.5 1.1 0.5 0.6 2.0
Jeff Judkins 30 8.4 2.6 1.1 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.3
Glenn Hagan 4 6.2 1.8 1.0 2.0 0.8 0.0 0.2
Larry Wright 1 6.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0

1981-1982 Detroit Pistons Roster Composition

Selected via Draft

John Long was selected as the #7 pick in the Second Round of the 1978 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. John Long signed a multi-year contract with the Detroit Pistons on September 1, 1978. John Long re-signed to a multi-year contract as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons on September 1, 1981.

Isiah Thomas was selected as the #2 pick in the First Round of the 1981 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. Isiah Thomas signed a multi-year contract with the Detroit Pistons on August 1, 1981.

Kelly Tripucka was selected as the #12 pick in the First Round of the 1981 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. Kelly Tripucka signed a multi-year contract with the Detroit Pistons on September 30, 1981.

Terry Tyler was selected as the #1 pick in the Second Round of the 1978 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. Terry Tyler signed a multi-year contract with the Detroit Pistons on August 5, 1978. Terry Tyler signed a multi-year extension with the Detroit Pistons on June 16, 1980.

Acquired via Trade

Kent Benson was acquired in a trade by the Detroit Pistons from the Milwaukee Bucks on February 4, 1980. Kent Benson signed a multi-year extension with the Detroit Pistons on November 25, 1981.

Kenny Carr was acquired in a trade by the Detroit Pistons from the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 17, 1982.

Vinnie Johnson was acquired in a trade by the Detroit Pistons from the Seattle SuperSonics on November 23, 1981.

Edgar Jones was acquired in a trade by the Detroit Pistons from the New Jersey Nets on June 11, 1981.

Jeff Judkins was acquired in a trade by the Detroit Pistons from the Utah Jazz on October 1, 1981.

Bill Laimbeer was acquired in a trade by the Detroit Pistons from the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 17, 1982.

Ron Lee was acquired in a trade by the Detroit Pistons from the Atlanta Hawks on January 24, 1980.

Acquired via Free Agency

Alan Hardy signed a multi-year contract as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons on November 23, 1981.

Steve Hayes signed a contract as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons on February 28, 1982.

Larry Wright signed a multi-year contract as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons on November 12, 1980.

1981-1982 Detroit Pistons Front Office

Staff Member Position Start Season Previous Job
William Davidson Owner, Principal Owner 1974-1975 N/A
Scotty Robertson Head Coach 1980-1981 Head Coach (Chicago Bulls, 1978 to 1979)
Jack McCloskey General Manager 1979-1980 Head Coach (Portland Trail Blazers, 1972 to 1974)
Mike Abdenour Head Athletic Trainer 1975-1976 N/A