Two years removed from a 28-win season, the Detroit Pistons emerged among the NBA's elite in 1996-97, posting 54 wins and advancing to the postseason for the second straight season. Although the season ended with a first-round playoff loss to the Atlanta Hawks, the team continued its rapid progress under coach Doug Collins.

The rise of the Pistons, not coincidentally, has paralleled the rise of forward Grant Hill. The league's most versatile player, Hill recorded 13 triple-doubles in 1996-97, averaging 21.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game. An All-Star for the third consecutive season, Hill continued to wow crowds, but he was far more than a one-man show.

Lindsey Hunter and veteran Joe Dumars provided the backcourt spark. Dumars, in his 12th season, averaged 14.7 points and finished fourth in the league in three-point shooting (.432). Hunter, among the league's most improved players, averaged 14.2 points. In the frontcourt, Otis Thorpe (13.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg) provided the rebounding and 6-10 Terry Mills was an unlikely three-point marksman, finishing eighth in the NBA (.422 percent) in accuracy.

Detroit climbed one of its biggest hurdles toward respectability on April 13, when it defeated the Chicago Bulls 108-91, ending a 19-game drought against the defending NBA champs. Two days earlier, Dumars became the fourth player to score 15,000 points in a Pistons uniform when he tallied 21 points against the Cavaliers.

In the offseason, the Pistons took further strides toward their goal of a championship by signing coveted free agent center Brian Williams to a multi-year contract and resigning Hunter and Dumars, foreshadowing continued progress in 1997-98.