Last Updated on July 29, 2026 by Mat Diekhake
League Search Page > NBA > Detroit Pistons > Roster & Statistics
The 1981–82 Detroit Pistons were led by Kelly Tripucka, whose scoring established him as the focal point of the offence, while Isiah Thomas quickly emerged as the team’s primary playmaker and a major scoring threat. Kent Benson anchored the frontcourt with efficient interior scoring and rebounding. Detroit’s statistical profile reflected a fast-paced, offence-oriented team that generated balanced scoring and strong ball movement, but inconsistent defensive production limited its overall effectiveness.
Roster
| No. | Player | Pos | Height | Weight | DOB | Age | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Isiah Thomas | PG | 6’1″ | 180 | 4/30/1961 | 20 | Indiana |
| 7 | Kelly Tripucka | SF | 6’6″ | 215 | 2/16/1959 | 22 | Notre Dame |
| 54 | Kent Benson | C | 6’10” | 235 | 12/27/1954 | 27 | Indiana |
| 25 | John Long | SG | 6’5″ | 200 | 8/28/1956 | 25 | Detroit Mercy |
| 41 | Terry Tyler | SF | 6’7″ | 215 | 10/30/1956 | 25 | Detroit Mercy |
| 40 | Phil Hubbard | PF | 6’8″ | 215 | 12/13/1956 | 25 | Michigan |
| 30 | Ron Lee | PG | 6’4″ | 185 | 11/2/1952 | 29 | Oregon |
| 15 | Vinnie Johnson | SG | 6’2″ | 200 | 9/1/1956 | 25 | Baylor |
| 33 | Edgar Jones | PF | 6’10” | 225 | 6/17/1956 | 25 | Nevada-Reno |
| 35 | Greg Kelser | SF | 6’7″ | 210 | 9/17/1957 | 24 | Michigan State |
| 45 | Kenny Carr | PF | 6’7″ | 220 | 8/15/1955 | 26 | NC State |
| 50 | Steve Hayes | C | 7’0″ | 235 | 8/2/1955 | 26 | Idaho State |
| 44 | Paul Mokeski | C | 7’0″ | 250 | 1/3/1957 | 25 | Kansas |
| 12 | Jeff Judkins | SG | 6’6″ | 185 | 3/23/1956 | 25 | Utah |
| 14 | Alan Hardy | SF | 6’7″ | 195 | 5/25/1957 | 24 | Michigan |
| 10 | Glenn Hagan | PG | 6’0″ | 170 | 6/25/1955 | 26 | St. Bonaventure |
| 20 | Larry Wright | PG | 6’1″ | 170 | 11/23/1954 | 27 | Grambling State |
Regular Season Per Game
| PLR | POS | AGE | GP | GS | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3PA | 3PM | 3P% | FTA | FTM | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Long | SG | 25 | 69 | 66 | 32.0 | 21.9 | 3.7 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 18.8 | 9.2 | .492 | 0.2 | 0.0 | .133 | 4.0 | 3.4 | .865 |
| Kelly Tripucka | SF | 22 | 82 | 82 | 37.5 | 21.6 | 5.4 | 3.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 3.4 | 15.6 | 7.8 | .496 | 0.3 | 0.1 | .227 | 7.6 | 6.0 | .797 |
| Isiah Thomas | PG | 20 | 72 | 72 | 33.8 | 17.0 | 2.9 | 7.8 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 4.2 | 14.8 | 6.3 | .424 | 0.8 | 0.2 | .288 | 6.0 | 4.2 | .704 |
| Bill Laimbeer | C | 24 | 30 | 30 | 31.2 | 12.8 | 11.3 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 9.4 | 4.9 | .516 | 0.2 | 0.0 | .143 | 3.7 | 3.0 | .813 |
| Kent Benson | C | 27 | 75 | 72 | 32.9 | 12.5 | 8.7 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 10.7 | 5.4 | .505 | 0.1 | 0.0 | .273 | 2.1 | 1.7 | .804 |
| Phil Hubbard | SF | 25 | 52 | 38 | 21.2 | 10.0 | 5.2 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 7.9 | 4.0 | .505 | 0.1 | 0.0 | .000 | 3.1 | 2.0 | .650 |
| Terry Tyler | PF | 25 | 82 | 0 | 24.3 | 9.9 | 6.0 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 7.8 | 4.1 | .523 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .250 | 2.3 | 1.7 | .740 |
| Greg Kelser | SF | 24 | 11 | 0 | 16.6 | 8.8 | 3.5 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 7.8 | 3.2 | .407 | 0.3 | 0.0 | .000 | 3.7 | 2.5 | .659 |
| Edgar Jones | PF | 25 | 48 | 19 | 16.7 | 7.8 | 4.3 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 5.4 | 3.0 | .548 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .500 | 2.7 | 1.9 | .698 |
| Vinnie Johnson | SG | 25 | 67 | 15 | 17.8 | 7.7 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 6.3 | 3.1 | .493 | 0.2 | 0.0 | .273 | 1.9 | 1.5 | .754 |
| Kenny Carr | PF | 26 | 28 | 6 | 15.9 | 7.4 | 4.9 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 6.0 | 2.8 | .458 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 2.9 | 1.9 | .646 |
| Steve Hayes | C | 26 | 26 | 0 | 15.8 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 3.6 | 1.8 | .495 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 2.6 | 1.0 | .610 |
| Alan Hardy | SG | 24 | 38 | 0 | 8.2 | 3.7 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 3.6 | 1.6 | .456 | 0.1 | 0.0 | .000 | 0.8 | 0.5 | .621 |
| Paul Mokeski | C | 25 | 39 | 3 | 13.4 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 1.3 | .441 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 0.8 | 0.6 | .758 |
| Jeff Judkins | SF | 25 | 30 | 0 | 8.4 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 1.0 | .383 | 0.3 | 0.0 | .100 | 0.9 | 0.5 | .615 |
| Glenn Hagan | PG | 26 | 4 | 0 | 6.3 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 0.8 | .429 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.000 |
| Ron Lee | PG | 29 | 81 | 7 | 18.1 | 3.4 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 1.1 | .358 | 0.7 | 0.2 | .305 | 1.5 | 1.0 | .706 |
| Larry Wright | PG | 27 | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .000 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 82 | 82 | 241.8 | 111.1 | 44.4 | 24.7 | 9.0 | 6.9 | 19.9 | 92.7 | 43.4 | .482 | 2.6 | 0.6 | .244 | 31.5 | 23.6 | .751 |
Regular Season Totals
| PLR | POS | AGE | GP | GS | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3PA | 3PM | 3P% | FTA | FTM | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly Tripucka | SF | 22 | 82 | 82 | 3077 | 1772 | 443 | 270 | 89 | 16 | 280 | 1281 | 636 | .496 | 22 | 5 | .227 | 621 | 495 | .797 |
| John Long | SG | 25 | 69 | 66 | 2211 | 1514 | 257 | 148 | 65 | 25 | 167 | 1294 | 637 | .492 | 15 | 2 | .133 | 275 | 238 | .865 |
| Isiah Thomas | PG | 20 | 72 | 72 | 2433 | 1225 | 209 | 565 | 150 | 17 | 299 | 1068 | 453 | .424 | 59 | 17 | .288 | 429 | 302 | .704 |
| Kent Benson | C | 27 | 75 | 72 | 2467 | 940 | 653 | 159 | 66 | 98 | 160 | 802 | 405 | .505 | 11 | 3 | .273 | 434 | 219 | .804 |
| Phil Hubbard | SF | 25 | 52 | 38 | 1104 | 520 | 272 | 67 | 38 | 16 | 99 | 410 | 207 | .505 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 163 | 106 | .650 |
| Terry Tyler | PF | 25 | 82 | 0 | 1989 | 815 | 493 | 126 | 77 | 160 | 121 | 643 | 336 | .523 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 192 | 142 | .740 |
| Vinnie Johnson | SG | 25 | 67 | 15 | 1191 | 517 | 144 | 160 | 50 | 23 | 91 | 422 | 208 | .493 | 11 | 3 | .273 | 130 | 98 | .754 |
| Ron Lee | PG | 29 | 81 | 7 | 1467 | 278 | 155 | 312 | 116 | 20 | 123 | 246 | 88 | .358 | 59 | 18 | .305 | 119 | 84 | .706 |
| Bill Laimbeer | C | 24 | 30 | 30 | 935 | 384 | 340 | 55 | 17 | 34 | 60 | 283 | 146 | .516 | 7 | 1 | .143 | 112 | 91 | .813 |
| Edgar Jones | PF | 25 | 48 | 19 | 802 | 375 | 207 | 40 | 28 | 92 | 66 | 259 | 142 | .548 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 129 | 90 | .698 |
| Kenny Carr | PF | 26 | 28 | 6 | 444 | 207 | 137 | 23 | 6 | 6 | 40 | 168 | 77 | .458 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 82 | 53 | .646 |
| Steve Hayes | C | 26 | 26 | 0 | 412 | 117 | 100 | 24 | 3 | 18 | 17 | 93 | 46 | .495 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 68 | 32 | .610 |
| Greg Kelser | SF | 24 | 11 | 0 | 183 | 97 | 39 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 22 | 86 | 35 | .407 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 41 | 27 | .659 |
| Alan Hardy | SG | 24 | 38 | 0 | 310 | 142 | 34 | 20 | 9 | 4 | 20 | 136 | 62 | .456 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 29 | 18 | .621 |
| Paul Mokeski | C | 25 | 39 | 3 | 523 | 123 | 122 | 24 | 13 | 23 | 39 | 111 | 49 | .441 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 33 | 25 | .758 |
| Jeff Judkins | SF | 25 | 30 | 0 | 251 | 79 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 81 | 31 | .383 | 10 | 1 | .100 | 26 | 16 | .615 |
| Glenn Hagan | PG | 26 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | .429 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| Larry Wright | PG | 27 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 82 | 82 | 19830 | 9112 | 3643 | 2027 | 741 | 564 | 1615 | 7391 | 3561 | .482 | 213 | 52 | .244 | 2581 | 1938 | .751 |
HeatingUp Impact Index: Team Impact Spotlight
| Player Name | Role Tier | MPG | Usage Tier | PPG | RPG | APG | STK (SPG+BPG) | Impact Index* | Notes | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly Tripucka | Primary Scorer / Offensive Hub | 37.5 | High | 21.6 | 5.4 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 15.8 | As a rookie, he led the team in scoring (1,772 total points) and served as Detroit’s go-to scorer; he provided inside-outside scoring and high minutes usage. | All-Star (1982), high MVP vote (MVP-11) |
| John Long | Secondary Scoring Option / 2nd Wing | 32.0 | High | 21.9 | 3.7 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 14.5 | Finished with team-high PPG (21.9) — showing he carried a significant portion of the offensive load as a scoring guard/wing alongside Tripucka. | — |
| Isiah Thomas | Lead Playmaker / Offensive Engine | 33.8 | High | 17.0 | 2.9 | 7.8 | 2.3 | 14.5 | As the starting PG, Thomas led the team in assists (565) and steals; orchestrated offense and pushed pace — anchoring Detroit’s backcourt and facilitating both scoring opportunities and transition defense. | Eastern All-Star selection (1982) |
| Kent Benson | Starting Big / Interior Anchor | 32.9 | Moderate-High | 12.5 | 8.7 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 12.8 | As the primary center, Benson provided solid rebounding and interior presence; his near 9 RPG and respectable scoring made him a backbone in the frontcourt. | — |
| Bill Laimbeer | Frontcourt Key Role / Defensive-Rebounding Heavy | 31.2 | Moderate | 12.8 | 11.3 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 13.3 | Though in limited games (30), Laimbeer showed strong rebound and scoring efficiency — hinting at his future as a physical, high-impact big man, especially on glass and at the rim. Context: Laimbeer led team in rebounding that year. | — |
| Phil Hubbard | Rotation Forward / Energy Rebounder | 21.2 | Moderate-Low | 10.0 | 5.2 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 8.8 | Provided second-unit strength — contributing with steady scoring and decent boards, offering relief minutes and depth up front. | — |
| Terry Tyler | Defensive/Role Forward-Big Hybrid | 24.3 | Low-Moderate | 9.9 | 6.0 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 10.2 | Known for his shot-blocking (team high 160 total blocks) and defensive hustle — Tyler added rim protection and defensive rebounding, giving the Pistons a valuable two-way role player off the bench. | — |
| Vinnie Johnson | Bench Scoring/3-D Wing | 17.8 | Low-Moderate | 7.7 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 6.6 | As a reserve guard/wing, Johnson offered instant offense and back-court depth; his presence helped close out games and ease minutes from starters. | — |
| Edgar Jones | Backup Big / Rotational Frontcourt | 16.7 | Low | 7.8 | 4.3 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 7.7 | Served as a depth piece up front, plugged into minutes to provide scoring and rebounding when starters rested — modest but useful role. | — |
| Ron Lee | Third-string / Role PG Off the Bench | 18.1 | Low | 3.4 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 5.4 | Offered playmaking and minutes of rest for starters — though limited scoring, his passing and ball-handling provided some bench stability. | — |
| Kenny Carr | Peripheral Frontcourt Reserve | 15.9 | Low | 7.4 | 4.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 6.8 | Provided modest scoring and rebounding in limited minutes — a role-player depth option. | — |
| Steve Hayes | Reserve Center / Depth Big | 15.8 | Low | 4.5 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 5.0 | As a bench big, Hayes offered spot minutes for rest or matchup rotations — low production but added size and rim presence. | — |
| Paul Mokeski | Deep Reserve / Spot Minutes | 13.4 | Low | 3.2 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 4.9 | Rarely used — provided minimal minutes mainly for rest-of-roster or low-leverage situations. | — |
| Greg Kelser | Young/Fringe Rotation Forward | 16.6 | Low | 8.8 | 3.5 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 7.3 | Played very limited games (11), but when available, offered some scoring and rebounding — essentially a bench hope rather than core rotation. | — |
| Alan Hardy | Deep Bench / Low-Usage Guard-Wing | 8.2 | Very Low | 3.7 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 3.2 | Minimal role: rarely used, contributed negligible minutes and production. | — |
| Jeff Judkins | Deep Bench / Minimal Role | 8.4 | Very Low | 2.6 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 2.3 | Very limited contribution — mostly a spot bench player with little impact. | — |
| Glenn Hagan | Marginal Reserve Guard | 6.3 | Very Low | 1.8 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 2.8 | Appeared in only 4 games — extremely limited usage, negligible impact. | — |
| Larry Wright | Marginal Reserve | 6.0 | Very Low | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | Played in only 1 game — no measurable stats. | — |