Last Updated on August 7, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

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The 1976–77 Detroit Pistons were anchored by Bob Lanier, whose scoring, rebounding, and interior defence made him the team’s central figure. Eric Money emerged as a key backcourt scorer and playmaker, while M. L. Carr contributed versatile production on both ends of the floor. Detroit’s statistical profile reflected a balanced offence with dependable inside scoring and capable ball movement, but inconsistent defence and overall efficiency limited the team’s success.

Roster

No. Player Pos Height Weight DOB Age College
16 Bob Lanier C 6’11” 250 9/10/1948 28 St. Bonaventure
23 M.L. Carr SF 6’6″ 205 1/9/1951 26 Guilford
42 Chris Ford SG 6’5″ 190 1/11/1949 28 Villanova
25 Howard Porter SF 6’8″ 220 8/31/1948 28 Villanova
21 Kevin Porter PG 6’0″ 170 4/17/1950 26 St. Francis (PA)
24 Eric Money PG 6’0″ 170 2/6/1955 21 Arizona
22 Ralph Simpson SG 6’5″ 200 8/10/1949 27 Michigan State
34 Leon Douglas C 6’10” 230 8/26/1954 22 Alabama
8 Marvin Barnes PF 6’8″ 210 7/27/1952 24 Providence
44 Al Eberhard SF 6’6″ 225 5/10/1952 24 Missouri
12 Phil Sellers SF 6’4″ 215 11/20/1953 23 Rutgers
20 Roger Brown C 6’11” 225 2/23/1950 26 Kansas
31 George Trapp PF 6’8″ 210 7/2/1948 28 Long Beach State
15 Cornelius Cash PF 6’8″ 220 8/29/1952 24 Bowling Green

Regular Season Per Game

PLAYER NAME POS AGE G GS MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TOPG FGA FGM FG% 3PA 3PM 3P% FTA FTM FT%
Bob Lanier C 28 64   38.2 25.3 11.6 3.3 1.1 2.0 2.7 19.8 10.6 .534       5.0 4.1 .818
M.L. Carr SF 26 82   32.2 13.3 7.7 2.2 2.0 0.7 3.5 11.4 5.4 .476       3.4 2.5 .735
Howard Porter PF 28 78   28.2 13.2 5.9 0.7 0.6 0.9 2.6 12.3 6.0 .483       1.5 1.3 .858
Chris Ford SG 28 82 82 31.0 12.3 3.3 4.1 2.2 0.3 2.3 11.2 5.3 .476       2.1 1.6 .771
Ralph Simpson SG 27 77   20.7 11.0 2.4 2.3 0.9 0.1 1.3 10.8 4.6 .427       2.5 1.8 .708
Eric Money PG 21 73   21.7 10.2 1.7 3.3 1.2 0.2 2.7 8.6 4.5 .521       1.6 1.2 .789
Marvin Barnes PF 24 53   18.7 9.6 4.8 0.8 0.7 0.6 2.6 8.5 3.8 .447       2.9 2.0 .679
Kevin Porter PG 26 81   26.1 8.9 1.2 7.3 1.1 0.1 3.3 7.5 3.8 .512       1.6 1.2 .729
Leon Douglas C 22 82   19.8 7.5 6.4 0.8 0.5 1.0 3.6 6.2 3.0 .479       2.8 1.5 .555
Al Eberhard SF 24 68   17.9 6.9 3.3 0.7 0.7 0.2 2.9 5.6 2.7 .476       2.0 1.6 .790
George Trapp PF 28 6   11.3 5.5 1.7 0.5 0.0 0.2 2.2 4.8 2.5 .517       0.7 0.5 .750
Phil Sellers SG 23 44   7.5 4.5 0.9 0.6 0.5 0.0 1.3 4.3 1.7 .384       1.6 1.2 .722
Cornelius Cash PF 24 6   8.2 3.5 2.7 0.2 0.3 0.2 1.3 3.8 1.5 .391       1.0 0.5 .500
Roger Brown C 26 43   7.5 1.4 2.1 0.3 0.3 0.4 1.6 1.3 0.5 .375       0.6 0.4 .692
Team Totals     82 82 240.6 109.4 44.7 24.4 10.7 5.6 26.8 95.0 45.9 .483       23.9 17.6 .736**

Playoff Per Game

PLAYER POS AGE G GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV FGA FGM FG% 3PA 3PM 3P% FTA FTM FT%
Bob Lanier C 28 3   39.3 28.0 16.7 2.0 1.0 2.3 3.3 18.0 11.3 .630 0 0   6.3 5.3 .842
Howard Porter PF 28 3   32.7 20.0 5.7 0.7 0.7 1.3 2.3 15.7 9.7 .617 0 0   1.3 0.7 .500
Eric Money PG 21 3   34.3 18.3 3.0 6.7 2.0 0.0 3.0 14.7 7.3 .500 0 0   4.3 3.7 .846
Chris Ford SG 28 3   33.7 13.7 6.3 4.0 2.3 0.0 3.7 14.7 6.0 .409 0 0   3.0 1.7 .556
M.L. Carr SF 26 3   37.3 9.3 5.7 2.0 0.3 1.0 3.0 10.3 4.0 .387 0 0   2.3 1.3 .571
Kevin Porter PG 26 3   20.3 5.3 2.0 5.7 0.3 0.0 2.3 4.7 1.7 .357 0 0   3.0 2.0 .667
Leon Douglas C 22 3   19.0 3.3 3.3 1.0 0.3 1.7 3.7 4.3 1.3 .308 0 0   2.3 0.7 .286
Phil Sellers SG 23 1   6.0 3.0 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 1.0 .250 0 0   4.0 1.0 .250
Al Eberhard SF 24 3   14.0 2.3 3.0 0.7 0.3 0.0 2.0 3.0 0.3 .111 0 0   2.7 1.7 .625
Ralph Simpson SG 27 2   8.5 0.0 1.5 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.5 4.5 0.0 .000 0 0   0.0 0.0  
Roger Brown C 26 2   2.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.0 .000 0 0   0.0 0.0  
Team Totals     3   240.0 101.3 47.3 23.0 7.3 6.7 24.3 90.0 42.0 .467 0 0   26.7 17.3 .650**

Regular Season Totals

PLAYER POS AGE G GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV FGA FGM FG% 3PA 3PM 3P% FTA FTM FT%
Bob Lanier C 28 64   2446 1616 745 214 70 126 174 1269 678 .534       318 260 .818
M.L. Carr SF 26 82   2643 1091 631 181 165 58 287 931 443 .476       279 205 .735
Howard Porter PF 28 78   2200 1033 458 53 50 73 202 962 465 .483       120 103 .858
Chris Ford SG 28 82 82 2539 1005 270 337 179 26 192 918 437 .476       170 131 .771
Ralph Simpson SG 27 77   1597 850 181 180 68 5 100 834 356 .427       195 138 .708
Eric Money PG 21 73   1586 748 124 243 91 14 199 631 329 .521       114 90 .789
Kevin Porter PG 26 81   2117 717 98 592 88 8 271 605 310 .512       133 97 .729
Marvin Barnes PF 24 53   989 510 253 45 38 33 139 452 202 .447       156 106 .679
Leon Douglas C 22 82   1626 617 526 68 44 81 294 512 245 .479       229 127 .555
Al Eberhard SF 24 68   1219 471 221 50 45 15 197 380 181 .476       138 109 .790
Phil Sellers SG 23 44   329 198 41 25 22 0 56 190 73 .384       72 52 .722
Roger Brown C 26 43   322 60 90 12 15 18 68 56 21 .375       26 18 .692
George Trapp PF 28 6   68 33 10 3 0 1 13 29 15 .517       4 3 .750
Cornelius Cash PF 24 6   49 21 16 1 2 1 8 23 9 .391       6 3 .500
Team Totals     82 82 19730 8970 3664 2004 877 459 2200 7792 3764 .483       1960 1442 .736**

Playoff Totals

PLAYER POS AGE G GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV FGA FGM FG% 3PA 3PM 3P% FTA FTM FT%
Bob Lanier C 28 3   118 84 50 6 3 7 10 54 34 .630       19 16 .842
Howard Porter PF 28 3   98 60 17 2 2 4 7 47 29 .617       4 2 .500
Eric Money PG 21 3   103 55 9 20 6 0 9 44 22 .500       13 11 .846
Chris Ford SG 28 3   101 41 19 12 7 0 11 44 18 .409       9 5 .556
M.L. Carr SF 26 3   112 28 17 6 1 3 9 31 12 .387       7 4 .571
Kevin Porter PG 26 3   61 16 6 17 1 0 7 14 5 .357       9 6 .667
Leon Douglas C 22 3   57 10 10 3 1 5 11 13 4 .308       7 2 .286
Al Eberhard SF 24 3   42 7 9 2 1 0 6 9 1 .111       8 5 .625
Phil Sellers SG 23 1   6 3 2 0 0 0 2 4 1 .250       4 1 .250
Ralph Simpson SG 27 2   17 0 3 1 0 0 1 9 0 .000       0 0  
Roger Brown C 26 2   5 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 .000       0 0  
Team Totals     3   720 304 142 69 22 20 73 270 126 .467       80 52 .650**

HeatingUp Impact Index: Team Impact Spotlight

Player Name Role Tier MPG Usage Tier PPG RPG APG STK (SPG+BPG) Impact Index* Notes Awards
Bob Lanier Alpha – Anchor 38.2 High Usage 25.3 11.6 3.3 2.1 21.15 The clear centerpiece — dominant scoring, rebounding, and rim protection. As the big man, everything ran through him. His all‑around production drove the team’s success. He was one of the best two-way bigs of his era. All‑Star, All‑Star Game MVP 
M.L. Carr Secondary Wing 32.2 Medium Usage 13.3 7.7 2.2 2.7 12.95 Provided solid two‑way wing play. His scoring/rebounding/defense made him a dependable complementary option to Lanier. Helped bridge front‑court and perimeter. —
Chris Ford Primary Guard (3‑man) 31.0 Medium Usage 12.3 3.3 4.1 2.5 (2.2+0.3) 11.15 As a guard-starting backcourt member, he contributed a fair amount as a facilitator and defender. He helped balance the offense and contributed perimeter defense. —
Howard Porter Front‑court Support 28.2 Medium Usage 13.2 5.9 0.7 1.3 10.55 Solid front‑court role, gave scoring and rebounding — a secondary interior presence behind Lanier. Added depth and second‑unit strength. —
Kevin Porter Primary Ball‑handler (Reserve) 26.1 Medium–Low Usage 8.9 1.2 7.3 1.2 (1.1+0.1) 9.35 Functioned mostly as a playmaker off the bench (or in mixed rotations). High assist load — helped run offense when starters rested. —
Eric Money Backup Guard 21.7 Medium–Low Usage 10.2 1.7 3.3 1.4 (1.2+0.2) 8.3 Contributed steady guard minutes — scoring and some playmaking. Provided depth behind the main backcourt. —
Ralph Simpson Perimeter Depth 20.7 Low Usage 11.0 2.4 2.3 1.0 (0.9+0.1) 8.35 Role‑player off the bench — contributed modest scoring/rebounding, spot perimeter defense. —
Leon Douglas Interior Depth 19.8 Low Usage 7.5 6.4 0.8 1.5 (1.0+0.5) 7.85 Backup big — provided size and some rebounding/defense in limited minutes. —
Marvin Barnes Reserve Forward 18.7 Low Usage 9.6 4.8 0.8 1.4 (0.7+0.7) 8.45 Showed flashes of scoring and inside presence, though limited by minutes. Provided some front‑court depth. —
Al Eberhard Rotation Wing 17.9 Low Usage 6.9 3.3 0.7 1.4 (0.7+0.7) 6.95 Spot contributor — modest scoring and rebounding, likely a role swing‑wing. —
George Trapp Deep Bench 11.3 Low Usage 5.5 1.7 0.5 0.6 (0.4+0.2) 4.85 Minimal role. Provided occasional front‑court minutes, but limited impact due to low usage/time. —
Cornelius Cash Deep Bench 8.2 Very Low Usage 3.5 2.7 0.2 0.5 (0.3+0.2) 3.95 Marginal minutes; likely emergency front‑court coverage. —
Roger Brown Deep Bench 7.5 Very Low Usage 1.4 2.1 0.3 0.7 (0.3+0.4) 2.75 Minimal — little impact in limited minutes. —
Phil Sellers Deep Bench 7.5 Very Low Usage 4.5 0.9 0.6 0.5 (0.5+0.0) 3.25 Very limited role; occasional guard‑wing minutes. —