[1] After losing 62 games in 1993 along with the retirements of Bill Laimbeer and Isiah Thomas, the Pistons started a new era by drafting Grant Hill out of Duke University with the third overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft.
[2][3][4][5][6][7] The team also signed free agents Oliver Miller,[8][9] Johnny Dawkins,[10] and Rafael Addison,[11] and acquired Mark West from the Phoenix Suns during the off-season.
[17] Hill became an immediate fan favorite averaging 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game, was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and went on to share the Rookie of the Year honors with Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks,[18][19][20][21] while Joe Dumars, the last of the original players from the Bad Boys era, averaged 18.1 points and 5.5 assists per game.
[22] Following the season, Miller was left unprotected in the 1995 NBA Expansion Draft, where he was selected by the newly expansion Toronto Raptors,[32][33][34][35][36] and head coach Don Chaney was fired.
[37][38] For the season, the Pistons added new red alternate road uniforms with blue side panels, which remained in use until the franchise's 1996 teal-colored rebrand.