NBA All-Star Game that year. Despite finishing with the same record as the year before, the Bullets did not make the playoffs. In the 1983–84 season, Ruland’s averages surged to 22 points and four assists per game. On November 25 of that season, Ruland scored a career-high 38 points, and also grabbed 16 rebounds, in a win over the Detroit Pistons. By the end of the season, Ruland was third in the NBA in total rebounds and fifth in shooting percentage from the floor. The Bullets returned to the playoffs and again lost to Boston. In the series, Ruland averaged 24 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists, 52% from the floor and 81% from the foul line against the eventual NBA champions. For the 1984–85 NBA season, Ruland was moved to the center for the Bullets. His stats dipped slightly. He remained among the rebounding and shooting leaders, but suffered a broken bone in his foot and played just 37 games. Ruland played through the pain in the playoffs, but the Bullets lost to the Philadelphia 76ers to end a disappointing season. The brittle feet, though, like Bill Walton before him, were now a condition. He played 30 games during the 1985–86 NBA season, usually in considerable pain. In the playoffs, the Bullets opted to start towering Manute Bol at the center. Ruland added 14 points and five assists per game off the bench, but the Bullets fell to Philadelphia for the second consecutive season. Philadelphia 76ers (1986-1987) Traded to Philadelphia for Moses Malone the following season, Ruland played in five games before getting injured and subsequently retiring. Second stint with 76ers (1992) Five years later Ruland made a comeback with the Sixers, playing in 13 games during the 1991–92 NBA season before sustaining an Achilles injury involving a luggage cart which was allegedly slammed into his leg by a Boston Celtics employee outside Boston Garden. Detroit Pistons (1992-1993) He managed to play an additional 11 games with the Detroit Pistons the following season before retiring for good in January 1993. Coaching career After his playing days, Ruland became an assistant coach under the Sixers' Fred Carter during the 1993–94 NBA season. He then returned to coach at his alma mater. He was fired from Iona on March 21, 2007, after a 2–28 record for the 2006–2007 season. Yet during his tenure as head coach, he guided the Gaels to three