the 2015–16 season saw dinwiddie appear in just 12 regular-season games for the pistons, after spending the majority of the season in the d-league with the grand rapids drive. after back-up steve blake opened the season in a miserable shooting slump, dinwiddie received his first opportunity of the season in the tenth game, scoring 17 points on november 15 in a 97–85 loss to the los angeles lakers. however, after struggling in the next four games, he fell out of the rotation, compounded by blake's form improvement and brandon jennings returning from injury. dinwiddie played a season-high 29 minutes in the pistons' regular-season finale on april 13, scoring 12 points in a 112–110 overtime win over the cleveland cavaliers. he then appeared in game two of the pistons' 4–0 first-round playoff series loss to the cavaliers.