Isiah Thomas is regarded as one of the best point guards of all time. He was the superstar for the ‘Bad Boys’ Detroit Pistons that rampaged the NBA for several years.
Led by Thomas, the Pistons won back-to-back NBA Championships in 1989 and 1990. Evidently, they faced some great teams on their path to winning the titles. Thomas recently revealed he believes the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1980s deserve to be regarded among the top three greatest teams ever.
“Them Boston Celtics and them L.A. Lakers,” Thomas said in a recent appearance on Sway In The Morning. “I mean, when you talk about the Celtics and the Lakers during that period of time in any criteria measurement, the Lakers and the Celtics, those two teams are arguably the top three teams to ever play the game of basketball.”
“We [Detroit Pistons] beat them,” Thomas proudly concluded.
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The Detroit Pistons’ rivalry vs. the Chicago Bulls is well-known among fans. But an underrated aspect of the Pistons during the 1989 Championship run was defeating both the Celtics and the Lakers in the same year.
The Pistons handled business vs. the Celtics in the Eastern Conference First round. But was the 3-0 series win truly a great achievement? After all, Larry Bird was sidelined that season due to having surgery on both his ankles. Sure, the Celtics still had the likes of Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, but they were not the same without Larry Bird. It was effectively the end of the Celtics dynasty in the 1980s, where they won three NBA Championships in 1981, 1984, and 1986.
Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons reached the 1989 NBA Finals, where they faced the mighty Los Angeles Lakers. The Pistons swept the Lakers in four games and won the first title in franchise history. The Purple and Gold did have their core of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy on the roster, but they were on their last legs. It was Kareem’s last season in the league. Prior to that, the Lakers won five NBA Championships in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988.
Yes, the Pistons defeated the Celtics and the Lakers in 1989, but they were nowhere close to their prime.
The Detroit Pistons Were Dethroned In 1991 By Michael Jordan And The Chicago Bulls
Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs by the Detroit Pistons for three straight seasons in 1988, 1989, and 1990.
But Jordan finally took the leap in the 1991 playoffs by adding muscle to overcome the ‘Jordan Rules.’ MJ averaged 29.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 7.0 APG, 2.3 SPG, 1.8 BPG, and shot 53.5% from the field. The Bulls swept the Pistons in the series and went on to win the 1991 NBA Finals.
The Pistons were dethroned from the position of the best team in the Eastern Conference, whereas it was the start of the Bulls’ dynasty in the 1990s. MJ led the organization to six NBA Championships in eight seasons and became the GOAT in the eyes of most fans.
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