10 Best Rivalries in Detroit Sports History
By Zac Snyder
Detroit Pistons vs. Chicago Bulls
NBA basketball in the 80s and 90s was rich with heated rivalries and that got the Pistons on this list for a second time. Unlike the Pistons’ rivalry with the Celtics, their rivalry with the Bulls was about trying to stay on top instead of trying to get to the top.
The Pistons-Celtics rivalry heated up a little earlier in the decade but the Bulls weren’t far off. The Pistons and Bulls met in the playoffs four-straight years between 1988-1991, with the Pistons ending the Bulls season three years in a row.
It was during this time the “Jordan Rules” were put in place by Isiah Thomas and Chuck Daly as a way to get inside the Bulls’ heads and to limit Michael Jordan by keying on him with the kind of physical play the Bad Boys were known for.
The Bulls showed they were ready to become a championship team by taking the Pistons to a deciding seventh game in the 1990 Eastern Conference Finals but fell short. The Pistons would go on to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers to make it back-to-back titles but it was the last time they would have the upper hand on the Bulls.
1991 saw a rematch in the Easter Conference Finals but the Bulls got over the hump with a sweep on way to their first NBA title. It signaled an end of an era and the beginning of a new NBA dynasty and the rivalry was fierce to the bitter end. Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer and Mark Aguirre walked off the floor as the final seconds ticked off the clock and only Joe Dumars and John Salley stuck around to shake hands with the victors.
Next: Number 2