While the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers had their fair share of unforgettable battles in the 1980s, their rivalry was ultimately rooted in respect. Sure, an elbow or two was thrown, but deep down, it was all in the name of intense competition.
The rivalry between the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons, on the other hand, was a different story. On the surface, the two teams were locked in a showdown for Eastern Conference supremacy.
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On one side were the Pistons, a veteran-laden squad with proud and gutsy players like Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn. On the other side were the young and hungry Bulls, led by a budding superstar in Michael Jordan and his equally impressive cohort, Scottie Pippen.
But beyond competing for conference titles, these two teams had a deep-seated animosity. Some might even say they hated one another. Pippen, though, declared that there definitely was bad blood not only between them and the Pistons but also between their fans.
Someone spat on MJ’s wife
The Bulls faced off against the Pistons in the playoffs four times in the ’80s, with each series becoming more intense and physical. The Pistons, known for their gritty and bruising style of play, often resorted to the “Jordan Rules” to slow down No.23. Not content with roughing Jordan up on the court, Arsenio Hall alleged that someone even spat on his wife, Juanita, in the stands.
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Pippen responded that he wasn’t at all surprised by the despicable act.
“Detroit really hates Chicago. They’ve been our enemies for a lot of years, and it took us a while to beat them,” the legendary forward said on the “Arsenio Hall Show.” “Once we got to that point, we felt like we had earned some respect with them.”
The Bulls endured a formidable journey to seize control of the East. They twice succumbed to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals before ultimately conquering their fierce rivals in 1991. Pippen, though, asserted the Pistons were just another roadblock on their way to their ultimate goal: the Larry O’Brien trophy.
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“But you know, we didn’t earn anything — we just beat them. And we had to go into the next stage,” he said.
A ticking time bomb
After they defeated the Lakers to claim their first NBA title, Pippen was asked to compare how different the fans in Los Angeles were from those in Detroit. He responded it wasn’t close.
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“I mean, they treated our fans real bad that were there supporting us,” he asserted. “Compared to being in a city like Detroit — not to knock on them a lot, but yeah, they’re a totally different city compared to a city like L.A.”
Addressing the claim that someone spat on Juanita, Pippen remarked that the situation would have unfolded very differently if he had been there to witness it himself.
“If you look at it, anything can happen,” he said. “I mean, if you spit on someone, you could go as far as punching them in the face, because I mean, that’s got to be pretty low.”
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The ’80s and ’90s were a wild time in the NBA. Compared to the landscape today, where beef is often restricted to confrontations on social media that rarely ever spill onto the hardwood floor, the players and fans of that era were known for never hesitating to make their feelings about the other team known, one way or another.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.