The Detroit “Bad Boy” Pistons remain very proud of their legacy in the NBA’s history. They weren’t just known as the most physical team ever, but also one that came from an underdog background and climbed its way up the ranks.
They may have had to earn their opponents’ respect, and they did it by playing a unique yet strategic style of basketball. One legend who can attest to it is Magic Johnson, who had his fair share of battles with the Bad Boys.
“I say this to Isiah, his ‘Bad Boy’ Pistons, I don’t think there has ever been a more physical team than them. They imposed their will on you, right, they beat you up, man, and if you flinched, it was over for you,”said Johnson on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast.
An unforgettable opponent
Johnson — at the tail end of his run with the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers when they faced the Pistons — agreed that Thomas and the Bad Boys were the opposite of the glitz and glamour that Johnson’s Lakers were known for.
The Pistons played to bully their opponents, not to impress them, and everyone watching. They incorporated a rigorous defensive strategy alongside having one of the best point guards of all time in Thomas to handle their offense. Johnson also believes that outside of the star guard, the role players don’t get enough credit for the team’s identity throughout its run.
“So 88′ when we played them, it was a physical matchup 7-game series, we won in Game 7, but the next in 89′ they came back and beat us. They would be physical, and then they had that three-headed monster in Isiah, Joe Dumars, and Vinnie Johnson, you couldn’t do nothing with them. And I’m not even talking about John Salley and Rodman and Bill Laimbeer,” Johnson added.
Besides winning two straight championships for Motor City, the “Bad Boy” Pistons are recognized as the team that gave Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls the biggest challenge before the latter ruled the 90s.
Despite Thomas constantly reiterating that they were always unfairly judged, the Pistons were at one point looked at in the same tier as the Lakers and Boston Celtics, which was what they truly wanted to accomplish at the start of their run.
Johnson on whether or not the Pistons took it too far
Speaking of Zeke feeling like they were unfairly judged, the Pistons were often criticized for not playing the sport the right way because of their physicality. Many questioned whether they were playing basketball because, at one point, their competitors viewed them as a football team.
When asked whether or not he viewed them that way, Magic was quick to dismiss that and praised them for creating their own identity, believing in it and winning with it.
“Isiah and Joe still had finesse. Was it tough to play against them? Of course. You know, give them credit, they won back-to-back championships. I never take anything away from a champion, and so they proved that style could win, and they won with it, so give them credit. To me, one of the best teams as well because defensively, I don’t know if we’ve seen a better team than the Pistons,” Johnson said.
The Bad Boy Pistons are recognized for many things, but one can’t say that they weren’t respected and, at one point, feared by their opponents.