Isiah Thomas

The Pistons ended the 1988-89 season 63-19. They rolled through the playoffs, then knocked off the Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA championship. That season, the Pistons exemplified basketball as a team sport. Their shared skills got them through. The Pistons were the NBA champs, yet none of the players stood out among the league's best. None of the team members made the All-NBA team, no one averaged at least twenty points per game, or was even among the league's top twenty in scoring. It had truly been a team effort. The Wheaties cereal company couldn't figure out who the team's star player was, so they put six of the Pistons on the front of the box.

The "Bad Boys" continued the 1989-1990 season looking like a championship team. They had a 25-1 record during a hot streak in January and February. With a season-ending record of 59-23, they again entered the playoffs and made it to the Finals, where they faced the Portland Trail Blazers. The Pistons were down ten points with only seven minutes left in the first game. Thomas once again hit his nerve to score twelve points in the last seven minutes, giving the Pistons a 105-99 win. Throughout the rest of the series, Thomas' play kept his team in the series. In game four, Thomas hit twenty-two points in the third quarter alone. The Pistons repeated as champs, with Thomas earning Finals MVP honors.