Top 5 season openers in Detroit Pistons history

1988-89 @ Chicago Bulls

Every NBA fan will remember the 1988-89 season for the Bad Boys winning the NBA Championship from the much more flashy Los Angeles Lakers.

Next to winning the championship, the most memorable moment from that season for the Pistons would have to be their Eastern Conference Finals matchup with Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls.

Detroit Pistons

However, forgotten in the midst of such a memorable season is the game that kickstarted the season.

The Pistons, who had fallen just short in the Finals a season earlier to the Lakers, found themselves on the road to begin the season against a team they had just knocked out of the playoffs.

At the time there weren’t many bigger games you could slate to open the season as the Pistons-Bulls rivalry had just begun to flare up.

Add to it that the Pistons were playing a rough and controversial style of basketball and the fact that Jordan was starting to etch his name in NBA history and you have all the perfect elements for a great way to start the season.

What ended up transpiring was a convincing win for the Pistons.

While the final score says 107-94 in favour of Detroit, it was really even more lopsided than that already lopsided score.

Detroit led by 18 points going into the final quarter and could afford to take their foot off the gas just a little.

Michael Jordan was at his brilliant best, dropping 28 points on 53 percent shooting, with 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks.

With Scottie Pippen sitting on the sidelines, Jordan was hard pressed for some help, with John Paxson‘s 15 points off the bench the only relief he received.

On the other hand, the Pistons played a typical, incredibly even game with no real standout performance.

Six players scored double-digit points (Isiah Thomas, Adrian Dantley, Joe Dumars, Rick Mahorn, Vinnie Johnson and James Edwards), with Thomas also dishing out 14 assists.