Who is the Detroit Pistons’ biggest rival? A look at the past, present, and future

The Detroit Pistons have a storied history with several rival teams in the NBA. Who has the potential to be the next team on the Pistons’ “most hated” list?

Rivalries require sustained success. The history of the NBA is littered with legendary rivalries: Celtics and Lakers, Warriors and Cavaliers, Bulls and Detroit Pistons. What do they all have in common? Both teams were successful and both teams met at the peak of their powers.

Take the Pistons and Bulls for example. The teams clashed in the playoffs for 4 straight seasons from 1988-1991. It was the “Bad Boys” versus “Jordan’s Bulls”. Both teams had their own identity and both teams had shared success. Clashing styles combined with fierce competition was just enough to light the spark for a rivalry.

In recent years, the Detroit Pistons have struggled to really find a solid rival. While there have been some dust-ups and intense match-ups, the Pistons have likely ended up on the losing end when its all said and done. That is the problem. You have to be good enough to have a legitimate rival.

Most of the Pistons’ historical rivalries can divided into two eras: the “Bad Boys” of the late 80’s to early 90’s and the “Goin’ to Work” teams of the 2000s. Notice that these are the two most successful eras of Pistons basketball.

Everyone hated the “Bad Boys”, but a few teams were tough enough to actually fight back. Most notably, the Chicago Bulls. I would argue that the Pistons and Bulls is one of the most famous rivalries in all sports. And as we’ve learned in ESPN’s The Last Dance, the hate between these two teams still lasts to this day.

The Detroit Pistons teams in this era clashed with Larry Bird’s Celtics, who also were infamous for their rough style of play. Meeting several times in the playoffs, the Pistons finally conquered the Celtics in the 1988 Eastern Conference Finals.

Another rivalry began in the late 80’s, but peaked in the 1988 NBA Finals. Isiah Thomas had been longtime friends with Los Angles Lakers star Magic Johnson. At least until Magic laid down a hard foul on Thomas in Game 3 of the physical series that went 7 games.

In Game 6, there was the controversial call favoring the Lakers that cost the Pistons the championship. The Pistons would eventually get their revenge the following season, sweeping the Lakers to win their first championship.

The rivalry with the Lakers would sit dormant for decade until the teams met again in the 2004 NBA Finals. This match-up was a little less charged, but there was still bad blood involved, mainly due to clashing styles.

The Pistons played lockdown defense on their way to another championship over the Lakers, this time shutting down the likes of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.

Perhaps the “Goin’ to Work” Pistons most famous rival was the Indiana Pacers. Both teams played blue collar basketball and liked to rough things up a little bit.

There are a lot of memorable moments between these two teams including the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals, Tayshaun’s block, and most notably 2005’s “Malice in the Palace”.

Later in the 2000’s, the Pistons would clash with the Cleveland Cavaliers and young star LeBron James as the teams faced off 3 times in the playoffs in 4 years. Mixed in there was a little bit of bad blood renewed with the Celtics during the 2008 postseason, but it was short lived.

Although there is a rich history of rivalries with the franchise, the Pistons really haven’t had a real nemesis in over a decade. This coincides with the Pistons’ struggles as it’s been 12 seasons without a playoff win. Winning breeds rivalries and the Pistons just haven’t done enough winning.

When thinking about Pistons’ rivalry teams two come to mind: the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks.

The well documented drama between former-Piston Andre Drummond and 76ers center Joel Embiid resulted in more off-court comments than on-court rifts, but it added some needed spice to the match up. This rivalry most notably resulted in Emiid laughably stating that he “owned real estate in Drummond’s head“.

Blake Griffin also has been involved with the 76ers as things got chippy during his 50-point outburst in October 2018 and then there was a small dust-up in 2019 with Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons.

Griffin also became the point man in the rivalry with the Milwaukee Bucks and star Giannis Antetokounmpo. It is unknown why there is bad blood between the two players, but it could simply be that both play physical. Things boiled over in a game in December 2019 when Griffin “stepped over” Antetokounmpo causing tempers to flare.

It’s safe to say that things have not cooled off between the Bucks and Pistons as Antetokoumpo got into things with Christian Wood back in February.

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Looking to the future, the Milwaukee Bucks have to be on the odds on favorite to be the Pistons’ biggest rival. If the Pistons get back into contention with this group of players, tensions could continue to rise.

I would also put some stock into the Chicago Bulls rivalry being renewed at some point. Both teams look to be on the same trajectory rebuilding and if both franchises find their footing at the same time the hate could pick back up.

Geographic closeness and the amount of games played against division opponents also plays into this.

However, the biggest factor in the Pistons’ next rivalry will come down to players. If the Pistons draft LaMelo Ball, that could open the opportunity for new rivalries. Maybe they draft Anthony Edwards and he develops bad blood with another team? You get the picture.

It is really hard to judge rivalries in today’s NBA, as most have become player based. Some believe that the “player empowerment era” has completely killed the NBA rivalries as there are not many long term dynasties anymore and players switch teams more often.

There is some truth to that belief, but it also could mean the NBA is in prime position to be impacted by another great rivalry.

The Pistons have done it before, why can’t they do it again?