Detroit Pistons: Top 5 individual playoff performances in team history

#1: Isiah Thomas vs L.A. Lakers, Game 6 of the 1988 NBA Finals

This is a performance that continues to hold up as a prime example of one thing that can’t be taught: heart. Isiah Thomas and his Bad Boys would fall just short of capturing the title this season, but you could see that them winning one was inevitable.

Thomas, as we all know, dropped 25-third-quarter-points on the Lakers during Game 6 of the NBA Finals. This feat, more spectacular not because it occurred on the road, but because it happened after Thomas severely sprained his ankle. Zeke was already cooking before the injury, have scored 14 in the period, but after checking out ever so briefly, he would return to score 11 more and lead the Pistons to a two point lead entering the fourth quarter.

Detroit would ultimately fall short in this classic, but in my mind, this should have been the first of three championships for the franchise, as this was also the game when Bill Laimbeer was called for a foul he didn’t commit on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem knocked down both free throws and the Lakers forced a Game 7 with a 103-102 victory. Isiah, no longer able to rely on adrenaline in the immediate aftermath of sustaining his injury, and now swollen significantly, was a total nonfactor in Game 7, which the Lakers also won.

Zeke ended up with a line of 43 points, 8 assists, an incredible 6 steals, and he even blocked a shot. It was definitely a heroic moment for the Pistons leader, and it portended greater heights.