The Detroit Pistons became a prominent presence in the world of basketball and the mode of their game was not that simple. There were many rivalries among the teams and one such rival team on the Pistons was the Chicago Bulls. This rivalry had started in the year 1988 during Eastern Conference matches. It was in the semifinal that these teams came head to head. Michael Jordan was in his prime at that period of time and in his matches against the Pistons, he scored heavily. He was the league MVP of the year. The Pistons defense found it very difficult to contain Jordan. He scored 59 points and thus the Bulls emerged victorious. He was the main scorer in their previous victory also against the Pistons. These defeats made the Pistons coach furious and he introduced new plans to prevent Jordan from rampaging them. The individual talent of Jordan was not enough for them to cop up with the new strategies of the Pistons. Thus they were able to declare their dominance over the bulls. After this victory they went on to defeat the Boston Celtics and register their fist Conference title and this was the first major victory of the Detroit Pistons after they have moved to Detroit from Fort Wayne. By 1989 they became the best team in the league by posting a record best toll of 63 victories. Then they went by keeping their winning streak to be the champions of NBA. During the season of 1989-90 the Pistons was able to be in the top under the able strategies put forth by the then coach Phil Jackson and assistant coach Tex Winter. The strategy created by them was called as the triple post offence or the triangle offence and it proved to be a handful for the other teams. Thus they defeated the bulls again and then went on to win their second consecutive NBA championship.

The rivalry between the Detroit Pistons and the Lakers can only be defined as a clash of two super powers of NBA. The first clash was in the finals in the year 1988. Both the teams came to the final on a high note and the lovers of the game awaited a great match. Undoubtedly the Lakers were the favorites to win the final, but it was not that easy for them. The first game itself proved that the Pistons are not an easy target. The Pistons won the first game by a fair margin and went on to take a lead of three games to two. The hard fought sixth game was won by the Lakers which paved the way for a classic seventh game. Unfortunately the Pistons lost the last game by a meager three points and the Lakers won their fifth championship in the 80s. In the very next year the Pistons bounced back strongly and as a sweet revenge they defeated the Lakers in the finals to claim their first ever NBA title. This was a dream come true for the team and they proved why they are considered as one of the best teams in NBA. Joe Dumars who played as the point shooter was named as the NBA finals MVP. The very next year also they continued their winning run and successfully defended the title by defeating the Trail Blazers. After the final of 1989, they had to wait till 2004 to meet the Lakers. This was also in the finals and just like old times the Pistons came to the scene with the label of underdogs. The first game was a thriller which was won by the Pistons, but the Lakers came back strongly to level the standings by taking the second game. The Pistons was able to overpower the Lakers with their game strategies and won their third NBA title.