1988–89 Detroit Pistons season

The 1988–89 NBA season was the Detroit Pistons' 41st season in the NBA and 32nd season in the Detroit metropolitan area.^[1] The Pistons moved from the Pontiac Silverdome to the brand-new Palace of Auburn Hills before the start of the season.^[1]

1988–89 Detroit Pistons season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coach	Chuck Daly
General manager	Jack McCloskey
Owner(s)	William Davidson
Arena	The Palace of Auburn Hills
Results
Record	63–19 (.768)
Place	Division: 1st (Central) Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Champions (Defeated Lakers 4–0)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WKBD-TV (George Blaha, Dick Motta) PASS Sports (Fred McLeod, Tom Wilson)
Radio	WWJ (George Blaha, Dick Motta)
< 1987–88 1989–90 >

A ticket for a November 1988 game between the Pistons and the Charlotte Hornets.

The team won their first eight games of the season, and held a 31–13 record at the All-Star break.^[2] However, Adrian Dantley was unhappy with his role on the team, losing playing time to Dennis Rodman at the small forward position.^[3][4] At midseason, the team traded Dantley to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for All-Star forward Mark Aguirre, a childhood friend of Isiah Thomas.^{[5][6][7][8][9]} Dantley felt that Thomas had a major role in engineering the trade, so that Aguirre could have the opportunity of winning a championship; an accusation that Thomas denied.^[10][11][4] The Pistons posted a nine-game winning streak in March, won eight consecutive games between March and April, then won their final five games, finishing with a league best record of 63–19.^[12][13]

Thomas led the team with 18.2 points, 8.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and was selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game,^{[14][15][16][17][18]} while Joe Dumars averaged 17.2 points and 5.7 assists per game, and Vinnie Johnson contributed 13.8 points per game. In addition, Bill Laimbeer provided the team with 13.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, while Rodman provided with 9.0 points and 9.4 rebounds per game off the bench, and Rick Mahorn averaged 7.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.^[19] Dumars and Rodman were both named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, while Rodman finished in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[20] and in third place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,^[21][22][23] and head coach Chuck Daly finished in fourth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[24][25][26]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Pistons swept the Boston Celtics in three straight games,^{[27][28][29][30]} then swept the 5th-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in four straight games in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.^{[31][32][33][34]} In the Eastern Conference Finals, they trailed 2–1 to Michael Jordan and the 6th-seeded Chicago Bulls, but managed to win the series in six games to advance to the NBA Finals,^{[35][36][37][38]} where the Pistons would win their first ever NBA championship, sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in four straight games, as Dumars was named Finals MVP.^{[39][40][41][42][43]} This series was a rematch from last year's NBA Finals, with the Pistons avenging their NBA Finals loss.

Following the season, Mahorn was left unprotected in the 1989 NBA Expansion Draft, where he was selected by the newly expansion Minnesota Timberwolves.^{[44][45][46][47][48]} However, Mahorn never played for the Timberwolves, as he was then traded to the Philadelphia 76ers soon after.^{[49][50][51][52]} The Pistons and Lakers would face each other again 15 years later in the NBA Finals in 2004, where the Pistons won in five games en route to their third NBA championship, despite being underdogs to the heavily-favored Lakers.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	30	Fennis Dembo	Forward	United States	Wyoming
2	48	Micheal Williams	Guard	United States	Baylor

^[53]

Roster

1988–89 Detroit Pistons roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From F 23 Aguirre, Mark 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 232 lb (105 kg) 1959–12–10 DePaul F 34 Dembo, Fennis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1966–01–24 Wyoming G 4 Dumars, Joe 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963–05–24 McNeese State C 53 Edwards, James 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1955–11–22 Washington G 15 Johnson, Vinnie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1956–09–01 Baylor C 40 Laimbeer, Bill 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1957–05–19 Notre Dame G 25 Long, John 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1956–08–28 Detroit Mercy F/C 44 Mahorn, Rick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1958–09–21 Hampton F 10 Rodman, Dennis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1961–05–13 SE Oklahoma State F/C 22 Salley, John 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1964–05–16 Georgia Tech G 11 Thomas, Isiah (C) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1961–04–30 Indiana G 24 Williams, Micheal 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1966–07–23 Baylor	Head coach Chuck Daly Assistant coach(es) Brendan Malone Brendan Suhr Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended   Injured

Regular season

On February 15, 1989, the Pistons traded Adrian Dantley to the Dallas Mavericks for Mark Aguirre. Dantley was unhappy relegating the leadership role on the Pistons to Isiah Thomas, while Aguirre had clashed with his coaches and teammates in Dallas. Aguirre was more amenable to deferring to Thomas, and accepted his role in Chuck Daly's system. His ability to shoot the three, post up, run the floor, and pass was instrumental in the growth of the team.

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Detroit Pistons	63	19	.768	–	37–4	26–15	20–10
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	57	25	.695	6	37–4	20–21	19–11
x-Atlanta Hawks	52	30	.634	11	33–8	19–22	20–10
x-Milwaukee Bucks	49	33	.598	14	31–10	18–23	11–19
x-Chicago Bulls	47	35	.573	16	30–11	17–24	12–18
Indiana Pacers	28	54	.341	35	20–21	8–33	8–22

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Detroit Pistons	63	19	.768	–
2	y-New York Knicks	52	30	.634	11
3	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	57	25	.695	6
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	52	30	.634	11
5	x-Milwaukee Bucks	49	33	.598	14
6	x-Chicago Bulls	47	35	.573	16
7	x-Philadelphia 76ers	46	36	.561	17
8	x-Boston Celtics	42	40	.512	21
9	Washington Bullets	40	42	.488	23
10	Indiana Pacers	28	54	.341	35
11	New Jersey Nets	26	56	.317	37
12	Charlotte Hornets	20	62	.244	43

Record vs. opponents

1988–89 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–1	4–1	4–2	4–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	6–0	4–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Boston	1–3	—	6–0	1–3	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	5–1	3–3	3–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–4
Charlotte	1–4	0–6	—	1–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–4	2–4	3–3	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–5
Chicago	2–4	3–1	4–1	—	0–6	2–0	1–1	0–6	1–1	1–1	4–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	6–0	2–2	3–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–1
Cleveland	2–4	4–1	4–0	6–0	—	2–0	2–0	3–3	1–1	1–1	5–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–3	4–0	2–2	3–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2
Dallas	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	—	3–3	0–2	1–3	1–5	1–1	3–1	0–4	6–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	5–1	2–2	4–2	1–1
Denver	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–3	—	1–1	3–1	4–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	5–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	3–3	2–2	3–3	1–1
Detroit	5–1	3–1	4–0	6–0	3–3	2–0	1–1	—	1–1	1–1	4–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–4	4–0	0–4	5–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–0
Golden State	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	—	1–3	1–1	5–1	2–3	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–4	2–4	2–3	3–1	2–4	2–2	1–1
Houston	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–4	1–1	3–1	—	2–0	2–2	1–3	4–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	6–0	2–2	2–4	0–2
Indiana	1–5	3–2	2–2	2–4	1–5	1–1	1–1	2–4	1–1	0–2	—	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–3	0–5	0–4	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–5	2–2	1–1	—	1–5	1–3	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–5	1–5	2–3	3–1	1–4	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	3–2	3–1	2–0	5–1	—	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–3	5–0	5–1	3–1	4–2	1–3	1–1
Miami	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–6	1–5	0–2	0–4	2–4	1–1	3–1	0–4	—	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–4	0–4	1–5	0–2
Milwaukee	0–6	2–2	4–0	0–6	3–3	2–0	2–0	4–2	2–0	1–1	4–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	—	4–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1
New Jersey	1–4	1–5	4–2	2–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–4	—	2–4	1–5	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–5
New York	2–2	3–3	4–2	2–3	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	5–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	4–2	—	2–4	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–1
Philadelphia	2–2	3–3	3–3	3–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	0–5	1–1	2–0	4–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–3	5–1	4–2	—	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–2
Phoenix	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	4–2	3–1	1–1	5–1	3–3	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	—	2–3	5–1	3–1	4–1	2–2	2–0
Portland	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	4–2	1–3	0–2	5–1	0–5	4–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–2	—	3–3	4–0	2–4	0–4	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	0–2	3–2	2–2	1–1	3–2	1–5	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–5	3–3	—	2–2	1–5	1–3	0–2
San Antonio	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–5	3–3	0–2	1–3	0–6	0–2	1–3	1–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–4	2–2	—	0–4	1–5	1–1
Seattle	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	4–2	2–2	1–1	4–1	2–4	4–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–4	4–2	5–1	4–0	—	3–1	1–1
Utah	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–4	3–3	0–2	2–2	4–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	5–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	5–1	1–3	—	2–0
Washington	1–3	4–2	5–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–5	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–4	5–1	1–5	2–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	—

Game log

Regular season

1988–89 game log Total: 63–19 (Home: 37–4; Road: 26–15)
November: 11–3 (home: 4–1; road: 7–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 November 4, 1988 @ Chicago W 107–94 Chicago Stadium 1–0 8 November 18, 1988 @ Phoenix W 121–105 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8–0 11 November 23, 1988 New York L 111–133 The Palace of Auburn Hills 9–2 12 November 26, 1988 8:30 p.m. EST L.A. Lakers W 102–99 Dumars (20) Mahorn (11) Thomas (10) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 10–2
December: 9–4 (home: 6–1; road: 3–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 17 December 6, 1988 @ Milwaukee L 84–109 Bradley Center 13–4 18 December 7, 1988 Chicago W 102–89 The Palace of Auburn Hills 14–4 21 December 14, 1988 Milwaukee L 110–119 The Palace of Auburn Hills 16–5 25 December 22, 1988 @ New York L 85–88 Madison Square Garden 18–7 26 December 28, 1988 Phoenix W 106–100 The Palace of Auburn Hills 19–7
January: 8–6 (home: 7–2; road: 1–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 31 January 11, 1989 New York L 93–100 The Palace of Auburn Hills 21–10 33 January 15, 1989 @ Milwaukee L 112–120 Bradley Center 22–11 38 January 25, 1989 Golden State W 105–104 The Palace of Auburn Hills 26–12 41 January 31, 1989 @ Chicago W 104–98 (OT) Chicago Stadium 28–13
February: 8–3 (home: 4–0; road: 4–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 43 February 5, 1989 Chicago W 113–102 The Palace of Auburn Hills 30–13 44 February 8, 1989 Milwaukee W 107–96 The Palace of Auburn Hills 31–13 All-Star Break 45 February 14, 1989 10:30 p.m. EST @ L.A. Lakers W 111–103 Dumars, Thomas (23) Rodman (15) Thomas (15) Great Western Forum 17,505 32–13 47 February 18, 1989 @ Golden State L 119–121 (OT) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 33–14
March: 16–1 (home: 9–0; road: 7–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 57 March 8, 1989 Seattle W 112–96 The Palace of Auburn Hills 41–16 62 March 18, 1989 @ Milwaukee L 100–117 Bradley Center 45–17 69 March 31, 1989 @ Seattle W 111–108 Seattle Center Coliseum 52–17
April: 11–2 (home: 7–0; road: 4–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 72 April 6, 1989 Chicago W 115–108 The Palace of Auburn Hills 54–18 73 April 7, 1989 @ Chicago W 114–112 (OT) Chicago Stadium 55–18 74 April 9, 1989 Milwaukee W 100–91 The Palace of Auburn Hills 56–18 77 April 14, 1989 @ New York L 100–104 Madison Square Garden 58–19
1988–89 schedule

Playoffs

1989 playoff game log
Eastern Conference First Round: 3–0 (home: 2–0; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 28, 1989 Boston W 101–91 Dumars (25) Laimbeer (12) Thomas (10) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 1–0 2 April 30, 1989 Boston W 102–95 Thomas (26) Laimbeer (15) Thomas (8) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 2–0 3 May 2, 1989 @ Boston W 100–85 Johnson (25) Rodman (9) Thomas (10) Boston Garden 14,890 3–0
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 10, 1989 Milwaukee W 85–80 Laimbeer (19) Laimbeer (17) Dumars (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 1–0 2 May 12, 1989 Milwaukee W 112–92 Salley (23) Rodman (13) Thomas (10) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 2–0 3 May 14, 1989 @ Milwaukee W 110–90 Thomas (26) Laimbeer (11) Dumars (10) Bradley Center 18,633 3–0 4 May 15, 1989 @ Milwaukee W 96–94 Dumars (22) Thomas (10) Thomas (13) Bradley Center 18,633 4–0
Eastern Conference Finals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 21, 1989 Chicago L 88–94 Mahorn (17) Laimbeer (15) Thomas (10) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 0–1 2 May 23, 1989 Chicago W 100–91 Thomas (33) Rodman (12) Thomas (4) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 1–1 3 May 27, 1989 @ Chicago L 97–99 Aguirre (25) Rodman (13) Thomas (11) Chicago Stadium 18,676 1–2 4 May 29, 1989 @ Chicago W 86–80 Thomas (27) Rodman (18) Thomas (6) Chicago Stadium 18,676 2–2 5 May 31, 1989 Chicago W 94–85 Johnson (22) Rodman (14) Thomas (12) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 3–2 6 June 2, 1989 @ Chicago W 103–94 Thomas (33) Rodman (15) Dumars (9) Chicago Stadium 18,676 4–2
NBA Finals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 June 6, 1989 9:00 p.m. EDT L.A. Lakers W 109–97 Thomas (24) Aguirre, Rodman (10) Thomas (9) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 1–0 2 June 8, 1989 9:00 p.m. EDT L.A. Lakers W 108–105 Dumars (33) Aguirre (6) Thomas (7) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 2–0 3 June 11, 1989 3:30 p.m. EDT @ L.A. Lakers W 114–110 Dumars (31) Rodman (19) Thomas (8) Great Western Forum 17,505 3–0 4 June 13, 1989 9:00 p.m. EDT @ L.A. Lakers W 105–97 Dumars (23) Johnson, Laimbeer (6) Dumars, Johnson, Thomas (5) Great Western Forum 17,505 4–0
1989 schedule

Playoffs

After finishing with the best record in the NBA, the Pistons swept through the first two rounds of the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference finals, they faced the Chicago Bulls, whom they had defeated in the conference semifinals a year earlier. Although the Bulls were able to win two of the first three games, the Pistons' use of their "Jordan Rules" defense wore out Michael Jordan, setting up Detroit's second consecutive NBA Finals appearance against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Player stats

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Mark Aguirre	36	32	29.7	.483	.293	.738	4.2	2.5	.44	.19	15.5
Adrian Dantley	42	42	31.9	.521	.000	.839	3.9	2.2	.55	.14	18.4
Darryl Dawkins	14	0	3.4	.474	.000	.500	.5	.1	.00	.07	1.9
Fennis Dembo	31	0	2.4	.333	.000	.800	.7	.2	.03	.00	1.2
Joe Dumars	69	67	34.9	.505	.483	.850	2.5	5.7	.91	.07	17.2
James Edwards	76	1	16.5	.500	.000	.686	3.0	.6	.14	.41	7.3
Steve Harris	3	0	2.3	.250	.000	1.000	.7	.0	.33	.00	1.3
Vinnie Johnson	82	21	25.3	.464	.295	.734	3.1	3.0	.90	.21	13.8
Bill Laimbeer	81	81	32.6	.499	.349	.840	9.6	2.2	.63	1.23	13.7
John Long	24	1	6.3	.475	.000	.846	.5	.6	.00	.08	2.0
Rick Mahorn	72	61	24.9	.517	.000	.748	6.9	.8	.56	.92	7.2
Pace Mannion	5	0	2.8	1.000	.000	.000	.6	.0	.20	.00	.8
Dennis Rodman	82	8	26.9	.595	.231	.626	9.4	1.2	.67	.93	9.0
Jim Rowinski	6	0	1.3	.000	.000	1.000	.3	.0	.00	.00	.7
John Salley	67	21	21.8	.498	.000	.692	5.0	1.1	.60	1.07	7.0
Isiah Thomas	80	76	36.6	.464	.273	.818	3.4	8.3	1.66	.25	18.2
Micheal Williams	49	0	7.3	.364	.222	.660	.6	1.4	.27	.06	2.6

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Mark Aguirre	17	17	27.2	.489	.276	.737	4.4	1.6	.47	.18	12.6
Fennis Dembo	2	0	2.0	1.000	.000	.000	.0	.0	.00	.00	1.0
Joe Dumars	17	17	36.5	.455	.083	.861	2.6	5.6	.71	.06	17.6
James Edwards	17	0	18.6	.471	.000	.784	2.1	.7	.06	.47	7.1
Vinnie Johnson	17	0	21.9	.455	.417	.758	2.6	2.5	.24	.18	14.1
Bill Laimbeer	17	17	29.2	.465	.357	.806	8.2	1.8	.35	.47	10.1
John Long	4	0	2.0	1.000	.000	1.000	.0	.0	.00	.00	1.2
Rick Mahorn	17	17	21.2	.580	.000	.654	5.1	.4	.53	.76	5.7
Dennis Rodman	17	0	24.1	.529	.000	.686	10.0	.9	.35	.71	5.8
John Salley	17	0	23.1	.586	.000	.667	4.6	.5	.53	1.47	8.9
Isiah Thomas	17	17	37.2	.412	.267	.740	4.3	8.3	1.59	.24	18.2
Micheal Williams	4	0	1.5	.000	.000	1.000	.5	.5	.25	.00	.5

NBA Finals

Main article: 1989 NBA Finals

The Pistons' overpowering play allowed them to sweep the Lakers, who struggled to fill the defensive void left by Byron Scott's injury prior to the start of the Finals. Joe Dumars was named Finals MVP. In addition, Magic Johnson pulled a hamstring early in the second game, and unable to play the rest of the series. The Lakers' depleted backcourt allowed the Pistons to easily win the 1988–89 NBA Championship.

Game	Home Team	Road Team	series
Game 1	Detroit 109	L.A. Lakers 97	1–0
Game 2	Detroit 108	L.A. Lakers 105	2–0
Game 3:	L.A. Lakers 110	Detroit 114	3–0
Game 4:	L.A. Lakers 97	Detroit 105	4–0

Pistons win series 4–0

Award winners

• Joe Dumars, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
• Joe Dumars, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Dennis Rodman, NBA All-Defensive First Team

External links

• Detroit Pistons on Basketball Reference

References

1. "1988–89 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
2. "NBA Games Played on February 9, 1989". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
3. Waitzkin, Fred (January 8, 1989). "What Drives the Pistons". The New York Times. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
4. "Dantley Was Ushered Out of Detroit Before He Could Win a Title". Vintage Detroit. March 19, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
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