The 1988 NBA Finals was the championship round of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA)'s 1987–88 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Eastern Conference champion

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

4 games to 3. One of Los Angeles Lakers head coach

Pat Riley Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also se ...

's most famous moments came when he promised the crowd a repeat championship during the Lakers'

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

championship parade in downtown Los Angeles. With every team in the league now gunning for them, the Los Angeles Lakers still found a way to win, taking their seventh consecutive Pacific Division title. While the 1988 Lakers did not produce as many wins in the regular season as the 1987 Lakers, they were just as successful in the playoffs, becoming the first team in 19 years to repeat as champions. One of Pistons guard Isiah Thomas's career-defining performances came in Game 6. Despite badly twisting his ankle midway through the period, Thomas scored an NBA Finals record 25 third-quarter points, as Detroit fell valiantly, 103–102, to the Lakers at the Forum. Thomas still managed to score 10 first-half points in Game 7, as Detroit built a 5-point lead. In the 3rd quarter, the Lakers, inspired by Finals MVP

James Worthy James Ager Worthy (born February 27, 1961) is an American sports commentator, television host, analyst, and former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Game James", he played his entire professional career with the Los Angeles Lakers ...

and

Byron Scott Byron Antom Scott (born March 28, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, Scott won three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during their ...

(14 3rd-quarter points), exploded as they built a 10-point lead entering the final period. The lead swelled to 15 before Detroit mounted a furious 4th-quarter rally, trimming the lead to two points on several occasions. The Lakers ultimately prevailed and captured their 5th championship in the last 9 seasons. This was the first NBA Finals since

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

not to feature the Boston Celtics.

Background

Los Angeles Lakers

During the 1987 championship parade in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, Lakers coach

guaranteed a repeat championship, a feat that had not been achieved since the Boston Celtics won the

1969 NBA Finals The 1969 NBA World Championship Series to determine the champion of the 1968–69 NBA season was played between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, the Lakers being heavily favored due to the presence of three formidable stars: Elgin Bayl ...

. Motivated by their coach's boast, the Lakers once again earned the league's best record in the 1987–88 season (62–20), despite winning three games less than the previous year. They also had a 15-game winning streak from December 11, 1987 until the Lakers were beaten by the LA Clippers (109-110) on January 13, 1988. They also had another double-digit winning streak (10-game winning streak) from February 11 until February 28. The playoffs proved to be a difficult climb for the Lakers, however. They swept the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

in the first round. They came back from a 2–1 deficit against the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

in the semifinals round before beating them in Game 7. They then defeated the Dallas Mavericks in 7 games in the Conference Finals round. The Lakers eventually prevailed in both series thanks to their championship experience.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons of head coach Chuck Daly were an up-and-coming team that gradually moved up the Eastern Conference ranks. Known as the "Bad Boys" for their physical and defensive-minded style of play, the Pistons' core featured guards Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars, forwards Adrian Dantley and Rick Mahorn, center Bill Laimbeer, and bench players

Vinnie Johnson Vincent Johnson (born September 1, 1956), is an American former professional basketball player and a key player as sixth man for the Detroit Pistons during the team's National Basketball Association (NBA) championships of 1989 and 1990. He was n ...

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best reboundin ...

and

John Salley John Thomas Salley (born May 16, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player, talk show host, and actor. He was the first player in NBA history to win championships with three franchises (since joined by Robert Horry, Danny Gree ...

. Midway through the season, Detroit gained a valuable backup to Laimbeer and Mahorn when they acquired James Edwards. The 1987–88 season marked a further ascension for the franchise, as Detroit won the Central Division title with a 54–28 record. The second-seeded Pistons overcame the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

and the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

in five games each, before facing the Boston Celtics once again in the conference finals. This time, the Pistons were the better team, eliminating the Celtics in six games for their first NBA Finals appearance since .

Road to the Finals

Regular season series

The Los Angeles Lakers won both games in the regular season series:

Series summary

Game 1

The Pistons had just dispatched the Celtics in six games, while the Lakers were coming off back-to-back seven-game wins over the

and Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers were tired, and it showed. Adrian Dantley scored 34 points, hitting 14 of 16 shots from the field. The Pistons took control of the game with four seconds left in the first half when Bill Laimbeer hit a three-point shot to put the Pistons up 54–40. Isiah Thomas then stole

Kareem Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

's inbound pass at half court and let fly with another three-pointer which hit nothing but net at the halftime buzzer. The Pistons had a 57-40 halftime lead and never looked back, stealing Game 1 with a 105–93 win.

Game 2

Facing the possibility of going down 2–0 with three games to play in Detroit, the veteran Lakers found resolve with a 108–96 win.

led the Lakers with 26 points,

had 24, and Magic Johnson 23 despite battling the flu.

Game 3

With Magic still battling the flu, the Lakers got a key win in Detroit, 99–86, to go up 2–1 in games. The Lakers took control of the game in the third period, outscoring the Pistons 31–18. Despite his illness, Magic had 18 points, 14 assists, and six rebounds.

Game 4

In front of their home fans, the Pistons tied the series at 2–2 with a 111–86 win. The Pistons decided to attack the basket and make Magic Johnson defend. Johnson wound up on the bench early in the second half with foul trouble. With Magic out of the game, the Pistons built a substantial lead. During timeouts, Bill Laimbeer was almost frantic. He kept saying, "No letup! We don't let up!" They didn't, and blew out the defending NBA champions by 25 points. Left open by the trapping Lakers defense, Dantley led the team with 27 points.

came off the bench to add 16 while James Edwards had 14 points and five rebounds off the bench.

Game 5

The Pistons' 104–94 victory was a perfect farewell to the

Pontiac Silverdome The Pontiac Silverdome (also known simply as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, ...

. Bill Laimbeer told Joe Dumars with a minute left in the game to "look around and enjoy this because you'll never see anything like it again". He went on to say, "Forty-one thousand people waving towels and standing. It was awesome." The Lakers opened Game 5 with a fury of physical intimidation, scoring the game's first 12 points. But that approach soon backfired, as the Laker big men got into foul trouble. Dantley played a major role in the turnaround, scoring 25 points, 19 of them in the first half, to rally the Pistons to a 59-50 halftime lead.

added 12 of his 16 points in the first half to keep Detroit moving. Joe Dumars added 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting to send the Pistons back to Los Angeles, one win away from their first NBA title. Games 3, 4, and 5 were the last NBA Finals games to be contested in a domed stadium built primarily for football until the 1999 NBA Finals in which Games 1 and 2 were played at the

Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 mil ...

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. The Pistons left the

after the 1987–88 season and moved into

The Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly referred to as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena built in 1988 and located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shoc ...

for the 1988-89 NBA season.

Game 6

The Lakers led 56–48 in the third quarter when Isiah Thomas suddenly began a classic performance. He scored his team's next 14 points, hitting two free throws, a driving layup, four jump shots, and a running bank shot. With a little less than 5 minutes left in the period and the score 70–64, Lakers, Thomas rolled his right ankle while passing off to Joe Dumars for a basket. Thomas tried to run upcourt, but collapsed while the Lakers scored again. Despite a severe sprain, Thomas returned to the game with 3:44 left and the Lakers up 74–66. Thomas, with his bad ankle, scored 11 of the Pistons' last 15 points of the quarter to finish with 25, an NBA Finals record for one quarter, on 11-of-13 shooting. During this time, the Pistons outscored the Lakers 15–5 to take an 81–79 lead. The fourth quarter was nip-and-tuck; with 1:30 left, Thomas, sore ankle and all, hit a baseline jumper for his 42nd and 43rd points to give the Pistons a 100–99 lead. The Lakers came down and Magic Johnson got the ball inside to

, but his layup attempt was blocked by

. Joe Dumars penetrated inside on the ensuing possession, was fouled, and hit the two free throws for a three-point lead at 102–99 with a minute left. The Lakers called timeout, and on the next possession,

drove by Thomas from the top of the key and hit a 14-footer from the right elbow to cut the lead to one with 45 seconds left. Thomas then missed another baseline jumper and Worthy rebounded with 27 seconds remaining. The Lakers then set up and Scott got it to

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

, who drew a foul on Bill Laimbeer (his sixth) as he wheeled for a skyhook on the right baseline with 14 seconds left. This foul has remained controversial to the Pistons and their fans, who claim that Laimbeer never made contact with Jabbar on his shot attempt. Abdul-Jabbar then proceeded to sink two high-pressure free throws providing the Lakers with a one point lead. After a time out, the Pistons set up for a final shot. Thomas collided with Dantley after inbounding the ball, but Dumars penetrated in the paint and put up a shot that missed after he was forced to by

A.C. Green A.C. Green Jr. (born October 4, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Iron man (sports streak), Iron Man", he holds a National Basketball Association (NBA) record for most consecutive regular-season games playe ...

to alter it. After a scramble, Scott came up with the ball for the Lakers and was shoved out of bounds by Rodman, inciting a near-fight, with 5 seconds left on the clock. Scott missed both free throw attempts, but the Pistons, who had no timeouts remaining, lost precious seconds trying to secure the loose rebound and could not get a shot off before time expired. Thomas would end up with 43 points and eight assists in a heroic performance.

Game 7

This was the first Game 7 since , and the first to be played under the 2-3-2 format, adopted in . In the final game, Thomas' ankle was still sore, as evidenced by his limping badly in warm-ups. He did manage to play the first half, scoring 10 points and leading the Pistons to a 52-47 halftime lead. But, the delay between halves caused the ankle to stiffen, and Thomas played little in the second half. With Isiah on the bench, the Lakers turned the halftime deficit into a 90–75 lead early in the 4th quarter. A key factor was Laker guard

Michael Cooper Michael Jerome Cooper (born April 15, 1956) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the boys varsity coach at Culver City High School. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning ...

; he had been mired in a terrible shooting slump all series, but suddenly caught fire, hitting three 3-point baskets. Chuck Daly then went to a faster lineup with

, Joe Dumars, and

that created matchup problems for the Lakers and enabled the Pistons to score at a torrid pace. With 3:54 left, Salley canned two free throws to cut the Laker lead to 98–92, making the

Forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

fans nervous. With 1:17 left, Dumars hit a jump shot to cut the lead to 102–100. Magic Johnson then hit a free throw after a Rodman foul to put the Lakers up by three. After the two teams exchanged turnovers, Rodman took an ill-advised jumper with 40 seconds left.

rebounded and was fouled. His two free throws pushed the lead to 105–100. After another Pistons' turnover,

had a chance to essentially clinch the victory after being fouled, but he missed both free throws, and the Lakers' lead remained at five. After Dumars made a layup,

hit a free throw and Bill Laimbeer canned a 28-foot three-pointer, pushing the score to 106–105 with six seconds showing.

A. C. Green A.C. Green Jr. (born October 4, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Iron Man", he holds a National Basketball Association (NBA) record for most consecutive regular-season games played with 1,192. Green played ...

completed the scoring with a layup off a length-of-the court pass from Magic, making it 108–105. Laimbeer made a long desperate pass to Thomas who caught the ball trying to shoot a three to send the game to overtime, but Thomas fell to the floor in a collision with Johnson, losing the ball as time ran out. Fans were already beginning to storm onto the floor even though time had not expired, but the officials ignored this.

and the Laker players hurried back to their dressing room as the players and coaches on both teams were pummeled by the storming fans. Worthy racked up a monster

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

: 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. It would prove to be the only triple-double in Worthy's Hall of Fame career. For that and his earlier efforts in the series, he was named the Finals MVP, cementing his nickname "Big Game James".

, Magic Johnson and

are the only members of all 5 Lakers championship teams from the 1980s.

is the only coach that was on all 5 Lakers championship teams from the 1980s, he was an assistant coach on the 1980 championship team, and head coach on the other four championship teams. This was the Lakers' first Game 7 Finals victory since 1954; however, it was their first ever Game 7 win in the championship series since moving to Los Angeles in 1960; they were 0–5 in previous Game 7's since moving (

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

, 1966,

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

). This would end up being the Lakers' last home win in the championship series until

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

Team rosters

Los Angeles Lakers

Detroit Pistons

Player statistics

;Los Angeles Lakers , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 29.6 , , .414 , , .000 , , .714 , , 4.1 , , 1.0 , , 0.6 , , 1.1 , , 13.1 , - , align="left" , , , 2 , , 0 , , 7.0 , , .667 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 4.0 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 0 , , 25.1 , , .205 , , .150 , , .625 , , 1.6 , , 2.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.3 , , 3.7 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 34.6 , , .558 , , .000 , , .733 , , 8.7 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 10.0 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 41.4 , , .550 , , .333 , , .866 , , 5.7 , , 13.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.1 , , 21.1 , - , align="left" , , , 4 , , 0 , , 2.3 , , .333 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 1.5 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 6.6 , , .667 , , .000 , , .400 , , 1.6 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 1.2 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 40.1 , , .476 , , .455 , , .771 , , 4.9 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 18.9 , - , align="left" , , , 2 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 0 , , 21.6 , , .500 , , .000 , , .412 , , 3.6 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.4 , , 7.0 , - , align="left" , , , 2 , , 0 , , 2.5 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , -! style="background:#FDE910;" , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 38.0 , , .492 , , .000 , , .735 , , 7.4 , , 4.4 , , 0.7 , , 0.6 , , 22.0 ;Detroit Pistons , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 36.4 , , .573 , , .000 , , .859 , , 5.0 , , 2.3 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 21.3 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 33.3 , , .513 , , .500 , , .929 , , 2.3 , , 4.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 13.4 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 0 , , 13.7 , , .477 , , .000 , , .636 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 0.4 , , 7.0 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 0 , , 23.4 , , .405 , , .167 , , .444 , , 3.7 , , 3.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 11.0 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 33.6 , , .391 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , 8.9 , , 1.9 , , 0.4 , , 1.0 , , 9.4 , - , align="left" , , , 3 , , 0 , , 1.3 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.7 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 10.6 , , .409 , , .000 , , .833 , , 2.4 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 0.6 , , 3.3 , - , align="left" , , , 1 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 0 , , 24.9 , , .629 , , .000 , , .524 , , 6.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.9 , , 1.0 , , 7.9 , - , align="left" , , , 3 , , 0 , , 1.7 , , .333 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.3 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 0 , , 25.3 , , .581 , , .000 , , .700 , , 6.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 1.3 , , 7.1 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 37.4 , , .426 , , .294 , , .833 , , 4.4 , , 9.0 , , 2.9 , , 0.3 , , 19.7

Television coverage

The Detroit Pistons season documentary "Bad Boys", narrated by George Blaha recaps Detroit's run to the Finals and how they garnered the "Bad Boys" moniker while the Los Angeles Lakers documentary "Back To Back", narrated by

Chick Hearn Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn (November 27, 1916 – August 5, 2002) was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association for 41 years. Hearn is remembered for his rapid ...

recaps the Lakers quest to become the first team since the

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Va ...

-led Celtics to achieve NBA championships in consecutive years. That year,

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...

used three sideline reporters which were

Pat O'Brien Pat O'Brien may refer to: Politicians * Pat O'Brien (Canadian politician) (born 1948), member of the Canadian House of Commons *Pat O'Brien (Irish politician) (c. 1847–1917), Irish Nationalist MP in the United Kingdom Parliament Others *Pat O'Br ...

(the Pistons' sideline),

Lesley Visser Lesley Candace Visser (born September 11, 1953) is an American sportscaster, television and radio personality, and sportswriter. Visser is the first female NFL analyst on TV, and the only sportscaster in history who has worked on Final Four, ...

(the Lakers' sideline) and James Brown (both teams). Dick Stockton and

Billy Cunningham William John Cunningham (born June 3, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who was nicknamed the ''Kangaroo Kid'' for his leaping and record-setting rebounding abilities. He spent a total of 17 seasons with the ...

served as the play-by-play announcer and color analyst respectively. After the season, Cunningham left CBS to join the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

ownership group, and

Hubie Brown Hubert Jude Brown (born September 25, 1933) is an American retired basketball coach and player and a current television analyst. Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the honors being separated by 26 years. Brown was inducted into the Naism ...

was promoted the following season.

References

External links

NBA History
{{DEFAULTSORT:1988 Nba Finals National Basketball Association Finals

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

NBA NBA Sports in Pontiac, Michigan 20th century in Los Angeles County, California NBA Finals Sports competitions in Michigan Sports competitions in Inglewood, California NBA Finals NBA Finals

Background

Los Angeles Lakers

Detroit Pistons

Road to the Finals

Regular season series

Series summary

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

Game 5

Game 6

Game 7

Team rosters

Los Angeles Lakers

Detroit Pistons

Player statistics

Television coverage

See also

References

External links