The 1988 NBA Finals was the championship series of the

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

's (NBA) 1987–88 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

4 games to 3 to win their 11th title. One of

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 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

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 Isiah Lord Thomas III ( ; born April 30, 1961), also known as "Zeke", is an American former professional basketball player who is head coach of the Saginaw Soul of the Basketball Super League, and also an analyst for NBA TV and Fox Sports. H ...

'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 and Byron Scott (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 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 of the ...

not to feature the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

Background

Los Angeles Lakers

During the 1987 championship parade in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Lakers coach

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

won the 1969 NBA Finals. 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

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 Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

in the semifinals round before beating them in Game 7. They then defeated the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

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

and Joe Dumars, forwards Adrian Dantley and Rick Mahorn, center Bill Laimbeer, and bench players Vinnie Johnson,

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

and John Salley. 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 beat 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 Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

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 Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

in five games each, before facing the

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 and the franchise's first since moving to Detroit.

Road to the Finals

Regular season series

The

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

. 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.

then stole Kareem'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. James Worthy led the Lakers with 26 points, Byron Scott had 24, and

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. Often regarded as the greatest point guard of all time, Johnson List of NBA players who have spent their entire career w ...

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

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. Vinnie Johnson 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 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, the fi ...

. 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. Vinnie Johnson 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 milli ...

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

. The Pistons left the

after the 1987–88 season and moved into The Palace of Auburn Hills for the 1988-89 NBA season.

Game 6

The Lakers led 56–48 in the third quarter when

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

got the ball inside to James Worthy, 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, Byron Scott 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 Abdul-Jabbar ( ; born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. , April 16, 1947) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Associatio ...

, 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 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 had 43 points and eight assists despite his ankle injury.

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), nicknamed "Coop", is an American basketball coach and former player. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers during his entire career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning five NBA champ ...

; 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

, John Salley, Joe Dumars, and Vinnie Johnson 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 fans nervous. With 1:17 left, Dumars hit a jump shot to cut the lead to 102–100.

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. Byron Scott 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, James Worthy 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 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 triple-double: 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".

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 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

; 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 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, 1969,

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

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 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

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 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 Center (basketball), center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. He was t ...

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

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

used three sideline reporters which were Pat O'Brien (the Pistons' sideline), Lesley Visser (the Lakers' sideline) and

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

(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 NBA' ...

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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

ownership group, and

Hubie Brown Hubert Jude Brown (born September 25, 1933) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and analyst. Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the honors separated by 26 years. Brown was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Bas ...

was promoted the following season.

References

External links

NBA History
{{DEFAULTSORT:1988 Nba Finals NBA Finals

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

Sports in Pontiac, Michigan 1980s in Los Angeles County, California

Basketball competitions in Michigan Basketball competitions in Inglewood, California

Events in Pontiac, Michigan

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