Los Angeles Lakers: Are the 1988 Lakers the real ‘bad boys’?

As we near the two-month mark of the NBA COVID-19 hiatus, all basketball fans have these days is the much anticipated 10-part Chicago Bulls documentary series The Last Dance. Although the series primarily follows the 1998 Chicago Bulls and their road to their sixth and final championship, both the 1991 Los Angeles Lakers and the Bad Boys Pistons made an appearance in episodes three and four.

In Episode 3, we flashed back to the ruthless rivalry between the Bad Boy Pistons and the then up-and-coming Bulls.

The hype did not disappoint.

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Thirty years later, the fiery rivalry blazes on. Shots were fired and the internet has exploded. A rivalry is reborn.

The documentary captured the official confession that the infamous “Jordan Rules” were, in fact, an actual defensive strategy created by the Pistons’ coaching staff to bludgeon Michael Jordan as much as possible when he drove to the rim.

In addition to visible frustration surrounding this ruthless style of play, Jordan called out Pistons’ star Isiah Thomas for changing his story over the years about the now-infamous walk-off in their 1991 Eastern Conference Finals loss to his Chicago Bulls.

“You can show me anything you want. It’s no way you can convince me he wasn’t an a**hole,” Michael said.

The episode also featured Scottie Pippen addressing a play where he was thrown into the stands and nearly suffered a career-ending injury and an interview with Bulls Power Forward Horace Grant where he called the Bad Boys Pistons “Straight up b****es.”

In short, The Bulls did not hold back. The Pistons are once again the most hated team of all-time. All of this has come to the forefront again in arguably the most anticipated sports documentary of all time.

Like any good leader, Isiah went on ESPN’s Get Up to defend himself and his Pistons teammates.

Despite being the leader of one of the nastiest teams in the history of the sport, Thomas actually made some great points about the overall lack of sportsmanship across the league during the late 80s and early 90s.

The general consensus is that the Pistons absolutely tarnished the league. However, is it possible that the NBA is the one to blame for tarnishing the Pistons’ image?

The 1988 Los Angeles Lakers could be regarded as the team to blame.

In defense of his team’s handshake snub in their loss to the Bulls in 1991, Thomas called attention to a similar (yet somehow less famous) incident where the 1988 Boston Celtics walked off the court in their loss to his Pistons.

Most importantly of all, however, he subtly brought up a massively overlooked incident in NBA history that happened against his friend Magic Johnson and our Los Angeles Lakers that same year.

The 1988 NBA Finals went seven games and was arguably one of the greatest series of all time. However, as Laker fans, we don’t discuss this championship nearly as much as the wins over the Celtics in 1985 and 1987 or even Magic’s breakout performance as a rookie in the 1980 NBA Finals win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Why not?

While leading the series 3-2, Isiah Thomas heroically poured in 25 points in the third quarter to keep his team in the game. However, the valiant effort would fall short and the Pistons would lose 103-102. This locked the series at 3-3 and would lead to one of the most quietly controversial moments in NBA history.

This moment, in my opinion, changed the course of history and created the Bad Boys Pistons as we know them.

You can take a look at the final seconds of the hotly contested 1988 NBA Finals with help from YouTuber Andy Hoops.

In the final 15 seconds of Game 7, the Pistons trailed by five with the ball. Dennis Rodman inbounded to Vinnie Johnson, whose three-pointer came up short. Joe Dumars scooped up the offensive rebound and quickly laid the ball in with about 14 seconds left to cut the lead to 3. The Pistons intentionally fouled James Worthy.

James Worthy was in the middle of the best game of his career. In the pressure-packed game 7, Worthy had a triple-double with 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists. However, Big Game James would split a pair at the line.

Trailing 106-102, Isiah Thomas raced the ball up the floor and swung the ball to Vinnie Johnson. Johnson found Bill Laimbeer for a deep three-pointer. This cut the lead to one with six seconds on the clock.

The Los Angeles Lakers quickly inbounded the ball to Magic Johnson, who made an incredible full-court pass to A.C. Green. Although Green was wide open and could have dribbled out the clock to win the game, he quickly scored a layup with only a few seconds running off the clock.

What happens next has somehow been erased from the NBA history books.

With two seconds left in the game, Laimbeer attempts to inbound the ball down the right side of the court for a game-tying three-point attempt. However, his view is a bit obstructed.

If you fast forward to the 2:30 mark of the video, you can see that the Los Angeles Lakers players, fans, and cameramen are already rushing the court. Not only does this contest the path of Laimbeer’s pass, but it also would have been a technical foul in the modern NBA (See Phoenix Suns vs San Antonio Spurs).

This would have allowed the Pistons a free throw and the ball at half court. Obviously this would have significantly increased their chance to tie or even win the game.

To make matters worse, Isiah Thomas still somehow catches the heave over a slew of camera people and players but is clipped by Magic Johnson right in front of the referee before he’d have the chance to launch the potential game-tying shot.

No foul called. The Los Angeles Lakers win the title, fans finish swarming the court, and the rest is history.

But if that didn’t happen, would the narrative be different? Is it possible that Isiah Thomas would be seen as the league’s David powering his team past the Goliath Laker dynasty on a sprained ankle?

Without question, the Lakers and Celtics were by far the most popular teams in the NBA. Their rivalry undoubtedly saved the NBA from financial ruin and elevated the game to where it is today.

However, the conspiracy theorist in me can’t help but wonder if the “Bad Boys” were wronged by the Lakers and the league.

Between the Celtics leaving the court early in the Eastern Conference finals and now this Lakers incident, it became increasingly clear to the Pistons that they were not part of the NBA’s desired narrative. The Pistons felt they were being punished for robbing us of another Celtics vs. Lakers matchup that surely would have sent ratings through the roof.

In the aftermath of the incident, the Pistons returned with a vengeance. This time, they would fully embrace their role as outcasts. In 1989, they would officially become the Bad Boys.

The Pistons implemented their infamous “Jordan Rules” strategy to strong-arm their way to Eastern Conference titles over the Bulls in both 1989 and 1990. In the NBA Finals, they made sure both series weren’t close enough for any more corruption. With a sweep over the Lakers in 1989 and a five-game victory over Portland the following year, The Pistons became back-to-back champions.

In 2020, the Pistons are without a doubt the most notorious team in league history. Despite their two championships (and near three-peat), they’re seen as the pesky placeholder that ended the Lakers-Celtics rivalry and delayed the Chicago Bulls dynasty.

If they were able to win that game in 1988 and still win their following two championships, they would have been the first team to three-peat since the 1960s Celtics. They’d have as many championships as the Boston Celtics did in that era and we’d have no choice but to respect them as a true dynasty.

If not for the Los Angeles Lakers, who knows how the Bad Boys might be portrayed today.