NBA fans have witnessed a number of rivalries throughout the years. But the rivalry between the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons was probably one of the most aggressive rivalries of all time. Every fan could tell of hearing the story of the Bulls-Pistons rivalry once in their lifetime. The rivalries grew up in prominence in the late 80s. The rivalry had everything from hard fouls to cheap shots and went into a great level of struggle for superiority in the Eastern Conference. Many athletes like the great Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Isiah Thomas, and Dennis Rodman were all part of this rivalry. In an interview with ESPN in 2019, Dennis Rodman, along with Scottie Pippen, shared the feeling of playing those matches. Dennis also went on to add how the players of the Detroit Pistons reacted to the loss against the Chicago Bulls.

The interviewer started the interview by asking Scottie Pippen to explain how vicious was the game between the Pistons and the Bulls back in those days. And Pippen replied by saying that rivalries of that time were real and there was no sign of love on the court. He added, basketball at that time used to challenge players physically, mentally, and emotionally. Dennis Rodman also added that how they underestimated the Bulls and ultimately lost the game. According to Pippen, they used to dominate the Pistons physically, whereas the Pistons dominated the Bulls mentally.

Dennis Rodman on getting the taste of defeat by Michael Jordan and Co.

The interviewer further asked how was the feeling about winning the game against the Pistons after a long time. Rodman replied, “We had to put our tails between our legs” in regard to the question. The interviewer asked in response to the answer whether Pippen also felt the same about the Pistons. Pippen replied he couldn’t think of anything like that, as the Pistons were a team with high pride and respect.

The claims by Rodman basically depicted that the Pistons were embarrassed after failing to win against the Chicago Bulls in front of the home crowd. But the statement of Pippen depicted the amount of respect he had for Detroit Pistons in his eyes.

History of the Bulls-Pistons rivalry

The rivalry between the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons started back in the mid-70s and got more intense with the introduction of Isiah Thomas to the Pistons and Michael Jordan to the Bulls in the 80s. But their rivalry actually didn’t start until around the late 80s.

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The Pistons became a formidable group and got the nickname ‘The Bad Boys’. And the Bulls, with the guidance of Jordan, introduced the ‘Jordan Rules,’ a physical and defensive play by Jordan and his teammates. Though that didn’t help the Bulls, and the Pistons went on to dominate the Bulls by using their own medicine ‘Jordan Rules.’

However, with the help of Phil Jackson and Scottie Pippen, the Bulls came back into the rivalry in the years 1990 and 1991. They used the ‘Triangle Offense’ to counter the ‘Jordan Rules’ of the Pistons.

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Even with the ‘Triangle Offense,’ the Bulls were unable to do anything against the Pistons in 1990. But the year 1991 saw the redemption of the Bulls. After that, they went on to win six championships in that decade.