Isiah Thomas gloats about his defense during debut finals run the same year Michael Jordan won DPOY and lost to Pistons - "Known for Defense"

Isiah Thomas is recognized as one of the greatest point guards in NBA history, especially with the run he had with the Detroit Pistons, a.k.a. "The Bad Boys."

They were known for their hard-nosed style of basketball brought upon by their intimidating defense toward their opponents.

When it comes to defense, the former Pistons guard made sure to remind people about his defensive accomplishments during the 1988 NBA Finals. He said on X:

"For the record every team I played on from High School, college, Pros was known for Defense and some of those teams have been called the best defensive teams ever in that category."

During the finals, the Detroit Pistons were up against the Los Angeles Lakers, who finished first in the Western Conference (62-20 regular season record). The team still had their main cast of players such as Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Michael Cooper, etc.

Meanwhile, the Pistons were trying to make a name for themselves when it came to basketball glory in the NBA. They were comprised of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, John Salley, Dennis Rodman, Bill Laimbeer, etc.

During the series, Isiah Thomas racked up over 20 steals in the finals (the most steals in a single finals series) and 66 steals during the 1988 playoff run (the most steals in a single playoff run).

It was a neck-and-neck battle between the two teams as the Lakers were able to win the series in seven games.

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Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons eliminated Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semifinals

During the 1988 playoffs, the Chicago Bulls (50-32 regular season record) were ranked third in the Eastern Conference, one seed below the Detroit Pistons.

The Bulls were comprised of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Charles Oakley and John Paxson among others. They were a formidable opponent due to the presence of Michael Jordan alone as he averaged 27.4 points per game in that series.

However, the defense of the Pistons was too much to handle for the Bulls as they had no answer for them in that matchup. The series was a significant moment for the two teams as it started a grueling rivalry in the years that followed.

At the time, Michael Jordan was being heralded as the next face of the league after Lakers' Magic Johnson and Celtics' Larry Bird.

From the Pistons' perspective, they wanted to establish that they were a team to be reckoned with by the league's elite teams and players. To advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, they eliminated the Bulls in five games.

During Game 5 of the series, the Pistons won with a score of 102-95 with Isiah Thomas' 25 points and 9 assists leading the way. He averaged 20.4 ppg in that series.

Interestingly, Michael Jordan won his first and only Defensive Player of the Year award during this NBA season, but ultimately fell short in slowing down the hungry Pistons.