"Not since Bill Laimbeer": NBA fans reminded of 'Bad Boys' Piston's Days after Amen Thompson's vicious foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo

Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson was ejected from Tuesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Toyota Center after a hard foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek superstar seemed to have a clear passage to the basket when Thompson came down over his shoulder with both hands for a viscous foul.

The incident took place in the fourth quarter and Thompson received a flagrant 2 after the officials deemed it to be unnecessary and excessive. The hard foul caused some fans on social media to compare the nature of the foul to that of the Detroit Pistons team of the '80s, also known as the "Bad Boys."

Led by Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn and Dennis Rodman, the Detroit teams of the late '80s and early 90's were one of the toughest and meanest defensive teams in the league. They were known for their hard fouls, and their methods usually achieved results. The Pistons were regularly in contention in the Eastern Conference during that era and went on to win back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990.

While the Houston Rockets do not play with the same fierce style as previous Pistons teams, Thompson's recent foul did have fans comparing the Rockets' forward to the "Bad Boys" and the ruthless style of play in the NBA during that decade.

"Not since Bill Laimbeer.......," a fan said.

"This is something straight from the '89 bad boy Pistons playbook!" another fan said.

"Amen thinks it’s still 90’s hoops," one fan said.

Here are some more reactions from fans.

"Jordan dealt with that like 3 times a half," a fan said.

Bro that’s a flagrant 3," one fan said.

"90’s Vibes …," another fan said.

Amen Thompson looked stunned when he learned he had been ejected, but there is no doubt that it was a tough play on Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Despite Thompson leaving the game early, the Rockets went on to win the game 100-97 to improve to 36-22 on the season.

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Amen Thompson throws Tyler Herro to floor in incident that leads to multiple ejections

Houston, Texas, USA; Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro handles the ball against Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson at Toyota Center (Credits: IMAGN)

Tuesday's incident wasn't the first time that Amen Thompson was ejected from a game this season. During the Rockets' matchup against the Miami Heat on Dec. 29, the forward got into a heated exchange with Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro, and proceeded to throw him down to the floor.

The altercation caused many other players to get involved, with six players and coaches eventually getting ejected from the game. Along with Herro and Thompson, Terry Rozier and Jalen Green were both dismissed. Coaches Ime Udoka and Ben Sullivan were also ejected.