The 10 greatest rivalries in NBA history

#2 Bulls-Pistons

Image Courtesy: Slamonline

This was as personal as it gets. There was no love lost here and no respect or anything like that towards each other. The seeds of the rivalry were sown back in 1985 when Isiah Thomas apparently led a Freeze out of MJ during the All-Star game. Thomas, a Chicago native was allegedly jealous of the attention and fame that Jordan was gaining in his city. The rivalry really began taking shape in 1988, when Jordan scored 59 points on the Pistons, which led to Coach Chuck Daly vowing to never let it happen again.

The Pistons then enforced the "Jordan Rules" when the teams faced off in the playoffs, playing an extremely physical brand of basketball to slow down MJ. They succeeded in 1988 and 89, but in 90, with a capable supporting cast and Phil Jackson as the coach, the Bulls took the Pistons to the distance but lost the 7th game.

The following year though the tables had finally turned and the Bulls swept the Pistons en route to winning their 1st NBA title. In Game 4, except for Joe Dumars and John Salley, the rest of the Pistons players walked off the court with a few seconds remaining in the game. While they never played each other again in the playoffs, the bad blood clearly hadn't washed away. In revenge for 1985, MJ ensured that Thomas wouldn't be picked for the 1992 Olympic Dream Team.