Figured out what to change. I remember mark saying, im gonna ask chuck to take me out of the starting lineup. And so, i asked him, i said, what you, punking out . What . You cant take it . Dennis was very unique cause of his defense ability and his rebound ability. And i could not be the one that held something that unique down. The problem was convincing dennis. When he first came over, i was shocked. I was so used to being the sixth man. All right, listen. No okay. Timeout situation. Were gonna take it in. I dont think he knew exactly what he was. My role was being a dirtywork man, and people in detroit loved that because i wasnt about trying to score and be flashy. Whatever i can do for this team and for this city, im doing it. He said he would only start if we said it was okay, and the change was made. Put home by rodman shot blocked by rodman, and the crowd roars. When Dennis Rodman was inserted into the starting lineup, all of a sudden, boom, you know, you let the jackinthebox out of the box. Rodman has been a sensational rebounding and defensive star for detroits victories. If i can go out there and break an arm to help this team win, hey, im gonna do it. We needed some life, and dennis was perfect timing. I dont know if theres anyone more active in the game. The pistons won 25 of their first 26 games with their new starting lineup to finish on top of the eastern conference again. They were the nbas top defensive team, and Dennis Rodman was voted defensive player of the year. Hed come a long way from mopping floors in an airport. I was so happy to win that award cause i was like, oh, my god, you know . I knew what it meant to work hard and get the satisfaction that people actually appreciated. I dont know. We have a lot of valuable players. I dont know if we have a more valuable player than Dennis Rodman. They could have gave me a lollipop for the award. I didnt care. I didnt care. I just oh, my god, dude, i won something in the nba. [ sniffles ] [ sniffles ] [ crying ] i wanted this award so bad. Okay. All right. It was just so overwhelming. In fact, i said, wow. It just i owed it all to my teammates pretty much, to chuck, everybody in that organization everybody. We were the closest thing to family and structure that he had. That type of warmth, that type of family unit that we had was ideal for him in a time that he really needed it. Relax. [ sighs, sniffles ] the pistons might have been looking a little more sentimental in 1990, but when another matchup with the bulls in the conference finals approached, there was one man who had prepared for the same old bad boys. In 89, when we lost to detroit, i was beat down because of the physicality of what was happening within the game. And i didnt have the energy to go against that. That summer was when i really started to physically build my body up and gear myself up for that type of beating. That was the year Michael Jordan felt, this is our moment. Were gonna win it. Michael on the drive for the dunk they would have three of the most physical guys ever at the basket waiting for jordan. Jordan. He didnt care who was coming at him. You had to be mentally tough and physically tough to beat them. Heres jordan on the drive against laimbeer. Jordan rules tonight. Heres jordan. A steal from dumars. Takes it in for the dunk the jordan rules no longer worked because michael had some help. Heres pippen back for the reject Scottie Pippen had come into his own as an allstar, and the sidekick had to be dealt with. This is how the pistons thought back then. Michaels gonna do his thing, but we cant let scottie have any confidence. They would get into his head as much as possible. I couldnt stand bill laimbeer. I couldnt stand isiah. I hated them to death. That series was evil because the pistons were not willing to give up the belt. The pistons have felt they could take pippen out of his game with rough play. So, now you have these two titans colliding with each other. And, you know, it went to a seventh game. But even before game seven started, the damage had already been done. The morning that i woke up, i was starting to feel it coming on. I had never experienced a migraine headache in my life. Scottie pippen spent some of the first half of the game with an ice bag on the back of his neck. The reason for this is that he was suffering from migraine headaches, causing his vision to blur. Maybe it was the pressure of the game. Get him as the pressure grew, the pounding grew. I wasnt myself out on the basketball court. Scottie pippen has not been any factor. I wasnt able to answer the bell. I cant speak for Scottie Pippen. I can only talk about the Detroit Pistons, and, unless you cant physically walk or youre gonna get carried off the court, youre playing basketball. Jordan becomes small forward. Blocked by isiah thomas. Heres dumars. The pistons return to the nba finals for the Third Straight time. I dont think the migraine incident had any bearing on the outcome of the series. The game was in our building. They didnt know how to win. We wanted to do something that only the lakers had done. Even the celtics hadnt won backtoback championships in that era. If we dont win it again, somehow we wont be validated. We absolutely felt it was imperative to win it again. This time, it was the trail blazers in their way, a team the pistons hadnt beaten in portland in 17 seasons. And when the blazers won game two in detroit, they were feeling great about their chances heading home. For the first time in the playoffs, the Detroit Pistons have lost at the palace. The blazers were very cocky after winning that second game. Terry porter ran off the court saying, were going to the crib, and we aint coming back. All we needed was one, baby. We got this. Home, sweet home, baby. Finish this baby at the crib. I remember asking laimbeer the obvious question you havent won there in forever. And laimbeer you know, laimbeers sitting back in his imperious way and kind of going, yeah, like we remember those things that happened, like, 17 years ago. We remember all the moments that we can rub somebodys face in, and portland was one of them. Offense what he did to their back line i mean, he had them all messed up. Offense come on, man way to go, lambo way to go, lambo laimbeer completely took him out of the series. They didnt want any part of him. Porter against laimbeer. Duckworth. And an offensive foul will be charged to kevin duckworth. This was a team that was befuddled by laimbeer. Duckworth traveled. Thats the second time hes traveled inside. Duckworths too concerned about bill laimbeers presence on the floor. Their players thought that they could be physical. They didnt know how to be physical with us. Some of our guys, you know, you hit me, im gonna hit you back. Obviously, they got in foul trouble real quick. They would take advantage of that. I have half their mother[bleep] team thinking about me out there. All three guards always had mismatches. Dumars steals it. And dumars got into such a great shooting rhythm, and he just rode it. Still rolling loose. Picked up by dumars with two. Dumars with one on the shot clock. Up and through dumars beats the clock joe was just he was magnificent. Hey, whats it been, what, 20 years . 14 years. 17 years, 20 games. 17 years, 20 games . We just broke the streak. Were up 21 in the series now, and everybody was going crazy. Chuck grabs me and said, hey, i need you to step outside for a second. And isiah walks right behind me. And everybodys just kind of walking quiet. We get to this room, and jack says, you need to take this phone call. Your wife is on the phone. She said, your dad died right before tipoff. Um. I know a lot of you are probably expecting to see joe, but, uh. Um. You know, his father passed away this afternoon, and he didnt know anything about it. That morning, i get a call from joes mom and chuck daly, and they wanted to let me know that joes dad had passed away, but the family wanted him to play the game first. I knew how proud my father was, and he knew how i felt about him. And there were a couple plays that happened that were just kind of miraculous plays and, how did that happen . Theres no way that should have went in. He went down the lane and tossed one up, and it almost touched the top of the coliseum. He kind of looked at me like. [ sighs ] i was lucky to make that one. And i looked at him, and i thought, you know, yeah, your dad made that one. That was a gift from heaven. The pistons just had too many weapons for the trail blazers, and they won three straight in portland, capped off with a gamewinner by the microwave. Vinnie johnson with one second to go. His shot is good the pistons are winners and still champions of the world the pistons repeat and the motor city still Reigns Supreme no one else was embracing us to win those championships. It was us against the world, and so it was a tremendous, close, family bond. Back then, our family was second. We lived and breathed each other. I thought, that is the biggest crock ever to talk about a family when you talk about professional sports. And then, i had to readjust myself because we are a family. We would say to each other, i love you as brothers. And, no matter what, you know that, if it really came down to it, this guy, i can depend on. Look at the years and years that you put in with people in a highintensity, very physical environment. All these factors just come together to create a bond to begin with. And to win championships together thatll never be forgotten. Yo, cant touch this. Yo, cant touch this. Howd i do . If your mouth is made to amaze. Let Philips Sonicare give its care a raise. Get healthier gums in 2 weeks guaranteed. Next level clean. Next level care. Theres always a way to make life better. Philips sonicare. Subscribe now. The Detroit Pistons had played in three straight nba finals and won two championship rings, but the grind had taken a toll. And, as the 1991 playoffs started, something felt different. For many years, isiah thomas told me that the pistons were this tightly wound ball of yarn. You could never get the end of it and start pulling on it. But we knew in 1991 the strands were unwinding. Age caught up to the Detroit Pistons in some ways, injuries, and it gets tiring. 87, 88, 89, 90, 91 for, like, five straight years, youre playing until at least early june. It was just mental fatigue, physical fatigue. And wed had a long run, and a lot of the things came crumbling down on us at that point. They managed to get back to the conference finals, and, one more time, the bulls were waiting. What time is it . all game time hunh lets go, baby. Jordan was jordan. Hes the best player on the planet. He just needed some help. And that 91 series, Scottie Pippen grew up. We had no answer for mike or scottie. I knew that we couldnt beat the bulls. We couldnt beat them at all no matter what we did. Beautiful backdoor pass from pippen and he is walloped. And that will be a flagrant foul. We were so much more mentally strong. We were so much more physically ready for any challenges that they threw at us. Scottie pippen is just on fire. They werent a fragile, mentalweak team anymore. You couldnt mentally fatigue them. They were obsessed with winning at that point. What it made me think about was us with boston. I looked at them and said, theyre us. The bulls won the first three games and werent shy about letting the press know how they felt about the bad boys. Today, Michael Jordan claims that the whole league will rejoice over the demise of the socalled bad boys. Strong words for michael. I had never seen a team speak about a champion that they were getting ready to dethrone that way. When Michael Jordan said the pistons were bad for basketball, they were poor champions, that struck the pistons in the heart, struck detroit in the heart. Isiah thomas is coming out of the game. Bill laimbeer ran off the bench to hug his teammate. When the runs over, you know its over. And it was over for us. A new basketball king will be crowned. What we were doing was just giving respect to each other. As a brother whos been down with me in this struggle, in this battle, thank you. This is a very touching scene. Theyre almost breathing, i guess, a sigh of relief, carrying a heavy burden all season long. Its 11289 chicago with a minute left in the pistons season. Our interest was really heightened in what was going on around the benches. That story was more important than anything that was gonna be going up and down that court. Everybody was waiting for the possibility of a true passing of the torch. And what they got was nothing like that at all. When the pistons began to walk off the court, there was one problem. There was still time left on the clock. They left the bench although theres 7. 9 seconds remaining. The pistons just left. And the cameras were following them the whole way. Bill laimbeer is walking all up like this, and isiah just dips around him. But the way it looked, it looked like isiah was trying not to be seen. Watching them walk by our bench and not even have the dignity to raise their head up i dont even know if id have shook their hands anyway. Great champions usually do the right thing. And these guys conducted themselves like streetyard bullies. Those who look at the pistons as villains see in it the correct end for a villain. The villain goes down. See, we never liked them. And look when they dont win, look how they behave. The pistons reputation was cemented when they walked past them in 1991. Do you stand behind your statement, then, michael, that people around the league will rejoice if this is the end of dirty basketball . I hope so, except for detroit, i mean. You saw what type of class they had in terms of walking off the court in defeat, but, you know, thats them. Thats their nature. We expected it. They won. They won. They won. Im not giving the bulls no credit. The team walked off that afternoon, but, as always, everything pointed back to the star whod been the face of the pistons since the day he was drafted 10 years earlier. What this team accomplished, um. Was history, you know . It cost him. It cost him that he wasnt a beloved character in the history of the National Basketball association. He should have been. The following summer, when the dream team dominated the barcelona olympics, isiah thomas was left off the roster. And, more than 20 years later, no ones forgotten what was seen as his final act. In my mind, the walkoff against Chicago Bulls was isiah thomas idea. It was engineered by isiah. Oh, yeah. I was the one that was the instigator of walking off the court. Did it feel good for me . Absolutely. To me, its not important whose idea it was. We were a team, and, um. Thats what we did. And looking back on it, was it the right thing to do . Should we had been bigger . Yeah. The walkoff may have been controversial, but what wasnt up for debate was this it was the end of the bad boys. Youre up on top. Eventually, youre gonna go down. But they were great soldiers. It had taken Jack Mccloskey 10 years and 38 trades to build a championship team. After the 1991 season, the demolition began. If the rise was ugly, the breakup had to be ugly, too. There was just no pretty way to say goodbye to the bad boys. Over the next few years, the teams aging veterans were dealt away, and chuck daly and trader jack himself headed out the door, as well. Everything was falling apart. I built my life here in detroit. I built my life with this team and chuck daly. Once i knew that was gone, i pretty much just went rebellious quick. Rodman, of course, had a second nba life ahead of him, in chicago, of all places. As for the heart and soul of the bad boys, the end of their story was almost too fitting. I set a big, hard screen on isiah in practice, and he didnt like it. And he ended up taking a swing and hitting me in the head. It broke his hand, unfortunately for the team. But that just was another example of how the time had passed. And it was time to go and move on. Laimbeer retired in the beginning of the 9394 season. Then, in the last home game of that year, isiah tore his achilles. He was done at just 32 years old. I had zero left to give. Mind, body, spirit, soul i felt like i had given everything that i could give, and i didnt have anything left. Joe dumars stuck around the longest, till 1999, which meant he was around to watch jordan and the bulls win all six of their titles. Jordan a drive. Hangs, fires scores he scores guess what, people. The Michael Jordan that we know, the exalted ruler of the nba, he wouldnt have happened if not for the pistons. You cant carry that type of anger or a grudge for the rest of your life. And the team pushed us to a certain level. I dont think we would have won those six championships without getting over that hump of detroit. A lot of time has passed since the bad boys ruled the nba. But detroit is never gonna forget any of them, especially the halloffame coach who passed away in 2009 at the age of 78. Still, when you open the history books, theres no way you can miss them. Many people call that the golden era for the nba magic, bird, michael all in the nba at the same time. And for two brief, shining years, there was a team that was a team from a most unlikely city with a most unlikely cast that interrupted the Glamour Party that was going on in the nba during those years. And they did it in a tough way that made people uncomfortable. We cant make people uncomfortable anymore. But back then, they didnt care. This is who we are. Take us or leave us. Through it all, being remembered never seemed to matter to them, only winning did. But that doesnt mean they didnt change the game. Arguably the best defense we have ever seen in the National Basketball association, the Detroit Pistons. Defense, teamwork, rules the basketball world looked at all of them differently after these guys. It would be hard to find a march to a title that was tougher, more painful, and more rewarding. It would be hard to find a team that was bonded so tightly together. But more than anything else, theres one thing you have to remember about the bad boys. If you still cant stand them, still dont respect them, well, guess what. They dont give a oh, 1989 the number another summer get down sound of the funky drummer music hitting your heart cause i know you got soul brothers and sisters listen if youre missin, yall swingin while im singin givin what youre getting knowin what im knowin while the black bands sweatin and the rhythm rhymes rollin got to give us what we want got to give us what we need our freedom of speech is freedom or death we got to fight the powers that be fight the power fight the power fight the power fight the power fight the power fight the power fight the power we got to fight the powers that be as the rhythm designed to bounce what counts is that the rhymes designed to fill your mind now that youve realized the prides arrived we got to pump the stuff to make us tough from the heart its a start, a work of art to revolutionize, make a change nothings strange people, people, we are the same no, were not the same cause we dont know the game what we need is awareness we cant get careless you say, what is this . My beloved, lets get down to business mental selfdefensive fitness yo bum rush the show we got to go for what we know or make everybody see in order to fight the powers that be let me hear you say fight the power fight the power for more information on upcoming 30 for 30 films, go to. And follow us on twitter 30for30. Right now on america this morning, covid crackdown. This is the third wave. The new round of closures as the entire country sees a spike in coronavirus infections. Some cities now banning gatherings of any size. Hospitals sounding the alarm. Only one icu bed left open in one States Capital and now concerns about testing delays ahead of thanksgiving. New overnight, the rare Tornado Warning in new york city in midnovember. Wild winds and hundreds of thousands of Power Outages from michigan to massachusetts. The new video this morning and what to expect today. Exclusive, michael j. Fox oneonone opening up about a major health scare. There was a numbness in my legs and my limbs and turned out i had a tumor on my