1988/89: After their tough loss in the NBA Finals the Pistons would find themselves in a new home as they left the cavernous Silverdome for a beautiful new Place in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills. In their new home the Pistons seemed to get tougher and nastier as they posted a franchise best record of 63-19 for their second straight Central Division title. A potential trap lay ahead of them in the playoffs as they faced the Boston Celtics in the first round. However, the Pistons would not lose their focus, as they easily knocked of the banged up Celtics in 3 straight games. Moving on to the second round the Piston continued to roll as they swept the Milwaukee Bucks in 4 straight to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. In the Eastern Finals for the 3rd straight year the Pistons were now the team that had been through al the battles who were facing an upstart Chicago Bulls team led by Michael Jordan, who had taken 2 of the first 3 games against the Pistons. Needing to win Game 4 on the road the Pistons rose to the occasion evening the series with an 86-80 win in a hard fought defensive battle. The Pistons would go on to win the series sin 6 games to set a rematch with Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. In the Finals the Pistons would get off to a fast start taking the first 2 games at home. As the series shifted to Los Angeles the Pistons physical play would begin to take effect on the Lakers as the Lakers endured several key injuries including to Magic Johnson. The Pistons would take full advantage of the hobbled Lakers by completing the 4-game series sweep with 2 wins at the Forum to win their first NBA championship in franchise history, as Joe Dumars won the NBA Finals MVP.
2003/04: With new Coach Larry Brown a Hall of Famer the Pistons goal was to reach the next level. Once again they were a tough defensive team as they got off to a solid 32-16 start at the end of January. However as February began the Pistons started to sputter as they fell out of first place losing 6 in a row as the NBA went into the All-Star Break looking for a jump start the Pistons traded for Rasheed Wallace another tough player with a bad reputation that would have fit well with the Bad Boys of the past. Wallace fit in well with the Pistons and in March the team's defense set a record by holding teams under 70 points in 5 straight games. The Pistons would go on to finish the season strong with a 54-28 record good enough for the 2nd best record in the East, but not for the Division Title. In the playoff the Pistons would slip at home in the first round losing Game 2 to the Milwaukee Bucks 92-88, but in Milwaukee the Pistons rebounded taking both games easily on the way to taking the series in 5 games. In the 2nd Round they faced the New Jersey Nets who bounced them from the playoff a year earlier. This time things were different as the Pistons took the first 2 games at home. However as the series shifted to New Jersey the Pistons offense struggled as they dropped both games. Needing a win in Game 5 the Pistons needed a miracle shot by Chauncey Billups to force overtime where the teams battle to a classic 3-OT thriller. However with Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshuan Prince and Richard Hamilton fouling out the Pistons ran out of man power as the Nets took a 3-2 series lead with a 127-120 victory. Things got off to a slow start in Game 6 as the Pistons trailed early 13-2. However they would get within 2 points at the end of the first and would take the lead in the 2nd Quarter on the way to a solid 81-75 win on the road to force Game 7. In Game 7 the Pistons would roll winning easily 90-69 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers. In the conference finals against the Pacers the Pistons found a familiar face in former Coach Rick Carlisle who was now running the Pacers. The Pistons would lose Game 1 in Indiana in heartbreaking fashion as Reggie Miller nailed a 3-point shot with 31 seconds left to give the Pacers a 78-74 win. In Game 2 the Pistons would bounce back winning a defensive struggle 72-67. As the series shifted to Detroit the Pistons took control capturing Game 3 by 7 points. However after losing Game 4 they need to win in Indiana in Game 5 to avoid facing elimination again. They would do just that by smothering the Pacers all night in an impressive 83-65 win. Game 6 at home would be another defensive struggle as the Pistons edged the Pacers 69-65 to advance to the NBA Finals for a showdown with the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA Finals began with nobody taking the Pistons seriously the year seemed made for the Lakers as they were in the news everyday with 4 Hall of Famers. It was like it was written in stone that the Pistons from the weak Eastern Conference where just there for the coronation. However the Pistons would draw first blood with a solid 87-75 win in Game 1 in Los Angeles. The Pistons would control Game 2 as well. However Kobe Bryant tied the game with a dramatic 3-point shot with 2.1 seconds left to force overtime where the Lakers would dominate to even the series with a 99-91 win. Rather then being depressed over the heartbreaking Game 2 loss the Pistons refocused and came out like gang busters in Game 3 as they crushed the Lakers 88-68 at home to retake control of the series. In Game 4 the Pistons dominated the Lakers again winning 88-8o to take a commanding 3-1 series lead as people watched stunned across America. In Game 5 the Pistons continued their dominant ways as they established an 82-59 lead at the end of 3 Quarters, with Detroit ready to celebrate they would hold off one last Lakers charge to claim the NBA title with a 100-87 victory, wrapping up the biggest upset in NBA Finals history in 5 games. Indicative of the improbable victory journey man Chauncey Billups was named Finals MVP.