5 biggest rivalries in NBA history

4. Chicago Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons

The Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons are two of the best franchises in NBA history and hold one of the most physical rivalries in NBA history. Since the Bulls became a franchise in the 1966-67 season, they have been a divisional and conference rival of the Pistons every single season except for the 1979 and 1980 seasons, where the Pistons were in the East and the Bulls were in the West.

For the most part, both teams were bad franchises up until the mid-1980s when the Pistons were building their championship core with Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, and Bill Laimbeer. The Bulls then drafted Michael Jordan and a literal and figurative collision course would happen.

The Pistons and Bulls rivalry peaked in the late 1980s to early 1990s where they faced off in the playoffs for four consecutive seasons from 1988 to 1991. The first time they played each other was in the 1988 Eastern Conference Semifinals. This season Michael Jordan became the first player ever to win the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season and the Pistons were looking to break through.

The Pistons won this series very handily and took advantage of the fact that the Bulls were Jordan-or-bust at this point and won the series 4-1. They once again faced off in the 1989 playoffs, but this time in the Eastern Conference Finals the Pistons once again won the series 4-2 en route to their first-ever championship.

Then in 1990, they faced off in the Eastern Conference Finals again and the Pistons won the series again 4-3 when they would then go on to repeat as champions. This series was closer because Scottie Pippen became an All-Star but facing migraines just before Game 7 drastically affected his play which was one of the biggest factors as to why they lost. Then in 1991, they faced off for the last time in the conference finals and the Bulls finally won the series in a sweep en route to their first-ever championship.

This rivalry was one of the best in NBA history because of the intense physicality between the two teams. Pistons coach Chuck Daily, invented a defensive style of play call the "Jordan Rules" which was to be ultra-physical with Michael Jordan. This prevented him from getting into the paint, use his in-human athleticism, and when he did get in the air, he was knocked down hard.

This created a genuine hatred between the two teams, and it did not sit nicely with Michael Jordan that he could not get past the Pistons. When Phil Jackson came in and implemented the triangle and forced Jordan to be more than just a scorer, they were finally able to break through.

The thing that really capped off this rivalry was when the Bulls swept the Pistons in 1991, the entire Pistons team walked off the court and passed the Bulls' bench without shaking hands. That moment has not only made it an everlasting rivalry between the Bulls and Pistons, but also an everlasting hatred between Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan.