In the 1988 NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers went up against a new opponent in the Detroit Pistons. The Lakers were the defending world champions, and head coach Pat Riley boldly guaranteed after they had won the 1987 title that they would repeat as champions, which put added pressure on them.
They were going after their fifth title of the Showtime era and the right to call themselves the "Team of the 1980s." The Pistons, meanwhile, had just emerged as title contenders with their rough-and-tumble style of play. They were nicknamed the "Bad Boys" because of their dirty and brutal style of play, which involved consistently walking the ball upcourt and committing excessively hard fouls on a regular basis.