The “Top 5″ Detroit Sports Teams of All Time

Nick Ludka ’15

Staff Writer

1) ’88-’90 Pistons – The ’88-’90 Pistons embody what Detroit sports are all about: winning games and taking names. The 88′ Pistons played with a chip on their shoulders after an Eastern Conference Finals loss the year before to the Boston Celtics. In 88′ Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer led the “Bad Boys” to a victory in the Eastern Finals, avenging their loss from the year before. It wasn’t the way they dressed or the way they spoke that earned them the nickname, it was the way they played. The “Bad Boys” were feared around the league for their tough physical play. This tough play led the Pistons to back to back NBA Championship seasons in ’89 and ’90. The only title since then for the Pistons was the 04′ title. Highlighted by the stellar play of Darko Milicic and Memet Okur. The modern day Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman.

2) 96’-97’ Red Wings – The “Dead Wings” or so they were called until 96′. That year the Red Wings had their most successful season in recent history earning Detroit the name “Hockeytown”. Maybe it’s time to name it “Footballtown”. Anyway, the ’96-’97 Wings were a team to be reckoned with. This team was riddled with familiar names as Federov, McCarty, Osgood, Holmstrom, Draper, Shanahan, and especially “The Captain” Yzerman. While the class of 2015 was saying hello to the world, Red Wings hockey was ending a 42 year drought en route to a playoff record of 16-4 capped off by a four game sweep in the Final against the Philadelphia Flyers. It’s only fitting that the greatest generation to come through Nouvel gave rise to one of the greatest triumph’s in Detroit sports history.

3) ’84 Tigers – This is the 30th anniversary of the greatest Tiger’s team to ever come through Detroit. Sparky Anderson led the Tigers to a 104-58 record in the regular season. After going 35-5 in their first 40 games, never did the Tiger’s lose their divisional lead through the season. The Tigers were led by hall of famers and Detroit sports legends Alan Trammel, Lance Parrish, and Kirk Gibson. Tiger’s rolled through their divisional play off games against the Royals, outscoring their inter-divisional rivals 14-4 in a three game span. Alan Trammell hit for an unheard of .450 batting average in the World Series, leading the Tigers to a 4-1 win against the San Diego Padres.

4) ’91 Lions – The Lions have been a sore subject as of late, but with new management and a few key players they are starting to bring Motown back into form. It is embarrassing to think that the last time the Lions made it past the wild card game was in 1991. To put a date on it, here is a list of events happening in 1991, the last year the Lions had a team worth mentioning: “Seinfeld” debuts on NBC, SNES releasing in stores, and the most shocking… The USSSR was still a country. Nonetheless, a Lions team plagued with injuries, namely the paralysis of Mike Utley, they arose to the top of their division and gave themselves a chance at the Super Bowl. The Lions rolled through their first divisional playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys 38-6. This playoff momentum was abruptly stopped by the Washington Redskins in a 41-10 route in the NFC Championship.

5) ’08 Shock – In the swan song that was the 2008 season for the Detroit Shock, they made the most of their efforts. In 2008, their 11th season in the league, the Detroit Shock made it to the WNBA finals for a third time. This means the Shock made it to the finals 27% of the time… pretty impressive huh? Along the road the Shock picked up titles such as having the best record in the Eastern Conference at 22-12. Their coach Bill Laimbeer was familiar with winning championships in Detroit. He was the starting center for the afformentioned “Bad Boys”, winning two championships himself. With this experience and the play of the WNBA finals MVP Katie Smith, the Shock only lost two games en route to winning their third championship. A proper end to their career in Detroit. The team packed up shop at the end of the season and moved to Tulsa. Although they may be #5 on this list they will still be #1 in our heart… or at least in the hearts of those who still follow the WNBA.