Bad Boys Unite Raises More Than $300,000 for Detroit Non-Profit Organizations

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Bad Boys and members of the 1989 NBA Championship reunited on March 27 and 28 to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of their first NBA Championship and raise funds for local Detroit non-profit organizations.

Hosted by the Come Together Foundation, the two-day event raised over $300,000 in net proceeds that will be shared equally between six Detroit-based non-profit organizations – Forgotten Harvest, Capuchin Soup Kitchen, Cornerstone Schools, Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, Rhonda Walker Foundation and CATCH (Sparky Anderson’s Charity for Children).

Sponsors for the Bad Boys Unite charity fundraiser on March 27 included Tom Gores, the Detroit Pistons, the William Davidson Foundation, Lear Corporation and Penske Corporation. Over 20,000 fans joined the 25th anniversary celebration at Detroit’s game vs. Miami on March 28, with proceeds from the sale of “Bad Boys Unite” T-shirts and the Pistons 50/50 Payday raffle also donated to the non-profits.

The 1988-89 Detroit Pistons won 63 regular-season games and stormed through the postseason beating the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and finally the Los Angeles Lakers. Team members included Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Bill Laimbeer, John Salley, Mark Aguirre, Dennis Rodman, Vinnie Johnson, James Edwards, Rick Mahorn, John Long, Fennis Dembo and Micheal Williams. Constructed by Jack McCloskey and coached by the legendary Chuck Daly, Brendan Malone and Brendan Suhr, the 1989 team was cherished by fans in Detroit and gained national notoriety for their physical style of play.