Over the next three years, both the Pistons and Jordan proved to be the real deal. The Pistons grew into a legitimate NBA title contender, perhaps the best basketball team in the world on the right day, and Jordan showcased his otherworldly abilities on a nightly basis.

And starting in the 1988 playoffs, neither would get out of the other’s way.

The 1987-88 Pistons claimed the first Central Division title in franchise history en route to 54 wins. Forward Adrian Dantley averaged 20.0 points per game and All-Star guard Isiah Thomas averaged 19.5 points and 8.4 assists.

The Pistons had come within one win of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics the year before, but found themselves on the brink of elimination in the first round in 1988. Detroit advanced with a Game 5 victory over the Washington Bullets to seize the best-of-five series.

The Bulls arranged a second-round meeting with the Pistons by defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jordan set a playoff record with 226 points (45.2 points per game), the most ever in a five-game series. The Pistons were not impervious to Jordan’s scoring sprees. In 1987 he scored 61 against Detroit in a 125-120 overtime Bulls win at the Pontiac Silverdome.

The fourth-year guard was at the height of individual acclaim in 1988, sweeping league honors that perpetuated the “Air Jordan” mystique like never before. Jordan was named the 1988 NBA Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year. He also led the league in scoring for the second straight year, averaging 35.0 points per game. He was named All-Star Game MVP and Slam Dunk champion in the same weekend.

With a skeleton of a supporting cast (only three other Bulls - rookie Scottie Pippen, John Paxson and Horace Grant - would be on the Bulls’ first championship team three years later), Jordan led the Bulls to a 50-32 record, tied for second in the Central with the Atlanta Hawks. Incidentally, it was Chicago’s best season since 1973-74 - the first time the Pistons and Bulls met in the playoffs.

The Pistons’ defense couldn’t put Jordan completely under wraps - he still managed 27.4 points per game - but it did lock down his teammates. After scoring 105.0 points per game during the regular season, the Bulls reached that figure only once against Detroit, when they took Game 2, 105-95, for their only win of the series.

The Pistons took control of the series with a 93-82 victory in Game 1 at the Silverdome. Detroit bounced back from the Game 2 hiccup to take the next three, including two at Chicago Stadium, by an average of 16 points. If there was ever a time when defeating the Jordan-led Bulls was easy, it was 1988. It was certainly the Pistons’ easiest playoff round. After the first-round scare by Washington, the Pistons avenged 1987’s disappointment with a six-game elimination of the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.

In their first NBA Finals appearance, the Pistons showed no reverence for the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers by taking a 3-2 series lead. Thomas’ severe ankle injury set the stage for one of the most courageous playoff performances in NBA history, but it did not produce a Pistons victory. The Lakers won Games 6 and 7 in Los Angeles to capture back-to-back titles.

By the start of the 1988-89 season, the Pistons were now the NBA’s best team without a championship; Jordan its best player without a ring. Neither label would last for long.