Detroit Pistons

Bad Boys, blue collars, and going to work

Detroit's identity is toughness. The Bad Boys of the late 1980s, with Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman, bullied their way to back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990 and made everyone hate them.

In 2004 a starless, defense-first team known for going to work shocked the Kobe and Shaq Lakers super-team to win it all. No single superstar, just five players who fit.

The years since have been lean, including one of the longest losing streaks in league history. But Detroit basketball has always been about grit, and grit can be rebuilt.

Chauncey Billups was the 2004 Finals MVP, the ice-cold closer they called Mr Big Shot, who held that starless team together when it mattered most.