1988 NBA Finals

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The 1988 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1987-1988 NBA season.

One of Los Angeles Lakers head coach Pat Riley's most famous moments came when he promised the crowd a repeat championship during the Lakers' 1986-1987 championship parade in downtown Los Angeles. With every team in the league now gunning for them, the Los Angeles Lakers still found a way to win, taking their seventh consecutive Pacific Division title. While the 1988 Lakers did not produce as many wins in the regular season as the 1987 Lakers, they were just as successful in the playoffs, becoming the first team in 20 years to repeat as champions. The Lakers met the physical Detroit Pistons in the 1988 NBA Finals.

One of Detroit Piston Isiah Thomas' best known and most self-defining performances came in Game 6. Although he badly twisted his ankle in the game, Thomas continued to play. While hobbling and in obvious pain, Isiah was still able to score 25 points in a single quarter of that contest, a NBA Finals record.

It was a series that went seven games and the Lakers were able to take advantage of the injury to Isiah Thomas as well as James Worthy's Game 7 triple double, which earned him a Finals MVP award and cemented his nickname of "Big Game James." The Lakers thus, made good on Pat Riley's promise.

[edit] Trivia

This was the first Game 7 since the NBA adopted the 2-3-2 format in 1985 and first overall since 1984.
Michael Cooper, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only members of all 5 Lakers championship teams from the 1980s.