"Isiah is leading the charge. He's the one we follow" - When Dennis Rodman pointed out why the Pistons were rolling during the 1990 playoffs

Isiah Thomas will always be remembered as one of the icons who helped lead the Detroit Pistons to their 1989 and 1990 NBA titles. As the team's leader, he needed to lead by example.

In their 1990 title run, many questioned whether the Motor City squad could repeat as champions. Those doubts cropped up after the Pistons lost 8 of their last 16 games in the regular season. It appeared Detroit had problems heading into the playoffs.

Winning time

The defending champion would restate all those doubts after sweeping past the Indiana Pacers in the first round. The team got it back together and was peaking at the same time. And just like their previous title run, Detroit did it through defense, with Thomas leading the way.

"Isiah is leading the charge. He's the one we follow," Dennis Rodman said via UPI at the time.

Although he averaged 18.7 points and 8.7 assists in that series, the second-overall pick of the 1981 Draft got huge help from his teammates. Five other teammates averaged 10 points or more in that series. That included James Edwards, John Salley, Joe Dumars, and Bill Laimbeer.

"We're playing well on defense. That's how we win. We get the stops and the fastbreaks. That's what brings us championship rings," Salley added.

Related: John Stockton recalled when Isiah Thomas called his dad amidst Dream Team drama: "I don't know if I would be big enough to do that"

Pistons were a juggernaut during the playoffs

The Pistons breezed through the first two rounds of the Eastern Conference playoffs that season. Things got tougher in the EC Finals as Detroit had to find a way to survive the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.

The Pistons turned to their defense anew with their trademark physicality, allowing them to take the first two games of that series. Compounding the worries of Bulls coach Phil Jackson then was the games didn't look like basketball matches anymore.

"I was more concerned that the game was a rugby match rather than a basketball game. It was played in Detroit's tempo and Detroit's style. …I knew Michael was running with a lot of pain," the Zen Master said via the New York Times .

Regardless, Jackson made sure that the Bulls would compete with the Pistons until the end. After going back and forth, the Pistons won 93-74 over the Bulls in Game 7 to advance to the 1990 NBA Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Despite Clyde Drexler's big effort, the Trail Blazers were unable to foil the Pistons' back-to-back title run. Portland won Game 2 of the final in Detroit but lost three straight games after that, allowing Detroit to win its second consecutive title.

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