The biggest roadblock to Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls‘ championship win was the Detroit Pistons. Isiah Thomas’ Pistons were infamously known as the ‘Bad Boys’ for their physically dominant game that frustrated MJ. In the rivalry that lasted between the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Detroit Pistons beat the Bulls in the Eastern Conference playoffs two straight times and went on to win two championships before Jordan and co. managed to get their revenge in 1991. Notably, Michael Jordan’s former teammate recently gave insight into the ‘Bad Boy’ mentality of the Pistons.

Four-time NBA champ John Salley was Michael Jordan’s teammate at the Bulls in 1996. Before that, Salley was a crucial part of the Pistons from 1986 to 1992. Recently, Salley unearthed the mentality of the Pistons, which was deemed ‘ugly’ at the time, while making a huge claim about the league’s culture.

John Salley reveals the rough tactics used by teams in past

In a recent appearance on Pierre’s Panic Room podcast, the host and renowned comedian Pierre Edwards pointed out Michael Jordan had to face some of the infamous Pistons stars like John Salley, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, and Rick Mahorn while comparing the situation with the biggest of challenges LeBron James had faced in his career. However, Salley argued that the Detroit Pistons were not the only ones who relied on the physical aspect of the game.

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John Salley stated, “This is so funny. We wasn’t even the roughest one. The Celtics were way more gangster than we are.” The renowned comedian Pierre could not believe the claims made by Michael Jordan‘s former teammate Salley. Moreover, John Salley insisted, “Oh My God! They used to hit you and the referee would be like shut up and you know think about it.”

While arguing that rough plays were the trend in the league then, John Salley also stressed that Lakers legend James Worthy had once admitted in a documentary that the Pistons were not the ‘Bad Boys.’ The Pistons legend stated, “He goes, ‘These guys aren’t really the Bad Boys.’ We played technical, the whole league played like that.”

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The NBA veteran also shared a physical incident he had with George Lucas. Salley claimed to have gotten a warning from Lucas being shaken down. As per John Salley, “He said, ‘Touch me again, Imma break your wrist.’ I’m thinking, Man! We’re playing basketball. And I’m wondering how do you touch this dude.” As the tussle continued on the court, Salley felt that Lucas wanted to fight him.

Salley added, “So you gotta keep your hand up, keep him. And he wasn’t just being crazy, he seriously was mad, at something in his life. And you were going to get it. That’s when most fights happened, between something else going on, wife didn’t cook him dinner, your a** getting smacked for it.”

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Salley gave insight into the Pistons team’s thought processes in the physical game while claiming that the tactic was already prevalent among most NBA teams.