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How ironic that the same team that ended one Los Angeles Laker dynasty in 1989 should end the Lakers’ next dynasty 15 years later. There are more links between the “Bad Boys” and the present day Pistons then Joe Dumars and the city of Detroit. The current trend where defense dominates the NBA was started by Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn and company. Now 15 years later, the new world champion Detroit Pistons have taken that trend and extended it to the Nth degree.

Much has been said of the Pistons’ egoless, unselfish team play, their strong quick guards, Tayshun Prince’s mobility on the wing and Larry Brown’s Midas Touch. But the main factor that separates Detroit from the rest of the pack and separated the Lakers from their senses was rentless defense. The Pistons thoroughly dominated the Finals. A hand was always in the face of Laker players when they shot the ball.

Today, things can finally be put in perspective. Though considered underdogs, the Pistons have clearly been a special team since Rasheed Wallace joined them in late season while the Lakers were probably no better then the third or fourth best team in the West. The Lakers have pulled off lots of miracles in the past five seasons. One of their biggest may have been getting to the NBA Finals this year.

The masters of the improbable kept us believing in the possibility of another Laker comeback until practically the last minutes. In the year 2000, the Lakers overcame a superior Portland team to win a title and did the same to Sacramento two years later. After Derick Fisher’s fourth game buzzer beater, a strong San Antonio team wilted in the this year’s Western Conference semi-finals.

The turning point in this year’s finals came when the Pistons took the Lakers’ best punch in the game two loss and never blinked an eye. The Lakers had finally met their match in mental toughness as well as ability.

Chauncey Billups was named Finals MVP, but the Pistons team as whole could easily been honored. However, the true MVP of the Pistons is Ben Wallace. Big Ben is the glue of their defense and their only irreplacable player. Not only does Ben block and intimidates shots, he grabs offensive rebounds, loose balls and dominates games through relentless effort and energy. Except for the legendary Bill Russell, rarely has a player dominated games solely through defense; but Ben is rarest of superstars, one who averages a mere seven points per game.

Larry Brown taught the Pistons to be champions but it was Wallace who taught them to be winners. A mere throw-in in the Grant Hill trade four years ago, Ben was NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 and 2003 under Rick Carlisle. More then anyone else, he was responsible for back-to-back 50-win seasons in those years. Larry Brown did the fine tuning but Wallace put the Pistons on the road that eventually led to this year’s championship.

The new champions may never became the next NBA dynasty but as long as defense rules, the Pistons will be a force to be reckoned with.