TRMC REACTS - The Deepest Team in NBA History?

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]And no one would bat an eye. Alongside [music] of him was one of the most underrated players of all time.

[00:00:06]>> forgets Finals MVP Joe D.

[00:00:08]Joe Dumars.

[00:00:10]This guy had a solid handle of the basketball and was one of the all-time great perimeter defenders.

[00:00:14]>> Mhm. And MJ Well, you're probably about to say it. In fact, [music] on multiple occasions, Michael Jordan has referred to him as the best perimeter defender he's ever faced.

[00:00:23]>> That's why Johnny's my dog. As small forward, [music] they had All right, welcome back to the show, everybody. Hope you all having a good day so far. So, I went back to the uh the member section and I I took a look at the playlist and this is the next one up, you guys. Um I didn't actually even look at the thumbnail, so I have no idea what the context is is in in here, but that's kind of cool. Let's go in absolutely blind. Um this one is from Johnny Arnett and it's titled The Deepest Team in NBA history. And uh let's do a reaction to it, huh? Guys, if you don't know about Johnny Arnett, um check out his channel. The link is going to be down below in the description of this video.

[00:01:06]Um highly recommend it. I assume most of you guys are already subscribed to his channel anyways, but in case you're not, link is down there. Um Johnny, if you happen to watch this, shout out to you, my brother man. I hope you're doing well. And uh everybody, shout out to members. I appreciate you guys. Like the video and let's get right on with it. to Isiah and his Bad Boy Pistons.

[00:01:27]I don't think there's ever been a more physical team than them. Okay.

[00:01:31]>> They imposed their will on you.

[00:01:33]>> Right.

[00:01:33]>> Right. They beat you up, man.

[00:01:34]>> Right. And you if you flinch, it was over for you.

[00:01:37]>> Right. They could do things very few teams could do. They could be physical and then they had that three-headed monster, Isiah, Joe Dumars, and Vinnie Johnson.

[00:01:46]>> Right.

[00:01:46]>> You could You couldn't do nothing.

[00:01:47]>> You got cooked. And I'm not even talking about the John Salley and Rodman.

[00:01:52]>> Rodman. They have a horn the first year, Laimbeer.

[00:01:54]>> That's right.

[00:01:55]>> horn, Laimbeer.

[00:01:56]>> it tough to play against it? Of course.

[00:01:58]>> Right. But, you know, give them credit.

[00:02:00]They won back-to-back championships.

[00:02:02]>> Correct. I never take anything away from a champion.

[00:02:05]>> Right.

[00:02:05]>> And so, they proved that style could win.

[00:02:08]>> Right. And they won with it. And so, give them credit. And And they To me, one of the greatest teams as well, because defensively, I don't know if we've seen a better team than the Pistons. Right. It's true. And that was one one frustrating thing looking back with that team. They were the best defensive team in the league. So, to go up that level and make it a little dirty kind of sucked, but, you know.

[00:02:30]>> [music] >> But, it doesn't suck nearly as bad as this intro.

[00:02:41]>> [music] [music] >> So, it's been a reoccurring topic on this channel a lot recently. Who was the deepest team in NBA history? I think there's a lot of solid candidates for that title. And please, let me know in the comments section below who would be your choice [music] for that title.

[00:03:01]>> It's a hell of a conversation, the deepest team.

[00:03:06]>> [sighs] >> Man, it might have to be for me, it might have to be one of the Spurs units.

[00:03:12]And I'm not sure exactly which year, but with Ginobili coming off the bench, it's it's it's hard to beat that. I don't necessarily know with complete certainty the team I would pick, but it seriously might be this one. [music] I'm talking about the 1988 to 1989 Detroit Pistons.

[00:03:31]>> Yeah, these guys are bad.

[00:03:33]>> about this team is not only are they one of the most overall talented squads of all time, but I would argue that they're one of the [music] most overlooked teams in NBA history.

[00:03:43]We're talking about a group of players that nearly won three straight NBA championships with one of the greatest backcourts that the game of basketball has ever seen.

[00:03:52]>> Mhm. During their run of dominance, they were able to beat Magic Johnson's Showtime Lakers, Larry Bird's Celtics, and Michael Jordan's Bulls.

[00:04:01]Not once, not twice, but for three straight seasons, they eliminated the Bulls out of the NBA playoffs.

[00:04:08]I think the reason why this group is one of the most overlooked teams of all time is simply because they were not very liked in their heyday by anyone outside of Detroit, >> Agreed.

[00:04:17]>> seeing how they were known as the Bad Boy Pistons for their dirty and physical antics. And that was a reputation [music] that they reveled in.

[00:04:24]>> Yo, shout out to my Pistons fans. I I I know I know quite a few of you very well. Um hey, man.

[00:04:32]Y'all know I don't I don't I don't like the uh I don't like the blatant trying to hurt uh people kind of play basketball, but you know I love the physicality. So, it's only when you guys cross the line that that I I stand up and say that's not cool. But, outside of that, man, I mean, watching the Pistons play kind of taught me how to play defense.

[00:04:51]Not only that, but the Bad Boy Pistons are now treated as a footnote to the story of Michael Jordan's legacy.

[00:04:58]Now, were they an obstacle for MJ and served as a launching pad for his career?

[00:05:03]Absolutely.

[00:05:04]>> Yeah, I think that's a shame, too, cuz they were back-to-back champions. But, they were also one of the most [music] dominant teams in NBA history, especially in 1989.

[00:05:14]This specific group was led by one of the greatest dual-threat point guards in the history of the league, Isiah Thomas.

[00:05:22]This guy was an incredible ball handler, an amazing facilitator, and a terrific scorer. [music] He also had ice water flowing through his veins.

[00:05:30]>> Yeah, he did.

[00:05:31]>> was one of the most clutch players that the game has ever seen.

[00:05:33]>> Yeah. For those of you don't know, when I was growing up, I thought it was cheesy to wear 23, so none of us ever wore 23, but I chose 11. I wore 11 a lot when I was growing up. Like when he dropped an NBA [singing] record 25 points in a single quarter of the NBA Finals, >> Oh, yeah, one leg.

[00:05:51]>> in a game where he ended up with 43 [music] points.

[00:05:55]Isiah Thomas was the kind of player who could drop 40 points in an NBA playoff game and the next [music] night, he could get you 15 to 20 assists and no one would bat an eye.

[00:06:06]Alongside of him was one of the most underrated players of all time.

[00:06:10]>> forgets Finals MVP Joe D.

[00:06:12]Joe Dumars. [music] This guy had a solid handle of the basketball and was one of the all-time great perimeter defenders.

[00:06:18]>> Mhm. And MJ Well, you're probably about to say it. In fact, on multiple occasions, Michael [music] Jordan has referred to him as the best perimeter defender he's ever faced.

[00:06:27]>> That's why Johnny's my dog. As small [music] forward, they had a lethal scoring wing, known as Mark Aguirre.

[00:06:34]Just before he had joined the Detroit Pistons, he was the leader of the Dallas Mavericks, as he was averaging nearly 30 points per game for that group. And somehow, similar to guys like Alex English and Adrian Dantley, he has seemed to be lost and forgotten in history, despite being one of the best scorers of his era.

[00:06:52]At power forward, they have the enforcer, Rick Mahorn, >> Mhm. who was not just a solid rebounder, but a guy who was a major part of their physical identity.

[00:07:01]>> their Charles Oakley.

[00:07:02]>> And at center was one of the most famous villains in NBA history, Bill Laimbeer.

[00:07:07]Despite his notorious nicknames and reputation, [music] he was known in his day for being a lot more than just a mean player. Laimbeer was one of the first stretch-five centers of the NBA.

[00:07:19]He was also a guy who was frequently among the league leaders in rebounds, and he was a fantastic passer and more specifically, [music] a fantastic outlet passer.

[00:07:29]Coming off the bench, they had several guys who were capable of being a Sixth Man of the Year winner.

[00:07:35]The guy who was usually their sixth man was known as Vinnie the Microwave Johnson.

[00:07:39]>> Yes, sir.

[00:07:40]>> they called him the Microwave is because of how quickly he could heat up, as he was a fantastic scoring spark plug for this team.

[00:07:48]The next off the bench was a back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year winner in Dennis Rodman.

[00:07:53]>> many times did did did did he win the the rebound uh whatever?

[00:07:57]What do you even call that? You know what I mean? How many times did he lead the league in rebounding? And at this point of his career, he was much leaner, but very [music] strong and very quick.

[00:08:07]During his days with the Bulls, he was known for guarding guys like Charles Barkley, [music] Karl Malone, and Shaquille O'Neal.

[00:08:13]>> Yep. But, at this point of his career, he was more commonly assigned to guys like Magic Johnson, Scottie Pippen, and even occasionally, Michael Jordan.

[00:08:22]Then their eighth man in the rotation [music] was the 7'1" center, James Edwards, who was a guy who averaged as high as 17 points per game during his career.

[00:08:31]>> Shout out to my moms.

[00:08:34]You remember you called this guy Buddha?

[00:08:36]This guy was a quality scoring option and would certainly be a starter on the vast majority of teams. But, on this group, he was just their third most important big man.

[00:08:46]And then the ninth man in their rotation was the 6'11" John Salley, who was only at the age of 24 and was in the middle of the prime of his career. You're right, Johnny. All all these guys coming off the bench could have been starters anywhere else. He wasn't a star player by any means, but he always played with hustle, heart, and energy and was a quality role player, even though he was one of the last guys off the bench.

[00:09:10]As I mentioned before, >> [music] >> this team was stupid deep and had basically everything on their roster.

[00:09:16]From scorers to passers to defenders to rebounders, there was basically no style of basketball that they couldn't play and excel in.

[00:09:25]Throughout the 1988 to 1989 regular season, they finished with a 63 and 19 record. They swept the [music] Boston Celtics out of the first round three games to zero.

[00:09:37]Then in the semifinals, they swept a very talented Milwaukee Bucks team four games to zero. Then in the Eastern Conference Finals, they took out Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in six games.

[00:09:49]And then, against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA [music] Finals, who were previously undefeated in the Western Conference playoffs, they swept them as [music] well, four games to zero, meaning they had a 15 and two record throughout the entirety of the postseason.

[00:10:06]>> That's crazy. As they secured their championship.

[00:10:08]>> outside of the the Lakers, what was that, '01, I think it was, when they went 16 and one, this has got to be up there as one of the top. Not only is this team ridiculously underrated and overlooked, but they should even be in the argument for the greatest team in NBA history. The way that the passage of time has treated them is honestly a travesty, unless of course you believe they deserved it for their antics on the court, >> [music] >> and a lot of people would argue as much.

[00:10:38]So, what do you guys think? Are the 1989 Detroit Pistons [music] the deepest team in NBA history? And if not, what is a team that was deeper than them? I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments section below.

[00:10:50]I mean, Shout out to the members as always for supporting us.

[00:10:54]>> Absolutely, man. Great video. As uh I mean, outside of like the Spurs, it's hard for me to It's hard for me to really think. Cuz even like the '96 Bulls, I can't say they were they were the deepest team.

[00:11:06]Like cuz they The real quality coming off the bench was Toni Kukoč, but then after that, I mean, you got Bill Wennington. I mean, Steve Kerr, you could say, but he was kind of a liability on defense, especially back then.

[00:11:20]Um then you got like Jud Buechler and like Randy Brown and stuff, you know?

[00:11:25]Like not the greatest uh players, but I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Um Do they deserve to be a footnote in Jordan's career? No. Um but I think Isiah Thomas uh I think he ruined it, man. Because since Isiah Thomas retired, all he ever talks about is Jordan. You know what I mean? So, like by association, anybody who didn't live that era, they see Isiah as just Jordan hater and a guy who calls Jordan out all the time. So, by association, he is directly associating himself with Michael Jordan as opposed to talking about, you know, the back-to-back champion Bad Boy Pistons. He should be talking about his accomplishments more and less about Michael Jordan and how Michael Jordan feels. That's just the way I feel about the whole thing. I feel So, in other words, I feel like he's causing some on his own, but that being said, even though I'm a big Jordan fan, yeah, there are plenty of uh people, players, teams that have become footnotes in Jordan's career, you know?

[00:12:40]Like you know, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, you know, like all these guys now are like just associated with like, "Oh, yeah, MJ beat you in the finals." You know? So, it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it But yeah, I think it you make it a lot worse when you egg it on, you know? So, no but so, if you can't move on, nobody else moves on and it stays in our memory forever. So, anyways, you guys let me know what you think though, cuz it This is a really tough question just to think of on the spot here, and I keep just going back to one of those Spurs teams.

[00:13:17]Um And that's where my brain is settling, but I'll I'll I'll keep thinking as after I hit stop here. And uh I'm curious what you guys come up with as well. So, let me know in the comments who would be the deepest team in NBA history, according to you. All right, let's do it. Guys, like the video on the way out if you could, I'd appreciate you watching, and uh subscribe to the channel if you want more content like this, and most importantly, is to be water, my friends.

[00:13:42]Peace out.