Description
June 3, 1988 - On the brink of history, the Detroit Pistons packed close to 40,000 basketball fanatics into the Pontiac Silverdome for Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Finals showdown. With Detroit's first ever NBA Finals appearance on the line, the Pistons utilized a raucous home-court advantage to gain and hold a double-digit lead for much of the second half, culminating in a 95-90 series-clinching win over the Boston Celtics.
Opened in 1975 to primarily serve as the home of the Detroit Lions, the Pontiac Silverdome was the largest stadium in the NFL until 2000, holding over 80,000 fans. The Pistons left Cobo Arena for the Silverdome in 1978, regularly struggling to fill even a fraction of its basketball capacity through the Dick Vitale and Scotty Robertson eras.
By 1988, the Pistons were legitimate title contenders and suddenly no capacity felt unfillable, with the stadium maxing out at over 60,000 fans for a matchup with the Boston Celtics in January. While they didn't approach those numbers in Game 6, the enthusiasm of a crowd on the verge of NBA Finals-induced euphoria helped bridge the gap.
The 1987-88 season was the Pistons' last in Pontiac. The Pistons moved into their own arena—The Palace of Auburn Hills—for '88-'89.
Additional Notes:
-There's a Bob Seger sighting at 2:53
-There's a Stevie Wonder sighting at 4:01
-The Pointer Sisters' "I'm So Excited" and Billy Idol's "Mony, Mony" were certified Silverdome classics at the time, both which can be heard at different points of the clip above.
Box Score: https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198806030DET.html