LEGENDARY
#1/44 LE
Jun 14 1990
Championship Season
Championship Year
Championship Season
Championship Year
Vinny Johnson had earned his nickname by pouring in points faster than any reserve the league had seen, and with 0.7 seconds left in Game 5 of the 1990 NBA Finals, "The Microwave" delivered his greatest burst. The Detroit Pistons and Portland Trail Blazers had traded punches across four previous games, but it came down to this: Johnson catching a pass, squaring up, and burying a jumper before Portland could exhale. The shot gave Detroit a 92-90 victory and their second consecutive NBA championship, completing a back-to-back run built on physicality, defensive menace, and reserves who could close out the biggest moments of a postseason run. Johnson was the embodiment of the Bad Boys' depth, a scorer capable of igniting at any moment from the bench and changing the complexion of a game in seconds. His final stat line on June 14, 1990 put Detroit's name on two consecutive championship banners.
