It should come as little surprise that two of the Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys" teams of the late 1980s ranked well in Kevin Pelton's list of the 50 greatest NBA teams.

Overall, the Pistons had three teams on the list, with the 1988-89 squad leading the way at No. 19. The '89-90 team a year later was ranked at No. 26 while the more recent 2003-04 team came in at No. 47.

About that '88-89 Detroit team. Led by Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer, the Pistons went 19-2 in the postseason on their way to an NBA title. In the Finals, they took advantage of a Los Angeles Lakers team hampered by injuries to Magic Johnson and Byron Scott to easily sweep the series.

Next season was more the same for Detroit, who claimed their second straight title. After the Chicago Bulls took them to Game 7 in the Eastern Conference finals, the Pistons were able to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers in five games for the championship. The series was a close affair -- with four of the games decided by six points or less -- but the Bad Boys ones again came out on top.

Finally, the '03-04 Pistons that brought home the franchise's third title cracked the bottom of Pelton's list for good reason. After acquiring Rasheed Wallace at the trade deadine, Detroit went 20-6 the rest of the season to make the playoffs, where they ran into trouble against the New Jersey Nets in the conference semifinals but prevailed.

Against the heavily favored Lakers in the Finals, the Pistons won four of five to finish their season on the highest of notes.

Read more about those Pistons teams and see Pelton's full list of the top 50 teams in NBA history (Insider).