Detroit Pistons vs. Milwaukee Bucks: A History of the Midwest Rivalry

When Do the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons Play Next?

Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons tickets can be found on their respective team pages, along with schedule information.

Are the Milwaukee Bucks and the Detroit Pistons Rivals?

The Milwaukee Bucks and the Detroit Pistons are division rivals and have been for decades. They have clashed in the playoffs five times.

Who Are the Milwaukee Bucks’ Biggest Rivals?

The Milwaukee Bucks have a heated rivalry with the Chicago Bulls, another member of the Eastern Conference Central Division. Milwaukee and Chicago are less than 100 miles away from one another, making the Bulls the closest rival in proximity to Milwaukee. They have also met in the playoffs five times, with the Bucks winning three series. The Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers also have a strong playoff history and the Boston Celtics are usually battling the Bucks for a top seed in the East.

Who Are the Detroit Pistons’ Biggest Rivals?

Thanks to the storied history of the Pistons, they have multiple rivals. The Bulls are also a rival of the Pistons, as the rise of the 1990s Bulls dynasty marked the end of the championship run for the Pistons. The “Bad Boys” Pistons teams, with Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, and Bill Laimbeer, went to the NBA finals three straight years from 1988–1990 and beat the Bulls in each run to get there. But in 1991, the Bulls broke through and swept the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals, which began a string of three consecutive NBA Championships for Chicago.

The Pistons also have a rivalry with the Celtics, who they’ve met in the playoffs eight times. The Larry Bird-led Celtics won multiple championships in the 1980s and had to go through the Pistons to reach the Finals multiple times. But the Pistons earned revenge at the end of the decade, topping the Celtics twice to reach the Finals. The Celtics also beat the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2008 en route to winning a championship.

Game Results Between the Bucks and Pistons

The Bucks and Pistons battled on November 8 in Milwaukee in the first of four meetings this season. The two teams will play again in Milwaukee on December 16 before playing back-to-back games in Detroit on January 20 and 22, 2024.

Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons History

The two teams have met a total of 280 times in their histories. The Bucks lead the overall series, 153-127, but the Pistons have won more in the postseason with four series victories in five tries. When both teams were in the Western Conference, they met in the first round of the 1976 postseason, with the Pistons winning the series. The Bucks and Pistons met again in the 1989 Eastern Conference Semifinals, with Detroit sweeping the series en route to the team’s first championship.

The teams didn’t meet again in the postseason until the 2004 playoffs, when the Pistons beat the Bucks in the first round. The same result occurred in 2006, but the Bucks finally got their first playoff series win over the Pistons in 2019 with a four-game sweep.

Coming into the 2023–24 season, the Bucks have won the past five meetings, including sweeping all four games in the 2022–2023 season.

Where Do the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons Play?

The Milwaukee Bucks play at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Home to both the Bucks and Marquette University’s men’s basketball team, it also hosts concerts, events, and more.

The Detroit Pistons play at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. It’s home to the Pistons and the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL.