Detroit Pistons productively protected their title in 1990. After cruising during the regular season and during the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Pistons team played a tough Eastern Conference Finals series next to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls before winning in seven games. Advancing to their third successive NBA Finals, the Pistons faced the Portland Trail Blazers. Following split the first two games at the Palace, the Pistons went to Portland, where Pistons had not won as 1974, to play Games 3, 4, and 5. The Pistons instantly won all three games in Portland , clinch the title in Game 5 when Vinnie Johnson sank an 18-Foot Jumper with 00.7 seconds left in the game (this shot earned Johnson a original nickname in Detroit , 007, along with his original name, The Microwave). Isiah Thomas was named NBA Finals MVP.

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The Pistons' finals run came to an end in the 1991 Eastern meeting Finals, when the Pistons team was defeated by the Chicago Bulls. After this, the permit went through a lengthy middle period, as key players either retired (Laimbeer in 1993 and Thomas in 1994) or were traded ( Edwards , Johnson , Salley, and Rodman among others). The Pistons team quickly declined on court, bottoming out in the 1993-1994 season when Pistons finished 20-62.

The Pistons team's fortunes better after that season, but the rebuilding process soon sputtered. This time stage saw the team make many questionable personnel decisions, such as the 1994 trade of Dennis Rodman to the San Antonio Spurs for Sean Elliott; the loss of gratis agent Allan Houston to the New York Knicks following the 1996 season; the signing of free agent wash-outs Christian Laettner, Loy Vaught, Cedric Ceballos, and the late Bison Dele; and many head coaching changes from Ron Rothstein to Don Chaney to Doug Collins to Alvin Gentry to George Irvine in an eight-year distance. The franchise even distorted its team colors from red, white, and blue to teal, maroon, and white in 1996 in what proved to be a extremely unpopular stir (this is known as the "teal era" by fans).

Grant Hill , who was drafted by the Pistons team in 1994, emerge as a gifted player and a perennial All-Star. Though, the team was unable to win a playoff series beneath his leadership, behind to the Orlando Magic in 1996, the Atlanta Hawks in 1997 and 1999.

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