The 2004 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2003–04 National Basketball
Association season. The Finals were between the Los Angeles Lakers of the
Western Conference and the Detroit Pistons of the Eastern Conference; the
Lakers held home court advantage. The series was played under a best-of-seven
format, so the first team to collect four game victories would win the
series. Although the Lakers were the heavy
favorite, the Pistons won the series four games to one to win their first
title since 1990 and their fifth overall. Piston point guard Chauncey
Billups was named the Finals MVP of the series. The series was noted for the
perceived underdog, the Pistons, dominating a Laker team that had four
future Hall of Famers. Pistons owner William Davidson became
the first owner in sports history to win two championships in one year. Eight
days earlier, the other team that Davidson owned, the Tampa Bay Lightning
of the National Hockey League had won the Stanley Cup in seven games over the
Calgary Flames. Background
= Los Angeles Lakers= The Lakers had won consecutive
championships from 2000 to 2002, but lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the
Western Conference playoffs in 2003 to end their streak at three.
In the 2003 offseason, the Lakers made major changes, with initially varying
results. Needing to find a point guard and a power forward to defend against
Tim Duncan and the Spurs, the Lakers signed veteran stars Gary Payton and
Karl Malone for well below market value; they also hoped to give both veterans
their first championship ring. The Lakers were afterwards considered the
favorites to win the NBA title. During the regular season, after
starting the season 18–3, the Lakers were afflicted by numerous injuries and
stumbled to a 56–26 record to finish the season with the second seed in the
Western Conference. The Lakers breezed past their
first-round opponent, the Houston Rockets, headlining a matchup between
Shaquille O'Neal and a young Yao Ming, defeating the squad 4-1 but then lost
the first two games in their series against the Spurs before a dramatic
comeback that saw them win 4–2. Then, they faced the Minnesota Timberwolves
and their superstar forward Kevin Garnett. The Lakers won the series 4–2
to advance to the Finals. = Detroit Pistons=
The Pistons won two back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990, but with
retirements and departures of several stars, they faded from playoff
prominence. The team hired former star Joe Dumars as general manager of the
team in 2000, and he began stockpiling draft picks and trading players. He
landed defensive stalwart Ben Wallace and guard Richard Hamilton by trading
established stars in controversial trades, signed Chauncey Billups, and
drafted Tayshaun Prince with the 23rd pick in the 2002 Draft. He was named the
NBA Executive of the Year in 2003 for returning the Pistons to prominence.
The Pistons made a major change as well, but perhaps a riskier change, firing
head coach Rick Carlisle, who had led the Pistons to two consecutive Central
Division titles and had received the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 2002. In his
place, Dumars hired legendary coach Larry Brown, who had most recently led
the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2001.
In a three-team trade at the trade deadline, Dumars traded Chucky Atkins,
Lindsey Hunter, Bobby Sura, Željko Rebrača and other considerations for
guard Mike James and forward Rasheed Wallace, who proved to be the final
pieces of the championship team. The Pistons, who were already a good
defensive team, became a defensive force to be reckoned with. They became the
first team in NBA history to hold five consecutive opponents under 70 points,
and finished the season with a 54–28 record and the third seed in the Eastern
Conference. The Pistons easily overcame the
Milwaukee Bucks 4–1, but struggled against the New Jersey Nets and narrowly
escaped 4–3. In a defensive series with Indiana, the Pistons offense proved more
productive and they won 4–2 to advance to the NBA Finals.
= Road to the Finals= = Regular season series=
The teams split the two meetings, each won by the home team:
Starting Lineups Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame ‡
Roster Series summary
The Finals were played using a 2–3–2 site format, where the first two and
last two games are held at the team with home court advantage. This is only used
in the Finals; all other playoff games are held in a 2–2–1–1–1 format.
The Pistons became the fourth team to sweep the middle three games since the
NBA started using the 2-3-2 format in 1985. But they became the first to do so
at home; the previous three times this had occurred it was done by road teams.
With this, Detroit became the only team to have both swept the middle three
games at home and on the road. This was the first Finals series to be
played on the current Sunday–Tuesday–Thursday rotation since
1990, the last year CBS had the NBA's national television contract. NBA on NBC
switched to a Wednesday-Friday-Sunday rotation in 1991, which was used through
2003, save for Monday games in 1999 and 2000. It is also the last series to have
Game 1 be played on a Sunday. From 2005 to 2010, the championship series started
on either the first or second Thursday in June.
= Features= The NBA heavily publicized the series as
it has done with all other NBA Finals series. There was a sentiment among fans
that the Pistons were the clear underdogs, and many described the series
as a David vs. Goliath match-up. The Lakers had a lineup of Stars such as
Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal—their offensive
capability was expected to overpower Detroit's defensive-based game plan.
Payton and Malone also added to the publicity of the Finals. Perennial
All-Stars who had both previously reached the Finals, Payton had led the
Seattle SuperSonics there in 1996, while Malone had led the Utah Jazz there in
1997 and 1998. However, Michael Jordan and the Bulls denied them championship
rings a total of three times. By the time of Jordan's second retirement in
1998, the two veterans were aged and failed to lead their teams deep into the
playoffs. It would be Malone's final chance to win a championship, as he
would retire before the subsequent season.
Game Summaries All times are in Eastern Daylight Time
= Game One= Considered to be a stunning upset by
most of the NBA world, the Detroit Pistons managed to defeat the Lakers
with imposing defense. Defensively clamping down on everyone but Bryant and
O'Neal, the Pistons managed to hold everyone else to a total of 16 points.
The Pistons trailed the Lakers 41–40 at halftime, but by the fourth quarter the
Pistons had opened up a 13 point lead; they would not trail for the rest of the
game. = Game Two=
The second game wasn't close throughout the first half, but in the third quarter
the Pistons scored 30 points, cutting the deficit 68–66. Detroit led by three
points with 10.9 seconds remaining in the final period. Coach Brown wanted to
foul a Lakers player where they could get only 2 points rather than 3.
However, the Pistons' veterans only wanted to intentionally foul O'Neal.
Kobe Bryant's 3-point shot with 2.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter would
force overtime, where the Pistons would make only one two-point field goal.
Afterwards, on the team bus back to the airport, Billups told the Pistons'
players and coaches, "We're not coming back to L.A."
= Game Three= The Pistons beat Los Angeles by 20 in
their first NBA Finals appearance together at The Palace of Auburn Hills
since 1989 to take a 2–1 lead in the series. The 68 points scored by the
Lakers set a franchise record for the lowest number of points scored in a
playoff game. = Game Four=
Again, the Pistons defeated the Lakers, although this time by eight, to take a
3–1 series advantage. O'Neal scored 36 for the Lakers and
Bryant scored 20 but shot 32 percent from the field.
Malone would play his last game, as a knee injury would not allow him to dress
in Game Five. = Game Five=
In Game 5, the Pistons won their first championship since 1990, and Larry Brown
finally won a professional title. The Pistons defense had overcome the
high-scoring Laker offense, winning the game by 13, winning the series 4-1, and
also ending a long Laker dynasty that lasted for many years. The game saw the
end of Phil Jackson's first run as the coach, and saw O'Neal, Payton, and
Malone's last games in Laker uniforms. Player statistics
Detroit Pistons Los Angeles Lakers
Broadcast notes The games were broadcast on ABC by Al
Michaels and Doc Rivers. Brent Musburger and Dr. Jack Ramsay broadcast the Finals
nationally on ESPN Radio. The finals were shown on Sky Sports in the UK and
Ireland. In Canada, Leafs TV and RDS simulcast ABC, and Azteca 13 broadcast
the Finals in Mexico. To promote the series, the NBA used The
Black Eyed Peas' song "Let's Get It Started", which it had also used
throughout the 2004 NBA Playoffs. Aftermath
The Pistons made the Finals again in 2005, losing to the Spurs in a tough
seven-game series. That season, the Pistons won 54 games and defeated the
Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat on their way back to the
finals. However the Spurs, who likewise play a defensive style, would defeat
them in a tough Game 7. The Pistons would continue their run of Eastern
Conference superiority for 3 more years, losing in the Conference Finals each
time. After a loss to the Boston Celtics in the 2007-08 season, management would
finally break up the core of the team and enter a period of dormancy.
The Lakers' collapse became apparent in the days following the Finals. Head
coach Phil Jackson abruptly resigned as head coach. Shaquille O'Neal was traded
to the Miami Heat, then Gary Payton was also traded and Karl Malone was left
unsigned, then retired. The 2004-05 NBA season was a tough one for the Lakers,
winning only 34 games and missed the playoffs for only the fifth time in the
team's history. Jackson returned to the Lakers in the offseason; despite writing
a book called The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul, in which he voiced
disdain for Kobe Bryant by calling him 'uncoachable', he and Bryant would bury
the hatchet once the season began. Jackson and Bryant would later produce
three more NBA Finals appearances and two more NBA championships in six
seasons before Jackson retired at the conclusion of the 2011 NBA Playoffs.
Meanwhile, O'Neal, along with Payton and Dwyane Wade of the Heat, won the 2006
championship. The Pistons' win was the 21st
championship among the four professional sports teams in Detroit. The Red Wings
made it 22 upon winning the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals.
References External links
Official website at the Wayback Machine