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2003–04 Miami Heat Season
The 2003–04 NBA season was the 16th season for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association. This season saw the team draft future All-Star and 3-time NBA Champion Dwyane Wade with the fifth overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft, while acquiring forward Lamar Odom from the Los Angeles Clippers. Before the season began, head coach Pat Riley resigned, but he would later return midway in the 2005–06 season and help guide the Heat to their first ever NBA championship. Under new head coach Stan Van Gundy, the Heat stumbled out of the gate losing their first seven games. By the beginning of March, the team had a record of 25–36. However, the Heat rallied to win 17 of their last 21 games, finishing with a final record of 42–40. Despite the mediocre record, the Heat entered the playoffs as the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference. Wade had a stellar rookie season, averaging 16.2 points per game, and was selected to the All-Rookie First Team. The first round series pitted th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stan Van Gundy
Stanley Alan Van Gundy (born August 26, 1959) is an American former basketball coach who is a National Basketball Association (NBA) game analyst for TNT. Prior to TNT, Van Gundy was most recently the head coach for the New Orleans Pelicans of the NBA. He also served as the head coach and president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons from 2014 to 2018. From 2003 to 2005, he was the head coach of the Miami Heat but resigned in 2005 mid-season, turning the job over to Pat Riley. Van Gundy then coached the Orlando Magic for five seasons from 2007 to 2012, leading them to the 2009 NBA Finals. He is the older brother of former New York Knicks and Houston Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy. Playing career Van Gundy was a starting guard at Alhambra High School in Martinez, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. He played basketball for his father, Bill Van Gundy, at SUNY-Brockport, a Division III school, until he graduated in 1981 with a B.A. in English and a B.S. in Phys ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pat Riley
Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also served as the team's head coach from 1995 to 2003 and again from 2005 to 2008. Regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, Riley has won five NBA championships as a head coach, four with the Los Angeles Lakers during their Showtime era in the 1980s and one with the Heat in 2006. Riley is a nine-time NBA champion across his tenures as a player ( 1972), assistant coach (1980), head coach (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2006), and executive (2012, 2013). Riley was named NBA Coach of the Year three times ( 1989–90, 1992–93 and 1996–97, as head coach of the Lakers, New York Knicks and Heat, respectively). He was head coach of an NBA All-Star Game team nine times: eight times with the Western Conference team (1982, 1983, 1985 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2003–04 Detroit Pistons Season
The 2003–04 NBA season was the 63rd season for the Pistons, the 56th in the National Basketball Association, and the 47th in the Detroit area. Despite a solid year the previous season, the Pistons received the second overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft, which they obtained from the Memphis Grizzlies. They selected Darko Miličić as their top pick, but only used him as a reserve as he played limited minutes off the bench; he would later be regarded as one of the most suboptimal picks in the history of the NBA draft. After their first trip to the Conference Finals since 1991, the Pistons hired Larry Brown as head coach. Under Brown, the Pistons were once again a tough defensive team as they went on a 13-game winning streak between December and January. However, after a solid 33–16 start, they struggled in February losing six straight games. At midseason, the team acquired All-Star forward Rasheed Wallace from the Atlanta Hawks after playing just one game for them. With the addi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2004 NBA Finals
The 2004 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2003–04 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. This season's NBA Finals was contested between the Western Conference playoff champion Los Angeles Lakers and the Eastern Conference playoff champion Detroit Pistons. The Lakers held home court advantage, and the series was played under a best-of-seven format. Although the Lakers, headed by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, were considered the heavy favorites, the Pistons handily won the series in five games. This win marked the Pistons' fifth win overall as a franchise (including two NBL championships: in 1944 and 1945 as the Fort Wayne Pistons) as well as its first NBA title since two 1989–90 NBA championship seasons which was nearly fifteen years prior. The series ultimately featured the perceived underdog Pistons dominating a Lakers team composed of four future Hall of Famers. Pistons' owner William Davidson became t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2003–04 Los Angeles Lakers Season
The 2003–04 NBA season was the Lakers' 56th season in the National Basketball Association and 44th in the city of Los Angeles. The Lakers entered the season following a disappointing second-round loss to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs in the 2003 playoffs. During the offseason, the Lakers signed star free agents Karl Malone and Gary Payton and re-signed free agent power forward Horace Grant. Following these acquisitions, the Lakers became the instant favorites to win the NBA title. Despite major acquisitions, key moves, and becoming overnight title favorites, the Lakers would run into major setbacks to begin the season. During the 2003 off-season, superstar guard Kobe Bryant had been accused of sexual assault in Colorado. Media attention surrounding the case would prove to be an ongoing distraction for the team, and Bryant missed games during his trial. In addition, Bryant's feud with superstar center Shaquille O'Neal reached a peak during the season, as both players ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and scorers of all time, Bryant won five NBA championships, was an 18-time All-Star, a 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, a 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), and a two-time NBA Finals MVP. Bryant also led the NBA in scoring twice, and ranks fourth in league all-time regular season and postseason scoring. He was posthumously voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. The son of former NBA player Joe Bryant, he was born in Philadelphia and partly raised in Italy. Recognized as the top American high-school basketball player while at Philadelphia suburb Lower Merion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and centers of all time. He is a and center who played for six teams over his 19-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a four-time NBA champion. After playing college basketball for the LSU Tigers, O'Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He quickly became one of the best centers in the league, winning Rookie of the Year in 1992–93 and leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals. After four years with the Magic, O'Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. They won three consecutive championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Amid tension between O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, and his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2004–05 Los Angeles Lakers Season
The 2004–05 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 57th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and 45th in the city of Los Angeles. The previous season had ended with a crushing defeat in five games to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals, despite the Lakers being heavily favored. The 2004–05 season is best remembered as a tough one for the Lakers, winning only 34 games and missing the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. It was also the Lakers first season since 1995-96 without either center Shaquille O'Neal, who was traded to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, and future draft picks, or point guard Derek Fisher (who had signed a six year free agent contract with the Golden State Warriors), two instrumental players to the Lakers' previous three championship victories. The Lakers had the worst team defensive rating in the NBA. Phil Jackson was also fired in the offseason and replaced by former Houston Rockets hea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Grant
Brian Wade Grant (born March 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions for five teams during 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was known for his tenacious rebounding and blue-collar defense. During his career, he played with the Sacramento Kings (where he made First Team All-Rookie in the 1994–95 season), Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns. Early life Grant grew up in the small, rural community of Georgetown, Ohio, near the Ohio River about 40 miles southeast of Cincinnati. During summers, he spent most of his time working at area farms, cutting, housing, and stripping tobacco, digging potatoes and baling hay. He played basketball at Georgetown High School, mostly in anonymity until Xavier University's basketball office began receiving anonymous calls stating that they should take a look at Grant. Xavier assistant coach Dino Gaudio finally scouted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caron Butler
James Caron Butler (born March 13, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During a 14-year career he played for the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons, and Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Butler is a two-time NBA All-Star and was the 2002 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, while playing for the Connecticut Huskies. Early life Butler was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin, where he suffered through a rough childhood; he was a drug dealer at age 12 and arrested 15 times before the age of 15. Butler discovered his love for basketball while at a youth detention center. Butler played in Amateur Athletic Union basketball in 1998 and 1999. After a brief career at Racine Park High School, he enrolled ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2003–04 New Orleans Hornets Season
The 2003–04 NBA season was the Hornets' second season in the National Basketball Association. During the offseason, the Hornets signed free agent Steve Smith. Despite losing Jamal Mashburn for the first 44 games due to a knee injury, the Hornets got off to a solid 17–7 start to the season under new head coach Tim Floyd. However, they would struggle posting a losing record in January, and only managed to play .500 ball in February. Mashburn would return to play just 19 games averaging 20.8 points per game, but then re-injured his knee sitting out the rest of the season. The Hornets struggled losing 11 of their 16 games in March, but would rebound in April winning 4 of 7 games. Despite posting an average record of 41–41, the Hornets finished fifth in the Eastern Conference, and qualified for their fifth straight playoff appearance. This was also the team's final season in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Baron Davis was again hampered by injuries and he played just 67 games. Des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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