The 2005 NBA Finals was the championship round of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA)'s 2004–05 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

played the Eastern Conference champion

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

for the title, with the Spurs holding

home court advantage In team sports, the term home advantage – also called home ground, home field, home-field advantage, home court, home-court advantage, defender's advantage or home-ice advantage – describes the benefit that the home team is said to gai ...

and the Pistons as defending champions. The series was played under a best-of-seven format. (Unlike the previous three rounds, the team with home court advantage hosted games one, two, six, and seven if all were necessary). It also marked the Pistons' first NBA Finals loss since

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. The Spurs won the series four games to three in the first NBA Finals to go to a Game 7 since

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. The games were broadcast on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, with

Al Michaels Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television sportscaster currently working as the play-by-play announcer for ''Thursday Night Football'' on Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on netwo ...

and

Hubie Brown Hubert Jude Brown (born September 25, 1933) is an American retired basketball coach and player and a current television analyst. Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the honors being separated by 26 years. Brown was inducted into the Naism ...

commentating. National radio coverage was provided by

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN". ...

through announcers Jim Durham and Dr. Jack Ramsay.

Background

This series was not only the first matchup of the previous two NBA champions since the 1987 Finals (Lakers d. Celtics, 4–2), it was a match up of the two premier defensive teams of that era: from the 2002–03 season to the 2004–05 season, the Spurs and Pistons routinely finished in the top three in Points Allowed: in 2003, Detroit was #1 and San Antonio #3; in 2004, the teams finished in a tie for the #1 spot; in 2005, the Spurs were #1 and the Pistons were #2. The Spurs were considered more capable of playing at a faster pace, as evidenced by their convincing win against the high-scoring Phoenix Suns during the Western Conference Finals. However, both teams performed exceptionally well when scoring over 100 points (Detroit was 22–3, San Antonio was 28–2). Going into the 2005 Finals, the Spurs had won two championships (

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

and

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

), while Detroit had three (

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

). The 2004 Championship was considered a major upset by some sportswriters because of the Lakers' big name talent. Others saw the result as fully legitimate, pointing out that Detroit's defense outplayed the Lakers' offense. Further, the balanced Detroit offense proved especially difficult to deal with when Karl Malone's injured knee left the Lakers without a reliable presence to slow down the Pistons' Rasheed Wallace. Many thought that a contributing factor to the Lakers' loss was the well-publicized tension between superstars

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 greates ...

and

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 r ...

. Both the Spurs and the Pistons were ranked number two in their respective conferences, with the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

ranked number one in the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

and the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

ranked number one in the

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

. Sportswriters all across the country generally considered this one of the few ''too-close-to-call'' series to occur. Most picked the series to go to six or seven games. The Spurs breezed through the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

with relative ease, compared to the Pistons. They defeated the

Nuggets Nuggets may refer to: Music * ''Nuggets'' (series), a series of compilation albums by Elektra Records, continued by Rhino * '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968'' * '' Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from ...

4–1 to open the playoffs, winning four straight after losing the home opener. They then defeated the SuperSonics within six games the following series.

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

was expected by many to put up a challenge, but the Spurs won the series easily, four games to one. The Pistons had a slightly tougher road back to the Finals. The opening round was a fairly easy five-game victory over

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Next, the Pistons faced the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

, one of the NBA's most resilient teams. Indiana was expected by most experts to falter and miss the playoffs after the

Pacers–Pistons brawl The Malice at the Palace (also known as the Pacers–Pistons brawl) occurred during a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the Indiana Pacers and the defending champion Detroit Pistons on Friday, November 19, 2004, at The Palace ...

; however, led by retiring Pacers legend

Reggie Miller Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played his entire 18-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Indiana Pacers. Miller was known for his precision three-p ...

, the Pacers still made the playoffs and unexpectedly won their first-round series against the Atlantic Division champion

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. The Pacers mounted a formidable challenge but after a Game Six loss, Reggie Miller's storied 18-year career was over. With the series ending in Indianapolis, Miller was treated to a prolonged standing ovation from the

Conseco Fieldhouse CNO Financial Group, Inc. (formerly Conseco, Inc. (from Consolidated National Security Corporation)) is a financial services holding company based in Carmel, Indiana. Its insurance subsidiaries provide life insurance, annuity and supplemental ...

crowd. Detroit's next opponent was the East #1 seed

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, led by superstars

Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (; born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Wade spent the majority of his 16-year career playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and won three NBA champi ...

and

. After winning Game One, the Pistons fell behind 2-1 after three games and 3-2 after five games. By winning Game Six on their home court, the Pistons forced a Game Seven. In Game Seven, Detroit overcame the odds to beat the Heat at

American Airlines Arena FTX Arena (known as American Airlines Arena from 1999 to 2021) is a multi-purpose arena located in Miami, Florida, along Biscayne Bay. It was constructed beginning in 1998 as a replacement for the Miami Arena and designed by the architecture f ...

, and thus advanced to the NBA Finals for the second straight year.

Road to the Finals

Regular season series

Both teams split the two meetings, each won by the home team:

Series summary

Features

This was the first NBA Finals to have the sticker version of the

Larry O'Brien Trophy The Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy is the championship trophy awarded annually by the National Basketball Association (NBA) to the winner of the NBA Finals. The trophy originally kept the Walter A. Brown Trophy name of its predecessor u ...

adorn the center court (team logo still visible in the middle), with the NBA Finals wordmark logo on opposite ends of the court. This remained in effect until the

2009 NBA Finals The 2009 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2008–09 season. The best-of-seven playoff was contested between the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers (who were also the defending ...

; the position of the O'Brien trophy was modified for the 2007 NBA Finals.

Rosters

San Antonio Spurs

Detroit Pistons

Game summaries

:''All times are in

Eastern Daylight Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...

( UTC−4). If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.''

Game 1

Manu Ginóbili Emanuel David Ginóbili Maccari (, , ; born 28 July 1977) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. Over a 23-year professional career, he became one of only two players (along with Bill Bradley) to have won a EuroLeague title, an ...

was the star of Game 1, turning in a virtuoso performance in the fourth quarter to lead the Spurs to victory. Ginobili scored 15 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to complement a huge game by Tim Duncan (24 points, 17 rebounds). Ginobili, who in the previous summer led Argentina in points and assists en route to Olympic gold, took over in the final period. He scored eight points in a decisive 12–2 surge that gave the Spurs a 67–55 lead, then throttled a push by the Pistons with a swooping dunk, 3-pointer and running hook for an 81–67 advantage with less than two minutes to go. Having been idle for a week, the Spurs opened the game in lackluster fashion – in the first eight minutes the Spurs trailed 19–7 – but were able to fight back and stabilize the game. It may have happened that Detroit's more recent play led to fourth quarter fatigue which enabled the Spurs' strong fourth quarter; in any case, the Spurs prevailed in the first contest.

Game 2

The resilient Detroit Pistons were expected to play a stronger Game 2 in response to their fourth-quarter letdown in Game 1. Exactly the opposite occurred. From the opening tip, Game 2 was all San Antonio as the Spurs got out to a quick lead and never looked back. The Spurs took advantage of Detroit's uncharacteristic mistakes throughout the night, which included missing nine shots from inside four feet from the basket. While the Pistons went cold (0-6) from behind the three-point line, the Spurs made 11 3-pointers, including four each by Manu Ginóbili and

Bruce Bowen Bruce Eric Bowen Jr. (born June 14, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player. Bowen played small forward and graduated from Edison High School and Cal State Fullerton. He went on to play for the National Basketball Association' ...

, who did not score a point in Game 1. Ginobili again led the Spurs with a 27 points, while Tim Duncan finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Antonio McDyess was the high scorer for Detroit, scoring 15 points off the bench. The 2–0 lead was a big advantage for San Antonio. In the history of the NBA, the team with home-court advantage started a series with a 2–0 lead 153 times. On just seven occasions, the trailing team rebounded to win the series.

Game 3

In NBA history, only two teams had ever won a Finals series after facing a 2–0 deficit—the

in the

1969 NBA Finals The 1969 NBA World Championship Series to determine the champion of the 1968–69 NBA season was played between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, the Lakers being heavily favored due to the presence of three formidable stars: Elgin Ba ...

and the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

in the 1977 NBA Finals—however, just one year later the

would accomplish this feat against the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

in the

2006 NBA Finals The 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005–06 NBA season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks were favored to win the championship over the Miami Heat. Despite these odds, the Heat won the title in ...

. With that task looming ahead, the Pistons responded in tremendous fashion. Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton combined for 44 points, while Ben Wallace (15 pts, 11 reb, 5 blk, 3 stl) together with Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess harassed Tim Duncan into a 5–15 shooting night. The Pistons dominated the second half, outscoring the Spurs 55–37. The Pistons became the first team to score more than 90 points in a Finals game against the Spurs during this game.

Game 4

The pattern of the first two games held up in games 3 and 4: home team wins big in the first one and even bigger in the second. And Game 4 was the most lopsided of all during the 2005 NBA Finals; the Pistons' 102 points were the only time either team reached triple digits in the series. Seven Pistons scored in double figures, especially efficient bench performances by

Lindsey Hunter Lindsey Benson Hunter Jr. (born December 3, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1993 to 2010, spending most of his career with the Detroit Pistons. He ...

and Antonio McDyess. In 22 minutes, Hunter scored 17 points and dished out 5 assists; McDyess scored 13 and grabbed 7 rebounds in just 19 minutes. Conversely, only three Spurs scored in double figures (Ginobili, Duncan, Parker), and among all Spurs attempting five or more field goals, only Tony Parker (6-13, 46.2% shooting) managed to surpass the 45% mark. Collectively, the Spurs shot 37% and committed 17 turnovers to the Pistons' NBA Finals-record four. Hunter's and Billups' 17 points were the fewest to lead an NBA Finals game since

George Yardley George Harry Yardley III (November 3, 1928 – August 12, 2004) was an American basketball player. He was the first player in NBA history to score 2,000 points in one season, breaking the 1,932-point record held by George Mikan. Yardley was ens ...

of the Fort Wayne Pistons led all scorers with 16 points in the fifth game of the 1955 NBA Finals.

Game 5

With the first four games of the 2005 Finals being blowouts by the home team, Game 5 was the close game everyone was waiting for, and it went down as one of the more memorable games in Finals history. The game was closely contested by throughout the night as the lead changed 12 separate times, and the game was tied on 18 occasions. Regulation was not enough to settle this game, so the game went into overtime. The Pistons streaked out to a quick lead in the first few minutes of overtime, and seemed to have the game in hand. However, a missed layup by Chauncey Billups with Detroit ahead 95–93 with nine seconds left San Antonio with a chance. On the Spurs' next possession,

Robert Horry Robert Keith Horry (; born August 25, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player and current sports commentator. He played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning seven championships, the most of any pla ...

inbounded the ball to Ginobili, who headed for the left corner and dished it right back to Horry. Rasheed Wallace had left Horry to double-team Ginobili, and Horry was left alone to sink the game-winning basket with 5.8 seconds remaining in the OT. Horry was already famous for nailing last-second shots in the playoffs, including Game Four of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. Horry went 5 for 6 from beyond the arc, including the game-winner, and scored 21 points coming off the bench. He hadn't scored a point until the final play of the 3rd quarter. He carried the team in the fourth quarter and overtime as his teammates struggled with the weight of a must-win game on the road against an accomplished adversary. In addition to the game-winning three-pointer, late in overtime Horry made a spectacular left-handed dunk while being fouled as the shot clock wound down. Tim Duncan, despite struggling from the free-throw line, finished with 26 points and 19 rebounds for the Spurs. Chauncey Billups was the high scorer for the Pistons, finishing with a game-high 34 points in the losing effort.

Game 6

Game 6 was a close game all along, and the lead kept fluctuating between the two teams. Again, the leading stars on both teams played big games. Detroit pulled away early in the fourth for an 80–73 lead with five minutes to go, but the Spurs continued to threaten them. Soon, it was back to a one-point game. Then, Rasheed Wallace planted a three-pointer to pull away, and even with a resilient game by the Spurs, the Pistons had clinched the victory. Nevertheless, several Pistons free throws were necessary in the final moments of the game to put a win out of reach for the Spurs.

Rasheed Wallace Rasheed Abdul Wallace (born September 17, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. A native of Philadelphia, Wallace played college basketball at the University of North Carolina before declaring for the draft in 199 ...

had a big game to atone for the mistake he made for leaving Horry open in Game 5. Despite his mistake, Wallace was nonchalant about the play, even commenting incorrectly that he left Horry to guard Duncan. Billups and

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

again led the Pistons with steady, unwavering defense, which is the key, as it is often said, to victory. Although Duncan and Ginobili finished with 21 points each, neither was able to seriously threaten the strong Pistons defense enough to win the game. Detroit thus won its fifth consecutive game facing elimination. The Pistons became the first road team to force a Game 7 in the NBA Finals.

Game 7

For the first time in eleven years, the NBA Finals came down to a decisive Game 7. Momentum was on Detroit's side, but the Spurs had home-court advantage. The Pistons were looking to become the first team to ever win the last two games on the road after being down 3–2. NBA history was heavily in favor of the Spurs, who were looking to celebrate a title at the SBC Center for the second time in three years. NBA teams are 74–17 all-time at home in Game 7, and 9-0 when leading 3–2 going home. Entering this game, the Pistons tied the 1994 New York Knicks for most games played in a single postseason, with 25. The

broke this record during their championship season of 2008. Like the previous two games of the series, Game 7 was closely contested throughout, but the Spurs fell into a nine-point deficit with 7:45 left in the third quarter. Though Tim Duncan was for much of the series unable to shoot for a high percentage against Detroit's front line, he led the Spurs out of that nine-point hole. In the final 7:45 of the third quarter, Duncan scored 10 of the teams' 18 final third quarter points and the game was tied to start the fourth. Behind clutch plays from Tim Duncan and Manu Ginóbili, the Spurs took control of the fourth quarter to earn an 81–74 victory, clinching the franchise's third

. For the game, Tim Duncan finished with a game high 25 points and 11 rebounds, while teammate Manu Ginóbili pitched in with 23 points. Richard Hamilton, with 15 points, was the high scorer for the Pistons, who fell just short of winning back-to-back championships. Tim Duncan won his third

NBA Finals MVP Award The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award (formerly known as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1969 NBA Finals. The award is decided by a panel of e ...

. Manu Ginóbili, Tony Parker, and Bruce Bowen each received their second championship ring, while Robert Horry became only the second player in NBA history (

John Salley John Thomas Salley (born May 16, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player, talk show host, and actor. He was the first player in NBA history to win championships with three franchises (since joined by Robert Horry, Danny Green ...

being the first) to play on championship teams for three different franchises. Sean Marks became the first New Zealander to win a championship ring.

Player statistics

;San Antonio Spurs , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 0 , , 20.6 , , .407 , , .375 , , .800 , , 2.1 , , 1.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 38.7 , , .380 , , .448 , , .667 , , 2.7 , , 2.0 , , 0.6 , , 0.7 , , 7.9 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 5.8 , , .273 , , .500 , , .571 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.8 , -! style="background:#FDE910;" , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 40.7 , , .419 , , .000 , , .667 , , 14.1 , , 2.1 , , 0.4 , , 2.1 , , 20.6 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 36.0 , , .494 , , .387 , , .854 , , 5.9 , , 4.0 , , 1.3 , , 0.1 , , 18.7 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 0 , , 28.6 , , .444 , , .484 , , .733 , , 4.9 , , 2.1 , , 1.0 , , 0.7 , , 10.6 , - , align="left" , , , 3 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 22.6 , , .433 , , .000 , , .727 , , 6.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.9 , , 4.9 , - , align="left" , , , 4 , , 0 , , 6.5 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.5 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 38.1 , , .458 , , .143 , , .438 , , 2.4 , , 3.4 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 13.9 , - , align="left" , , , 3 , , 0 , , 4.7 , , .200 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.7 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 8.8 , , .364 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 2.4 ;Detroit Pistons , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , .500 , , 0.2 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 2.2 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 40.1 , , .434 , , .297 , , .909 , , 5.0 , , 6.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 20.4 , - , align="left" , , , 1 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 1.6 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 2.2 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.4 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 42.0 , , .386 , , .167 , , .750 , , 5.3 , , 2.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 16.7 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 0 , , 19.7 , , .381 , , .000 , , .875 , , 1.9 , , 2.7 , , 1.3 , , 0.1 , , 5.6 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 0 , , 21.9 , , .508 , , .000 , , .556 , , 7.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.9 , , 1.1 , , 10.1 , - , align="left" , , , 3 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.7 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 39.1 , , .382 , , .111 , , .857 , , 4.9 , , 2.6 , , 1.4 , , 0.6 , , 10.1 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 40.0 , , .569 , , .000 , , .429 , , 10.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.7 , , 3.0 , , 10.7 , - , align="left" , , , 7 , , 7 , , 32.7 , , .438 , , .294 , , .250 , , 5.6 , , 1.9 , , 2.0 , , 2.4 , , 10.9

Broadcasting

The games were broadcast exclusively on ABC in the US. The featured song, aired throughout the

, was Rob Thomas' "

This Is How A Heart Breaks "This Is How a Heart Breaks" is the second single from Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas's debut album, '' ...Something to Be'' (2005). Released in June 2005, the song was moderately successful on the charts, peaking at number 52 in the Unite ...

." Game 3 had a

Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...

percentage of only 7.2% of households and cumulating to a 7.1 average for the first three games, 32% lower than the average of the first three 2004 NBA Finals games. While all seven games were the top-rated shows of their nights, the average viewership of the 2005 Finals (11.5 million viewers, 7.6 rating/14 share) decreased from the average of the 2004 Finals (17.9 million, 11.5/20). The 2003 Finals averaged 9.8 million viewers and 6.5/12. The 2005 Finals would be Michaels' last major NBA assignment with ABC, though he remained with the network until after

Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...

in February 2006. Shortly after ABC's NFL TV contract ended, Michaels moved to

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

to become the lead voice of Sunday Night Football. ABC's lead position was eventually filled by

Mike Breen Michael Breen (born May 22, 1961) is an American play-by-play sports commentator for '' NBA on ABC'' and is the lead announcer for New York Knicks games on the MSG Network. Breen also calls NBA games for ESPN and was formerly a play-by-play anno ...

Aftermath

The Spurs won a franchise-record 63 victories to clinch the top seed in the West in the

2005–06 NBA season The 2005–06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association. The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, four games to two to win their first NBA championship. Notable occurrences * A new league dr ...

. However, for the third time they were unable to win consecutive championships, bowing to their Texas rivals, the

, in Game Seven of the Conference Semifinals. The Mavs would go on to lose in the

. The Spurs did win the 2007 NBA Finals (the Mavericks, with a 67–15 record, were eliminated by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

in the first round) the following year, their fourth as a franchise, and won again in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. , this was the Pistons last appearance in the NBA Finals. Head coach Larry Brown sought and succeeded in buying out his contract as head coach after the season. He eventually ended up coaching for his hometown

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

, but would only win 23 games in the 2006 season. Brown eventually left after the season, and two years later Brown resurfaced, this time coaching the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous ...

, where he would lead them to the playoffs in his second year. The Pistons, guided by new coach

Flip Saunders Philip Daniel "Flip" Saunders (February 23, 1955 – October 25, 2015) was an American basketball player and coach. During his career, he coached the La Crosse Catbirds, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, and Washington Wizards. High schoo ...

, won a franchise-record 64 wins and seemed primed to regain the NBA title. However, Detroit fell in six games to the

, who would go on and win the 2006 NBA title. Franchise centerpiece Ben Wallace abruptly left for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

, yet the Pistons still made the Conference Finals the next

two 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

seasons A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

, losing to the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

and

, respectively. Finally, the remaining core of the team was dismantled at the start of the 2008-09 NBA season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:2005 Nba Finals National Basketball Association Finals

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

21st century in San Antonio 2005 in Detroit 2005 in sports in Texas Sports competitions in Detroit Sports competitions in San Antonio 2005 in sports in Michigan