The

2003–04 NBA season The 2003–04 NBA season was the 58th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Detroit Pistons defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 in the 2004 NBA Finals. Events This was the last season for the original two-div ...

was the 63rd season for the Pistons, the 56th in 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 St ...

, and the 47th in the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

area. Despite a solid year the previous season, the Pistons received the second overall pick in the

2003 NBA draft The 2003 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2003, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The NBA announced that 41 college and high school players and a record 31 international players had filed as early-entry candidates ...

, which they obtained from the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

. They selected

Darko Miličić Darko Miličić ( sr-cyrl, Дарко Миличић, ; born June 20, 1985) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. He is , and played the center position. Miličić played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2003 to 2013 ...

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 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, 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 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 ...

from the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

after playing just one game for them. With the addition of Wallace, the Pistons won 16 of their final 19 games finishing second in the Central Division with a 54–28 record. Ben Wallace was selected for the

2004 NBA All-Star Game The 2004 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 15, 2004, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, home of the Lakers and Clippers. This game was the 53rd edition of the North American National Basketball A ...

. The Pistons went on to win the NBA Championship for the third time in franchise history, with Miličić being the youngest player to win said championship. In the first round of 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 eit ...

, the Pistons defeated the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

in five games despite losing Game 2 at home. In the semifinals, they faced the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

who swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals in the previous year. The Pistons would win the first two games at home, but the Nets would put up a fight against the Pistons by winning 3 straight games to take a 3–2 series lead, which included a triple overtime win in Game 5 at The Palace. However, with the Pistons facing elimination, the Pistons were digging an early hole in Game 6, but the Pistons were able to erase a 13–2 deficit and never trailed for the remainder of the game as they would refuse to relinquish the lead to the Nets and win Game 6 81–75. In Game 7, the Pistons stingy defense held

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest point guards a ...

to 0 points to defeat the Nets 90–69 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they defeated the top-seeded Indiana Pacers in a defensive six game series to earn their first appearance in the NBA Finals since

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 humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

. In the Finals, the Pistons would pull off one of the greatest upsets in NBA history by defeating the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers four games to one, winning their third overall championship and first since

Chauncey Billups Chauncey Ray Billups (born September 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 17 seasons in the NBA. Afte ...

was named Finals MVP.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , April 18 ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

W 108–82
, Richard Hamilton (21) , Ben Wallace (14) , Richard Hamilton (8) ,

The Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly referred to as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena built in 1988 and located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shoc ...

22,076 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , April 21 ,

L 88–92
,

(20) , Ben Wallace (12) ,

(8) ,

22,076 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , April 24 , @

W 95–85
,

(21) , Ben Wallace (21) ,

(7) , Bradley Center
18,717 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , April 26 , @

W 109–92
, Richard Hamilton (27) , B. Wallace, R. Wallace (9) ,

(9) , Bradley Center
17,316 , 3–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 5 , April 29 ,

W 91–77
,

Tayshaun Prince Tayshaun Durell Prince (born February 28, 1980) is an American professional basketball executive and former player. The small forward graduated from Dominguez High School before playing college basketball for the University of Kentucky. He was ...

(24) , Ben Wallace (12) ,

(8) ,

22,076 , 4–1 , - , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , May 3 ,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

W 78–56
,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

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. T ...

(15) , Ben Wallace (11) , Richard Hamilton (7) ,

22,076 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , May 7 ,

W 95–80
, Billups,

(28) , Ben Wallace (11) ,

(13) ,

22,076 , 2–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , May 9 , @

L 64–82
,

, B. Wallace (15) , Ben Wallace (24) , Ben Wallace (4) ,

Continental Airlines Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor arena facility located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The arena is located on N ...

19,000 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , May 11 , @

L 79–94
, Richard Hamilton (30) , Ben Wallace (15) ,

(5) ,

19,860 , 2–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , May 14 ,

L 120–127 (3OT)
,

(31) , Ben Wallace (11) , Richard Hamilton (11) ,

22,076 , 2–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 6 , May 16 , @

W 81–75
, Richard Hamilton (24) , Ben Wallace (20) , Richard Hamilton (4) ,

19,968 , 3–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 7 , May 20 ,

W 90–69
,

(22) , Ben Wallace (8) ,

(7) ,

22,076 , 4–3 , - , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , May 22 , @

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

L 74–78
, Richard Hamilton (23) , Ben Wallace (22) , Ben Wallace (5) ,

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 ...

18,345 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , May 24 , @

W 72–67
, Richard Hamilton (23) , three players tied (8) ,

(6) ,

18,345 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , May 26 ,

W 85–78
,

, R. Wallace (20) , Ben Wallace (16) ,

(8) ,

22,076 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , May 28 ,

L 68–83
, Richard Hamilton (22) , Ben Wallace (19) ,

(5) ,

22,076 , 2–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 5 , May 30 , @

W 83–65
, Richard Hamilton (33) , Ben Wallace (12) ,

(7) ,

18,345 , 3–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 6 , June 1 ,

W 69–65
, Richard Hamilton (21) , Ben Wallace (16) , Richard Hamilton (5) ,

22,076 , 4–2 , - , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , June 6 , @

L.A. Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

W 87–75
,

(22) , B. Wallace, R. Wallace (8) , Richard Hamilton (5) , Staples Center
18,997 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , June 8 , @

L 91–99 (OT)
,

(27) , Ben Wallace (14) ,

(9) , Staples Center
18,997 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , June 10 ,

W 88–68
, Richard Hamilton (31) , Ben Wallace (11) , three players tied (3) ,

22,076 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , June 13 ,

W 88–80
,

(26) , B. Wallace, R. Wallace (13) , Richard Hamilton (6) ,

22,076 , 3–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 5 , June 15 ,

W 100–87
, Richard Hamilton (21) , Ben Wallace (22) ,

(6) ,

22,076 , 4–1 , -

NBA Finals

Series summary

(OT) denotes a game that required

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

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 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 ga ...

. This was only used in the Finals, all other playoff series are held in a 2-2-1-1-1 format (the team with home court advantage starts).

Aspects

The Lakers had a lineup of stars such as

Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone sp ...

Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played the point guard position. Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best known for his 13-year tenure with ...

Derek Fisher Derek Lamar Fisher (born August 9, 1974) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. Fisher played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 18 seasons, spending the majority of his career with the Los A ...

, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal – their offensive capability was expected to overpower Detroit's defensive-based gameplan. 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 The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

there in 1996, while Malone had led the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

there in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. However, Michael Jordan and the Bulls denied their championship rings a total of three times. By the time of Jordan's retirement in 2003, the two veterans were aged and failed to lead their teams deep into the playoffs. Thus, this Finals series was seen as the last chance for two of the greatest players in NBA history to finally become NBA champions (Later on, Malone retired while Payton became a champion as a key bench player for 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 Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

Game One

''Sunday, June 6, 2004, 14:30 at the Staples Center.'' 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 a 10–4 surge capped by Billups's 3-pointer gave the Pistons the lead. O'Neal's foul trouble furthered the scoring gap, with the Pistons leading by 13 points early in the fourth quarter.

Game Two

''Tuesday, June 8, 2004, 15:04 at the Staples Center.'' The second game was close throughout the first half, but in the third quarter Detroit would score 30 points, cutting the deficit 68–66. However, at the end of the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant's 3-point shot at 2.1 seconds to go would tie the game at 89–89. The Lakers and Pistons would then go to overtime, with the Lakers outscoring the Pistons 10–2.

Game Three

''Thursday, June 10, 2004, 14:31 at

.'' 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 (post-

shot clock A shot clock is a countdown timer used in a variety of games and sports, proving a set amount of time that a team may possess the object of play before attempting to score a goal. Shot clocks are used in several sports including basketball, wat ...

) franchise record for the fewest points scored in a Finals game. (Even Jay Leno was upset, saying in his ''

Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 2010� ...

'' monologue: "68 points? 68 is a great score...if you're playing ''

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

''!")

Game Four

''Sunday, June 13, 2004, 14:49 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.'' Again, the Pistons defeated the Lakers, although this time by eight, to take a 3–1 series advantage.

Game Five

''Tuesday, June 15, 2004, 14:32 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.'' In Game 5, the Pistons won their first championship since 1990, and Larry Brown finally won a title as an NBA head coach. 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 (he returned for the 2005-06 season), and saw O'Neal, Payton, and Malone's last games in Laker uniforms (O'Neal and Payton were both acquired by the soon-to-be NBA Champions

and Malone retired).

Playoff Defensive Records

As a result of their incredible defensive dominance, the 2004 Pistons set a number of notable shot-clock era (1955–Present) defensive Playoff records * Allowed under 90 points in 18 playoff games * Allowed under 85 points in 16 playoff games * Allowed under 80 points in 11 playoff games * Allowed under 75 points in 6 playoff games * Allowed under 70 points in 6 playoff games * Allowed 65 or less points in 3 playoff games * One of 2 teams ( 1998 Bulls) to allow under 60 points in a playoff game * Allowed under 40% FG in 12 playoff games * Allowed under 35% FG in 5 playoff games (Tied with 1999 Knicks) * Allowed under 30% FG in 2 playoff games (Tied with 1999 Knicks) Least Points Per Game (PPG) allowed in a shot-clock era Playoff run of any length * The 2004 Pistons allowed 80.696 PPG, slightly lower than the 2000 Heat at 80.700 PPG allowed * Excluding Overtime periods, the 2004 Pistons allowed 78.6 PPG for the Playoffs in regulation compared to 79.9 PPG allowed for the 2000 Heat The 2004 Pistons had a Defensive Rating of 92.0 in the Playoffs * This is the lowest Defensive Rating any team has had in a Post-1st Round Playoff run in the 3-point era (1980–present) * The 2000 Spurs had a 91.4 Defensive Rating, but this was in a 1st Round loss of only 4 games

Player statistics

Season

* Statistics include only games with the Pistons

Playoffs

Award winners

NBA Finals Most Valuable Player 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 ...

* Ben Wallace,

All-NBA Second Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sele ...

* Ben Wallace,

NBA All-Defensive First Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in two ...

Transactions

Overview

Trades

Free agency

Additions

Subtractions

References

External links

Detroit Pistons on Database Basketball

{{DEFAULTSORT:2003-04 Detroit Pistons Season Det Detroit Pistons seasons Eastern Conference (NBA) championship seasons NBA championship seasons