The 2004 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2003–04 National Basketball Association season.
This Finals was contested between the Los Angeles Lakers of the Western Convention and the Detroit Pistons of the Eastern Conference; the Lakers held home court edge. The series was played under a best-of-seven format.
Though the Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, were considered the favorites that were heavy, the Pistons conveniently won the series in five games. This win marked the Pistons’ fifth win overall as a franchise as well as its first title since the 1990-1991 NBA period; almost fifteen decades. The series featured the perceived underdog Pistons, controlling a Lakers team composed of four Hall of Famers.
Pistons’ owner William Davidson became the first owner in American sports history to win two championships in 1 calendar year; eight days earlier, the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League had won the Stanley Cup Finals in seven games over the Calgary Flames.
The Lakers had won three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002, but lost to the eventual champions, the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals at 2003 to finish their series at three. The Spurs beat the Lakers in 6 matches.
In the 2003 offseason, changes were made by the Lakers, with results that were originally. Needing to find a point guard and a power forward to shield 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 provide both veterans their first championship ring. The Lakers were considered the favorites to win the NBA title.
Throughout the regular season, after starting the season 18–3, the Lakers were suffering from numerous traumas and stumbled into some 56–26 record to finish the season with the next seed in the Western Convention.
The Lakers breezed beyond their ancestral competition, the Houston Rockets, headlining a matchup between Shaquille O’Neal and a young Yao Ming, beating the group 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. [3] Subsequently they confronted league MVP Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers won the series 4–2. [4]
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