champions in 1990. The Pistons won 59 games that season, then defeated the Indiana Pacers (3-0), New York Knicks (4-1) and Chicago Bulls (4-3) in the first three rounds, before overcoming the Portland Trail Blazers 4–1 in the Finals. The Lakers earned the league's best record with a 63–19 record in the 1989–90 NBA season, despite losing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to retirement. However the Lakers fell to the Phoenix Suns 4–1 in the Western Conference Semifinals, after which head coach Pat Riley resigned. The Lakers did make it back to the finals in 1991 but fell to the Bulls in five games. The Pistons and Lakers met again in the 2004 NBA Finals. Much had changed since they last met, but they still took on the personalities of their respective teams: the more physical, defensive Pistons against the finesse, offensively-minded Lakers. In the rematch, the underdog Pistons, led by Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince, and coached by Larry Brown, upset the star-studded future Hall-of-Fame Lakers team of Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Karl Malone and Gary Payton, and coached by Phil Jackson, in five games. Two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas was named after Isiah Thomas as a consequence of this series. The former Thomas' father, a lifelong Lakers fan, bet his son's name on his team winning the series. References External links NBA History 1989 NBA Finals at Basketball Reference National Basketball Association Finals Finals NBA NBA GMA Network television specials 20th century in Los Angeles County, California NBA Finals NBA Finals Basketball competitions in Michigan Basketball competitions in Inglewood, California Sports in Auburn Hills, Michigan NBA