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 the first owner in American sports history to win two championships in one calendar year; eight days earlier, his Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Calgary Flames to win the NHL Stanley Cup Finals in seven games. Background Los Angeles Lakers 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 in 2003 to end their streak at three. The Spurs beat the Lakers in 6 games. In the 2003 offseason, the Lakers made major changes with initially varying results. Needing to find a point guard and a power forward to defend 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 give both veterans their first championship ring. The Lakers were afterwards considered the favorites to win the NBA title. During the regular season, after starting the season 18–3, the Lakers were afflicted by numerous injuries and stumbled to a 56–26 record to finish the season with the second seed in the Western Conference. The Lakers breezed past their first-round opponent, the Houston Rockets, headlining a matchup between Shaquille O'Neal and a young Yao Ming. They defeated the squad 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. Then, they faced the Minnesota Timberwolves and league MVP Kevin Garnett. The Lakers won the