the detroit pistons beat los angeles lakers in the nba finals.
who did the detroit pistons beat in the nba finals?
los angeles lakers
chauncey ray billups (born september 25, 1976) is retired american professional basketball player. he played 17 seasons in the national basketball association (nba). a star at the university of colorado, he was selected third overall in the 1997 nba draft by the boston celtics. a five-time nba all-star and a three-time all-nba selection, billups played for the celtics, toronto raptors, denver nuggets, minnesota timberwolves, detroit pistons, new york knicks, and los angeles clippers during his nba career. he won the nba finals mvp in 2004 after helping the pistons beat the los angeles lakers in the finals, and was given the nickname "mr. big shot" for making late-game shots with detroit. the pistons retired his #1 jersey in 2016.
chauncey billups
a whole new of generation of pistons and lakers would meet as they squared off again in the 2004 nba finals. los angeles originally entered the 2003–04 nba season on a mission to win the championship, due to a multi-talented roster featuring 4 nba superstars: shaquille o'neal, kobe bryant, gary payton, and karl malone. despite trying to meet high expectations and getting off to a promising start, the lakers suffered through injuries and turmoil throughout the campaign; malone struggled with a knee injury which he had to have surgery on, and was limited to playing only 42 games. payton never grew comfortable learning the nuances of head coach phil jackson's triangle offense. finally, o'neal and bryant spent the whole season feuding over who was a more valuable player for the lakers. nevertheless, los angeles finished with a 56–26 record, winning the pacific division title on the last day of the season. next, the lakers eliminated the houston rockets, san antonio spurs, and minnesota timberwolves to win the western conference crown. the pistons also struggled through the early part of their season as well. however, their fortunes soon improved vastly thanks to the february acquisition of rasheed wallace via trade, and the firm guidance of head coach larry brown. detroit finished with a 54–28 record. then, they defeated the milwaukee bucks, new jersey nets, and indiana pacers en route to the eastern conference title. just like they had in both 1988 & 1989, the lakers entered the nba finals as the clear favorite to win the championship. still, the pistons were not discouraged by their underdog status, stunning los angeles with a game 1 win in l.a. the lakers pulled out an overtime victory over detroit in game 2, thanks to bryant's game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation, enabling l.a. to eventually tie the series. however, as the series shifted to detroit, the pistons imposed their will on the lakers. their commitment to team basketball and tough, physical defense proved to be insurmountable. l.a.'s title dreams were dashed when malone reinjured his knee in game 4, and was unable to suit up for the lakers in game 5. the pistons convincingly won the next 3 games at the palace of auburn hills, and won the series 4–1, capturing their 3rd nba title overall. at the end of the series, al michaels, who was serving as the play-by-play announcer for the "nba on abc" during the finals, observed that even though the lakers had hall of fame players, the pistons beat l.a. by using players that nobody else wanted. chauncey billups, the pistons' point guard, won the nba finals mvp award. billups became the first finals mvp recipient since former pistons star joe dumars to have won the award before making his first nba all-star team. like dumars, billups would eventually go on to make multiple appearances in the nba all-star game.
lakers–pistons rivalry