The 2004 Pistons were the best defensive team I have ever seen. Ben Wallace was a juggernaut, easily a top 5 defender of all time, and Tayshaun Prince, with his crazy length, was also tremendous. They held their opponents to under 70 points 11 times that season including five games in a row. That is just insane. I was at Game 5 when we won the title; it was one of the best memories I have.
I'm a Hawks fan and yet that team is hands down my favorite NBA team of all-time. The Hawks had my all-time favorite player,Rasheed Wallace,for just one game and then traded him to the Pistons. I was elated when it happened.
@@seanhicks7385 yep and the ‘08 Celtics was another one of the greatest defensive teams I ever saw. Being a rockets fan I gotta give the 93-94 knicks love. Even though we beat them in the finals, it was a very tough 7 game series
Pistons fan here, but that Pacers squad the GTW Pistons went up against so many times was ridiculous defensively too. The last stand of hard-nosed bball...Artest, O'Neal, SJax, Tinsley...the scores were hilariously low in that era. But I'd still take that Pistons team as the greatest defensive group I've seen.
When Sheed got in that low post with his back to the basket, whoever was holding him was gettin worked out lmao that turn around jumpshot/fade away was unstoppable. And the rest of that team was unbelievable the way they played.
Yeah it was surreal what they did that year. I just remember Billups saying “we want shaq and Kobe healthy cause we don’t want any excuses”. They knew boy lol
I'm an Atlanta cat but the '04-'05 Pistons teams are easily my favorite NBA teams of all-time.The only team in the east that could regularly go toe to toe with the elites of the west. So close to being back-to-back champions. The 04 team has defensive records that stand to this day.
@@kevinscott59 yes I remember that. I remember that Game 7 was in Texas but we watched it at the Palace on the screen. It was so depressing after the game. 💔
@@bilalc4415 So close to defeating the two most dominant NBA teams of the last 20 years in back-to-back seasons.The Spurs and the Lakers both had multiple hall of famers. The Pistons deserve mad respect for that.
That 2004 series was damn near perfect. As a Pistons fan, it felt great watching everybody get stunned when they got the Trophy. Also made a bit of money on that one
Sad what's happen to that franchise. After that 2007 ECF when LeBron arrived they just went into disarray. I hope they make the right moves to get back to being a contender. The East was always interesting when the Pistons were lurking around the playoffs
@@cholobrown4588 yeah, but I hated the end of it. A delivery guy at the store I worked at at the time was a Spurs fan and we had fun going back and forth that year
Pistons don’t get enough credit for how talented they were . Chauncey is one of the most underrated best pure point guards of all time . Rip was a midrange assassin and very smart . Took on a lot of lessons from Jordan in his early days in Washington . Tayshaun was one of the best defenders of the decade. Anybody who watches basketball back then knew Rasheed Wallace was a bonified all star . And Ben Wallace another great defensive legend . They had great pieces on the bench . And one of the greatest coaches ever . That team should have never been slept on
💯 That team was and still is the truth in the history and the amazing thing it caught everyone off guard. That team is still rated one of the best teams of all times in defensive efficiency.
Man I'm not one for excuses but if Kobe and Shaq weren't at each others neck and played together like they did in 2000-2002 LA would of at least took it to 7 lol
@@vizionaryentertainment8464 100%. The Lakers were a mess. Yes the Pistons were phenomenal, but you can’t have all-stars hating each other’s guts and expect to win.
@@bilalc4415 Foreal that Pistons team was miles better than Philly and the Nets. They were on par if not a bit better than the Pacers in 2000 but Kobe refused to play through Shaq
@@vizionaryentertainment8464 I disagree. The same Nets team went to the Finals back to back, and the Pistons on the ropes down 3-2. If Rip wouldn’t have caught fire 🔥 late in games 6 then pistons wouldn’t have made it to the finals.
As a Pistons fan I was really surprised we won against the Lakers. We had barely beaten the Nets in 7 and Pacers in 6 in the Eastern Conference bracket. Shaq and Kobe had dominated the early 2000s and the Pistons didn't have a remotely comparable talent to either of them. But like Gary said, the Pistons played together and complimented each others skills, while Shaq and Kobe just weren't on the same page anymore, Malone was hurt, and an older Payton just couldn't keep up with an in-his prime Billlups.
The pistons in 04 were arguably the greatest defensive team in NBA history and arguably the greatest defensive team in the history of American team sports.
85 Bears were insane, along with a few Ravens teams. I'd take '04 Pistons in NBA. Baseball is hard, but the mid-80s Cardinals were ridiculous, as were the early 90s Devils in hockey
@@NoName-od2qj Yep. If Rasheed doesn't leave Hurry open to go trap Ginobili the Pistons are looking at back-to-back chips in all probability. They dominated the better part of that '05 series as well.
🤔That 2004 Detroit Pistons team (once they got Rasheed Wallace in February 04) was quite literally the greatest defensive team in American Sports history! The Lakers would have NEVER and I mean NEVER beat that 04 Detroit Pistons team in a 7 game series! They could have played a 100 games and the 04 Pistons would have probably won 90 of them!
85 Bears, 96 Bulls, Bad Boy Pistons, 2000 Ravens, Steel Curtain Steelers are all better than the 2004 Pistons defense. The 1996 Bulls had the greatest defense I've ever seen, better than all the teams mentioned.
People in these comments are delusional. You never have and will never see the type of defensive dominance the 04 Pistons displayed in North American sports again. It’s unrivaled
God I remember those finals very well. I’ve lived in the Detroit area since 89 and I was 20 when they won. For some reason, I never doubted that Detroit would win. The Lakers were too sloppy, Kobe and Shaq were beefing, so many stars and too much ego in one team. Meanwhile, the Pistons formula just fucking worked. They were all team players with very little ego, strong defense, and Coach just meshed well with the team. They were so strong that Pistons lost the championship in Game 7 to the Spurs in a last second 3 point shot the following season, before the trades started happening and it wasn’t the same again.
That pistons team was nasty . I remember 4 of the starters were all stars and they put them in the Allstar game at the same time along with Paul Pierce. I remember bc I'm a Celtics fan
@@LIBryda For real. Big Ben is tied with Mutumbo for the NBA defensive player of the year record(4 times).And he's a champion and multiple all-star. And yet Melo is top 75 over Ben?
That 04 Pistons team had the perfect player at every position: Chauncey at 1, unselfish, could hit shots, Rip at 2, literally the definition of shooting guard at the time, Tayshaun at 3, long, can defend and do a bit of everything, Sheed at 4, he was probably the best 4 in the league at that time (every time I saw them play the Spurs, he outplayed Duncan), and Ben at 5, an incredible defender and rebounder whose only flaw was limited offensive game. But then they had a great bench as well.
*The world was watching that AZZ kickin'.... trust me I couldn't believe they went out like that....mentally the Pistons beat them, the series was over with*
@@jordanflores5687 Man,stop. That perfect storm of issues didn't prevent the Lakers from recovering from being down 0-2 to the world champion Spurs to close them out in 6 games,followed by beating the top seeded Timberwolves in 6. Like they say the loser always has excuses.
@@jordanflores5687 Karl got destroyed by Rasheed when he was in the game. I don't know about glue either. There's been stories suggesting tension between that guy and Kobe because he supposedly flirted with Kobe's wife.I could be wrong though.
@Terrel Blackston how so dude right.. actually better than Duncan Rasheed had the talent to be the greatest pf ever.. especially before injury when he was with trail blazers dude was athletic af and was deadly from 3.a defensive beast on post on offensive beast on post no weakness except technical fouls lol
"We lucked up 2 game" I've BEEN said that YEARS! but Laker fans don't wanna hear that at all..they show that game 2 game all the time which was the only game lakers BARELY won but they didn't want to say they got lucky....FINALLY SOMEBODY SAID IT! AND it was a player who was on that team...can't tell me nothing else this team.deserved more credit but they don't talk about them much....the next year we went 7 games with the spurs with Duncan in his prime and them being favored AND having home court we barely lost that series but went back to the finals AFTER Phil Jackson complained about how we played defense and they changed the rules because of him bitching and we were still one of the best defenses of all time....not one person in this world can tell me that the 2004 pistons didn't have the best defense of all time. Love the respect Payton gave 💯💯...DETROIT VS EVERYBODY!!!!!
1989 Bad Boys Was The Best Team Ever!!! I Got Love For Ben Wallace, He's No Rodman. Gotta Give The Edge To Dumars Over Tayshawn Prince Defensively As Well.
@@JuanTaughtMe I said best defensive team not best team though. 2003-2004 team literally held 11 teams under 70 pts that year. But of course all my respect to 89-90 team and I do not think tay was a better defender at all. I think be was good but dumars was great....tay got his name from that amazing block he had on reggie. To me its not even close..dumars definitely wins that lol. I just meant as a whole team that 2004 team was the best defensive team ever
@@detroitlionspistonstigersr6735that 2003 playoffs run was solid too . Tay got his name to me from his series vs the magic in 03 .. he barely played all season
@@bentheisraelite FACTSS. We played Michael curry most of the season and he was getting torched by McGrady..then tay came in and did a better job but then even the Philly series he was huge
then it would be a different team my basketball mind tells me that if you put melo on a team like the 04 pistons with his scoring mentality non defensive minded that it would be a match made in hell. Wade could potentially work out down the road, but big-name stars is not what made the 04 pistons special in the first place. See there's a fundamental reason melo has never won a title. Remember in 04 melo was still a young pup developing and so was wade they were all sophomores at that point
@@ryanr20091 Couldn't have said it better Bro !! To take it a step further, we took Darko which means we wanted a big man. So my mind tells me if they didn't take Darko, they would've taken Chris Bosh who I believe went #4 in that draft. If we had Bosh, we would've won 3 in a row
The Pistons dictated the pace that entire series, game 2 was pretty much the only time where it felt like the Lakers had any real control of the game and even then it took a lot of luck just to win that one.
Man I savor the Detroit Pistons beating LA Lakers in five the way they did. The Glove was right too say that there was nothing they could do when Pistons laid that Defense on them. Also people forget that Pistons was so good that it came back to NBA Finals the next year only to lose in SEVEN Games to the Spurs. One the greatest Defensive Teams ever put together in just clicked.
That ALL-TIME GREAT 2004 Detroit Pistons defense held Phil Jackson's Lakers ( Who had just won 3 chips in 4 years) with a Prime Shaq and prime Kobe to Game# 1 Lakers scored only 75 Game# 2 Lakers scored only 99 (Kobe lucky 3 sent game to overtime) Game# 3 Lakers scored only 68 Game #4 Lakers scored only 80 Game# 5 Lakers scored only 87
As a diehard Lakers and Kobe fan, that series vs. Detroit has and will continue to haunt me forever, more than the series in '08 vs. Boston because at least Boston came in the season with championship or bust expectations, but the Pistons just ended up on the right side of an atomic bomb 💣 in the Lakers. Kobe dealing with the Colorado BS and Shaq not getting his money made that Finals in '04 sooooooooo depressing to have witnessed it.
@@SiReTV8929 The Lakers ran into a buzzsaw that year. Then the Pistons beat Shaq and Wade in the following year in the eastern conference finals.The Spurs lucked out in '05.The Pistons dominated most of that series as well.
I told everyone that was watching the finals that the Pistons were gonna defeat the Lakers. Just like GP said, when the Pistons won the 1st game on the road @ that I knew the Lakers had their hands full. Prince didn't shutdown Kobe like so many said he did. But he most definitely gave Kobe a lot of trouble. The Pistons proved that team chemistry & defense will always defeat a star stutted line up.
@@natebaxter9551 You're not going to shut down a great player, they're too good, that's why they're great. You're only hope is that you can hold them under their average or cause them to be inefficient by making them take more shots to get their numbers. Kobe still averaged 22.6 but he shot 38% and 17% from three, that's not exactly getting shut down
Kobe and Shaq were openly feuding and Kobe flat out refused to get Shaq the ball. He jacked up terrible shots over the long arms of Tayshawn Prince that had no chance of going in. Lakers didn’t stand a chance but infighting didn’t help.
04 pistons definitely get there respect but people always forget about the bench Lindsey Hunter and Mike James was straight locking up all the guards before they could even cross half court and Corliss Williamson was dam near impossible to guard on offense not to mention Memo Okur doing his thing.
I'm a die hard Laker fan...I dont know why that 2004 one hurt the most but you can't help but to freaking love that Pistons chemistry and Larry Brown as their coach. Nothing but respect. Pains me to say it but it played out almost perfectly for all parties involved. ie Shaq won a ring with Miami then Kobe with the Lakers again
I vividly remember before that NBA playoffs me thinking how predictable the NBA was and how everyone knew the Lakers would win the title. That pistons win was probably the biggest NBA upset I've ever seen at that point since I started watching basketball back in 1990. I couldn't believe it. I think maybe the Cavs coming back down 3-1 against the warriors may have surpassed the pistons upset of the Lakers. That pistons team was the best defensive team I've ever seen though I never saw the bad boys in their prime though.That pistons victory was even more shocking than when the #8 seeds beat the #1 seeds in the NBA playoffs. And the pistons had the #2 or #3 draft pick and just completely blew it 😆
He said it...without saying it...they didn't respect the Pistons. No one did. Everyone kept talking about how it would be Lakers in 4 or 5. Even being a Pistons fan, I didn't expect them to win until I started hearing everyone saying how easy it was going to be for the Lakers. I knew they were better than everyone thought. Could have easily been a sweep if not for Kobe.
Before the finals, I only saw Billups in a Reebok commercial with Van Exel. Next thing you know he is hitting all his shots in the Finals. I never saw anything like it.
Gary Payton has such a realistic view in the NBA!! I just wish Vlad would ask him did u try to trip Jason Williams (white chocolate) when he crossed u over and scored
Kobe always said right up until the end that he did not think about the 5 rings he won but rather the two *(in 2004 and 2008)* that he did not win. R.I.P. BLACK MAMBA
Much respect to Larry Brown they doubled the ball applied a lot of pressure on Kobe with tyshawn Prince rip Hamilton(made the shot clock go faster) Rick fox was hurt , karl malone was hurt, are outside shooters was trash and they let Shaq get his buckets
They also held the Nets (with Jason Kidd) to 56 points in a playoff game. That's probably the most amazing thing that I've seen in my life watching sports.
Reggie Miller said it too. Whoever came out of the east that year in 2004 (Piston, Pacers) was gonna be the champion because the Pistons and Pacers were the best defensive teams
One of my biggest shockers ever watching a NBA Finals. I thought Shaq lost a step and didnt play great, and Kobe’s mind definitely wasn’t into it. 01-02 Lakers would have ran the Pistons out of the gym but Shaq/Kobe werent the same.
I said it to if they had their 01- 02 roster easily W cause they had a mix of shooters and defenders and moved the ball around and didn't rely on kobe iso which is what killed them vs Detroit
Shaq actually played very well in this entire series. He got worn down in the latter part of the games and the rest of the team struggled. Although Kobe had decent point totals, his shooting percentage struggled.
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The 2004 Pistons were the best defensive team I have ever seen. Ben Wallace was a juggernaut, easily a top 5 defender of all time, and Tayshaun Prince, with his crazy length, was also tremendous. They held their opponents to under 70 points 11 times that season including five games in a row. That is just insane. I was at Game 5 when we won the title; it was one of the best memories I have.
I'm a Hawks fan and yet that team is hands down my favorite NBA team of all-time.
The Hawks had my all-time favorite player,Rasheed Wallace,for just one game and then traded him to the Pistons.
I was elated when it happened.
93-94 knicks 92 knicks 96-97 knicks all great defensive teams
@@seanhicks7385 yep and the ‘08 Celtics was another one of the greatest defensive teams I ever saw. Being a rockets fan I gotta give the 93-94 knicks love. Even though we beat them in the finals, it was a very tough 7 game series
Pistons fan here, but that Pacers squad the GTW Pistons went up against so many times was ridiculous defensively too. The last stand of hard-nosed bball...Artest, O'Neal, SJax, Tinsley...the scores were hilariously low in that era. But I'd still take that Pistons team as the greatest defensive group I've seen.
Yeah they were just insane defensively
When Sheed got in that low post with his back to the basket, whoever was holding him was gettin worked out lmao that turn around jumpshot/fade away was unstoppable. And the rest of that team was unbelievable the way they played.
What about his random pull ups from beyond the Arc oh man you had to see it to believe it. Lol 😂
Facts! I always say next to the skyhook, Sheed had the next best shot that couldn’t be stopped.. I never seen it get blocked
Yeah it was surreal what they did that year. I just remember Billups saying “we want shaq and Kobe healthy cause we don’t want any excuses”. They knew boy lol
Detroit was hitting on all cylinders. The Lakers had too much infighting and enough health issues for Detroit to be a problem.
@@drelocs2878 He was a stretch 4.
Pistons had a brotherhood and each played their role it's hard to beat that kind of team back then
Like the bulls.
Like the spurs that beat my heat team in 14'
@@absalom0412 like the Bad Boys
So true on that.
@@absalom0412 which bulls? I know you can't be talking about with Jordan
I'm an Atlanta cat but the '04-'05 Pistons teams are easily my favorite NBA teams of all-time.The only team in the east that could regularly go toe to toe with the elites of the west.
So close to being back-to-back champions.
The 04 team has defensive records that stand to this day.
Ughh don’t remind me of the last 3 pointer in Game 7 in 2005! Was that Horry or Parker?
@@bilalc4415
I can't remember.
I remember that Horry 3 in overtime of game 5 though.
Changed the series.
@@kevinscott59 yes I remember that. I remember that Game 7 was in Texas but we watched it at the Palace on the screen. It was so depressing after the game. 💔
@@bilalc4415 It was Horry. Sheed left him for a split second and it was over.
@@bilalc4415
So close to defeating the two most dominant NBA teams of the last 20 years in back-to-back seasons.The Spurs and the Lakers both had multiple hall of famers.
The Pistons deserve mad respect for that.
That 2004 series was damn near perfect. As a Pistons fan, it felt great watching everybody get stunned when they got the Trophy. Also made a bit of money on that one
Mannnn I love this team!
05 against my spurs is one of the greatest defensive finals ever
Sad what's happen to that franchise. After that 2007 ECF when LeBron arrived they just went into disarray. I hope they make the right moves to get back to being a contender. The East was always interesting when the Pistons were lurking around the playoffs
@@cholobrown4588 yeah, but I hated the end of it. A delivery guy at the store I worked at at the time was a Spurs fan and we had fun going back and forth that year
@@joshingram071 I hope so too. Detroit is just magical when the Pistons are deep in it and they need something like that right now
Big Ben has to be one of the most under rated in the NBA Hall Of Fame.💯
Hoooo yeah
Psycho ben W with the zulu hair
The last muhfca you wanna be tryin!!
@@GORILLA_PIMP rs.
he got his recognition I remember when there was a discussion on should he have been inducted
Love Big Ben.That cat used to guard Shaq straight up.Shaq averaged fewer points against Ben than he did against Rodman.
Came in undrafted averaged under 10 points and still HOF all defense
Gary One of the greatest of all time this guy a legend for real
Pistons don’t get enough credit for how talented they were . Chauncey is one of the most underrated best pure point guards of all time . Rip was a midrange assassin and very smart . Took on a lot of lessons from Jordan in his early days in Washington . Tayshaun was one of the best defenders of the decade. Anybody who watches basketball back then knew Rasheed Wallace was a bonified all star . And Ben Wallace another great defensive legend . They had great pieces on the bench . And one of the greatest coaches ever . That team should have never been slept on
Random Lindsey Hunter love
Lol that Pistons team was the truth. Exemplary defense, even the Glove respect that lol
💯 That team was and still is the truth in the history and the amazing thing it caught everyone off guard. That team is still rated one of the best teams of all times in defensive efficiency.
Of course he does.The glove is an all-time great defender in his own right.
9X All-NBA defensive first team at the point guard position.
This why I respect UNC GP. He keep it all the way 💯. I remember watching that series. Lakers got ran through.
I was soooooo mad when the Lakers lost to the Pistons. That was back when all your classmates blew up your phone when you team lost 😭
Lol game rapped about that loss on 200bars
shit like this still happens
Friends still do the same to this day what are you talking about
HATED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pistons were the greatest defensive team ever.
That's EXACTLY how the Lakers played, like they knew they couldn't beat us. (Detroit). Much respect to G.P. for keeping it real
Man I'm not one for excuses but if Kobe and Shaq weren't at each others neck and played together like they did in 2000-2002 LA would of at least took it to 7 lol
@@vizionaryentertainment8464 Totally agreed!
@@vizionaryentertainment8464 100%. The Lakers were a mess. Yes the Pistons were phenomenal, but you can’t have all-stars hating each other’s guts and expect to win.
@@bilalc4415 Foreal that Pistons team was miles better than Philly and the Nets. They were on par if not a bit better than the Pacers in 2000 but Kobe refused to play through Shaq
@@vizionaryentertainment8464 I disagree. The same Nets team went to the Finals back to back, and the Pistons on the ropes down 3-2. If Rip wouldn’t have caught fire 🔥 late in games 6 then pistons wouldn’t have made it to the finals.
04 pistons for life. y’all brought my city to the world!
Lifetime Pistons Fan!! I still remember 04 like it was yesterday!
Gary Payton's inspirational speech to the team before Game 3 "We aren't going to win. We can't beat them"
😂😂😂😂
As a Pistons fan I was really surprised we won against the Lakers. We had barely beaten the Nets in 7 and Pacers in 6 in the Eastern Conference bracket. Shaq and Kobe had dominated the early 2000s and the Pistons didn't have a remotely comparable talent to either of them. But like Gary said, the Pistons played together and complimented each others skills, while Shaq and Kobe just weren't on the same page anymore, Malone was hurt, and an older Payton just couldn't keep up with an in-his prime Billlups.
💯
Cuz they had hella heart an wasn't scared to lose
Piston guards smoked Payton and I think fisher was gone
Spot on. Chauncey was the best player in that series even though LA had more talent.
I remember Billups saying they were confident after how they played in the regular season against the Lakers
As a 13 year old Detroit native and Piston super fan, boy watching them beat the Lakers was the greatest moment I. My sports fan life lol
The Detroit Pistons literally had great chemistry and everybody knew the role the Lakers was the complete opposite
What happen to that great team next year and the year after
@@raidermenace9638 they continue to play great obviously you thought you did something there
@@raidermenace9638 The next year that fell to the Spurs in game 7 defending the title. Then the trades began
@@ki11atj49 Like they are supposed to be embarrassed by going back to the Finals
@@ki11atj49 no they didnt bozo
The pistons in 04 were arguably the greatest defensive team in NBA history and arguably the greatest defensive team in the history of American team sports.
its true alot of older casual fans would say the 90s pistons which gets a little overrated because the 2004 pistons were even more defensive minded
Replace Jordan with Kobe and the Lakers win in 5 easy.
@@massdagod no. That Lakers team had NO foot speed. Outside of Kobe they were awful on the perimeter
@@elbowgang9715 wrong…Shaq was hurt…
85 Bears were insane, along with a few Ravens teams. I'd take '04 Pistons in NBA. Baseball is hard, but the mid-80s Cardinals were ridiculous, as were the early 90s Devils in hockey
At that time that piston defense was unbelievable, best that I've seen at that time, incredible defense I can't say that enough
That Pistons team was hungry, they almost won back to back against the Spurs in 05’
Would've won had it not been for Robert Horry
@@CliffPierson777 facts lol i remember that game like yesterday
Rasheed made a very critical defensive error
@@NoName-od2qj true lol he left the wrong man open
@@NoName-od2qj
Yep.
If Rasheed doesn't leave Hurry open to go trap Ginobili the Pistons are looking at back-to-back chips in all probability.
They dominated the better part of that '05 series as well.
🤔That 2004 Detroit Pistons team (once they got Rasheed Wallace in February 04) was quite literally the greatest defensive team in American Sports history! The Lakers would have NEVER and I mean NEVER beat that 04 Detroit Pistons team in a 7 game series! They could have played a 100 games and the 04 Pistons would have probably won 90 of them!
No, the 2000 Ravens are the greatest defensive team in American sports history.
You guys are nuts, 1985 bears best ever no question when it comes to defense
85 Bears, 96 Bulls, Bad Boy Pistons, 2000 Ravens, Steel Curtain Steelers are all better than the 2004 Pistons defense. The 1996 Bulls had the greatest defense I've ever seen, better than all the teams mentioned.
@@jonathanblaze1648 literally if we're talkin statistics statistically the 2004 Pistons are the best defensive NBA team of all time
People in these comments are delusional. You never have and will never see the type of defensive dominance the 04 Pistons displayed in North American sports again. It’s unrivaled
Really enjoying this series. Grew up wearing Payton and Kemp jerseys. Own all of Gary's shoes even the highlight green gloves
God I remember those finals very well. I’ve lived in the Detroit area since 89 and I was 20 when they won. For some reason, I never doubted that Detroit would win. The Lakers were too sloppy, Kobe and Shaq were beefing, so many stars and too much ego in one team. Meanwhile, the Pistons formula just fucking worked. They were all team players with very little ego, strong defense, and Coach just meshed well with the team. They were so strong that Pistons lost the championship in Game 7 to the Spurs in a last second 3 point shot the following season, before the trades started happening and it wasn’t the same again.
I won $500 on that series. That Pistons team was a juggernaut...
USA basketball should of just sent Pistons’ starting 5 to Athens in 04. It would of been a different outcome.
No doubt
That's how we win our championships in Detroit, with a full team no one man star
Dam, right, we had five greats. Thanks for keeping it💯 as always.
That pistons team was nasty . I remember 4 of the starters were all stars and they put them in the Allstar game at the same time along with Paul Pierce. I remember bc I'm a Celtics fan
The 04 Pistons, the ONLY championship team without a top 75 NBA player 💯
Damn didn't think about that
Idk how tf Ben Wallace didn't make it. Billups is debatable, but Big Ben definitely deserved it. That whole list was rtarded.
@@LIBryda
For real.
Big Ben is tied with Mutumbo for the NBA defensive player of the year record(4 times).And he's a champion and multiple all-star.
And yet Melo is top 75 over Ben?
b wallace should be on that list. he definitely had a more meaningful 4 year run them dame lillard.
Someone said 79 sonics too
That 04 Pistons team had the perfect player at every position: Chauncey at 1, unselfish, could hit shots, Rip at 2, literally the definition of shooting guard at the time, Tayshaun at 3, long, can defend and do a bit of everything, Sheed at 4, he was probably the best 4 in the league at that time (every time I saw them play the Spurs, he outplayed Duncan), and Ben at 5, an incredible defender and rebounder whose only flaw was limited offensive game. But then they had a great bench as well.
*The world was watching that AZZ kickin'.... trust me I couldn't believe they went out like that....mentally the Pistons beat them, the series was over with*
Pistons ran circles around the Lakers and made them look old let's be real lol
I mean they were old but it was beyond a perfect storm of issues for the lakers let's be real
So true
@@jordanflores5687
Man,stop.
That perfect storm of issues didn't prevent the Lakers from recovering from being down 0-2 to the world champion Spurs to close them out in 6 games,followed by beating the top seeded Timberwolves in 6.
Like they say the loser always has excuses.
@@kevinscott59 uh yeah they still had karl he was the glue
@@jordanflores5687
Karl got destroyed by Rasheed when he was in the game.
I don't know about glue either.
There's been stories suggesting tension between that guy and Kobe because he supposedly flirted with Kobe's wife.I could be wrong though.
I’m a Pistons fan and I remember all my coworker Lakers fans was pissed and some even stopped talking to me for a while lol sore losers
When the Pistons pick up the Rasheed Wallace I knew they going to win a title
The undisputed wallace bros!!
Rasheed was every bit as talented as Tim Duncan, he just wasn't as consistent. But when he came to play, and ignored the refs, he was a beast.
@@mysterion5136 u on drugs 😂
@Terrel Blackston how so dude right.. actually better than Duncan Rasheed had the talent to be the greatest pf ever.. especially before injury when he was with trail blazers dude was athletic af and was deadly from 3.a defensive beast on post on offensive beast on post no weakness except technical fouls lol
@@Shiftnlift look at ur pic 😂 u on drugs 2
"We lucked up 2 game" I've BEEN said that YEARS! but Laker fans don't wanna hear that at all..they show that game 2 game all the time which was the only game lakers BARELY won but they didn't want to say they got lucky....FINALLY SOMEBODY SAID IT! AND it was a player who was on that team...can't tell me nothing else this team.deserved more credit but they don't talk about them much....the next year we went 7 games with the spurs with Duncan in his prime and them being favored AND having home court we barely lost that series but went back to the finals AFTER Phil Jackson complained about how we played defense and they changed the rules because of him bitching and we were still one of the best defenses of all time....not one person in this world can tell me that the 2004 pistons didn't have the best defense of all time. Love the respect Payton gave 💯💯...DETROIT VS EVERYBODY!!!!!
1989 Bad Boys Was The Best Team Ever!!! I Got Love For Ben Wallace, He's No Rodman. Gotta Give The Edge To Dumars Over Tayshawn Prince Defensively As Well.
@@JuanTaughtMe I said best defensive team not best team though. 2003-2004 team literally held 11 teams under 70 pts that year. But of course all my respect to 89-90 team and I do not think tay was a better defender at all. I think be was good but dumars was great....tay got his name from that amazing block he had on reggie. To me its not even close..dumars definitely wins that lol. I just meant as a whole team that 2004 team was the best defensive team ever
I’m a Kobe fan and I would definitely agree with you . Kobe bailed the Lakers out . 2004 lakers wasn’t suppose to win
@@detroitlionspistonstigersr6735that 2003 playoffs run was solid too . Tay got his name to me from his series vs the magic in 03 .. he barely played all season
@@bentheisraelite FACTSS. We played Michael curry most of the season and he was getting torched by McGrady..then tay came in and did a better job but then even the Philly series he was huge
Shout out to Rasheed Wallace and Tayshun Prince
The 04 Pistons are highly underrated that defense was serious
I watch anything with GP talking. Used to love him and CWebb on NBATV!
Imagine if this team had drafted Melo, Bosh or Wade instead of Darko? But then they'd probably wouldn't have traded for Sheed later on in the year.
then it would be a different team my basketball mind tells me that if you put melo on a team like the 04 pistons with his scoring mentality non defensive minded that it would be a match made in hell. Wade could potentially work out down the road, but big-name stars is not what made the 04 pistons special in the first place. See there's a fundamental reason melo has never won a title. Remember in 04 melo was still a young pup developing and so was wade they were all sophomores at that point
@@ryanr20091 Couldn't have said it better Bro !! To take it a step further, we took Darko which means we wanted a big man. So my mind tells me if they didn't take Darko, they would've taken Chris Bosh who I believe went #4 in that draft. If we had Bosh, we would've won 3 in a row
It wouldn't have made a difference because Larry Brown hated rookies and Melo not being a defender would not have gotten him on the floor much
That woulda been 2 chips at least
Detroit basketball!!!!!! Who else from the city and remembers that???!!
Gp a stand up dude I'm from the D that 04 team was amazing and defensively one of the best I ever seen
That Detroit team had a lot of momentum with no drama and their defense was just too good
He just talkin. Pistons with the gentlemen’s sweep...
The Pistons dictated the pace that entire series, game 2 was pretty much the only time where it felt like the Lakers had any real control of the game and even then it took a lot of luck just to win that one.
When going to talk about that Gary Payton OG lol 😆
Tayshaun prince locked Kobe up! As a sophomore! Pistons were so good
Kobe Bryant averaged 22.6 points, 4.4 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 5 games versus the Pistons in the playoffs in his career
One of my favorite players of all time.
One of my favorite players too
Man I savor the Detroit Pistons beating LA Lakers in five the way they did. The Glove was right too say that there was nothing they could do when Pistons laid that Defense on them. Also people forget that Pistons was so good that it came back to NBA Finals the next year only to lose in SEVEN Games to the Spurs. One the greatest Defensive Teams ever put together in just clicked.
That ALL-TIME GREAT 2004 Detroit Pistons defense held Phil Jackson's Lakers ( Who had just won 3 chips in 4 years) with a Prime Shaq and prime Kobe to
Game# 1 Lakers scored only 75
Game# 2 Lakers scored only 99 (Kobe lucky 3 sent game to overtime)
Game# 3 Lakers scored only 68
Game #4 Lakers scored only 80
Game# 5 Lakers scored only 87
As a diehard Lakers and Kobe fan, that series vs. Detroit has and will continue to haunt me forever, more than the series in '08 vs. Boston because at least Boston came in the season with championship or bust expectations, but the Pistons just ended up on the right side of an atomic bomb 💣 in the Lakers. Kobe dealing with the Colorado BS and Shaq not getting his money made that Finals in '04 sooooooooo depressing to have witnessed it.
@@SiReTV8929
The Lakers ran into a buzzsaw that year.
Then the Pistons beat Shaq and Wade in the following year in the eastern conference finals.The Spurs lucked out in '05.The Pistons dominated most of that series as well.
@@kevinscott59 100%. Damn it Sheed...guard Horry!
@@ianmurphy101
Yep.
Rasheed is my favorite player too.But he definitely cost the Pistons in overtime.
I told everyone that was watching the finals that the Pistons were gonna defeat the Lakers. Just like GP said, when the Pistons won the 1st game on the road @ that I knew the Lakers had their hands full. Prince didn't shutdown Kobe like so many said he did. But he most definitely gave Kobe a lot of trouble. The Pistons proved that team chemistry & defense will always defeat a star stutted line up.
Kobe stans can't stand to take an L.
@@natebaxter9551 yep lol
@@natebaxter9551 You're not going to shut down a great player, they're too good, that's why they're great. You're only hope is that you can hold them under their average or cause them to be inefficient by making them take more shots to get their numbers. Kobe still averaged 22.6 but he shot 38% and 17% from three, that's not exactly getting shut down
Kobe and Shaq were openly feuding and Kobe flat out refused to get Shaq the ball. He jacked up terrible shots over the long arms of Tayshawn Prince that had no chance of going in. Lakers didn’t stand a chance but infighting didn’t help.
@@jimmyconway6080 What does that have to do with what I said?
Just watched game 3 and 5 today, they definitely were deflated by game 5, straight beatdown.
04 pistons definitely get there respect but people always forget about the bench Lindsey Hunter and Mike James was straight locking up all the guards before they could even cross half court and Corliss Williamson was dam near impossible to guard on offense not to mention Memo Okur doing his thing.
People forgot about Lindsay and Mike James the greatest on ball hawk tandem ever
@Lukata Vision 💯 they was no joke
Detroit Pistons baby!!!
Such wise words on reconizing that the Pistons were just better! Props to the Glove
We need a Rasheed or Ben Wallace interview
Asap!
Gotta be rasheed
I don't think ben got much to say lol
Ill never forget when he said, Blame Me ...Gary Payton lol
This series made those Detroit dudes great
Detroit vs Everybody
Hahahaha hard way or bust for motown!!!
I'm a die hard Laker fan...I dont know why that 2004 one hurt the most but you can't help but to freaking love that Pistons chemistry and Larry Brown as their coach. Nothing but respect. Pains me to say it but it played out almost perfectly for all parties involved. ie Shaq won a ring with Miami then Kobe with the Lakers again
I knew too, the Pistons were the better team.
Remember the game a classic
That Pistons team should've won more titles.
DEEEEEE-TROIT
BASKET-BALLLL!!!
Detroit pistons were the greatest team of true teammates I've ever seen on a court personally.
Well said the 04 Pistons are underrated and don't get enough credit for their team chemistry.
5 game domination sweep
That Pistons team were a prime example of the old saying, "defense wins championships".
2003-2006 pistons had so much potential to be a 3 peat just a Wade or Bosh draft pick away from having a full on dynasty
Or Melo
I vividly remember before that NBA playoffs me thinking how predictable the NBA was and how everyone knew the Lakers would win the title. That pistons win was probably the biggest NBA upset I've ever seen at that point since I started watching basketball back in 1990. I couldn't believe it. I think maybe the Cavs coming back down 3-1 against the warriors may have surpassed the pistons upset of the Lakers. That pistons team was the best defensive team I've ever seen though I never saw the bad boys in their prime though.That pistons victory was even more shocking than when the #8 seeds beat the #1 seeds in the NBA playoffs. And the pistons had the #2 or #3 draft pick and just completely blew it 😆
I appreciate the Gloves honesty 🧤
Love Gary’s honesty. 04’ Piston’s were one of the best defensive teams ever!!! They were clicking on all cylinders.
That was a tough pill to swallow as a laker fan😢
He said it...without saying it...they didn't respect the Pistons. No one did. Everyone kept talking about how it would be Lakers in 4 or 5. Even being a Pistons fan, I didn't expect them to win until I started hearing everyone saying how easy it was going to be for the Lakers. I knew they were better than everyone thought. Could have easily been a sweep if not for Kobe.
Mannn as a Laker fan I couldn't stand RIP Hamilton, his ass kept running circles around us knocking down the middie 🙄
People forget how good Rip was
midrange reggie Miller
Best defensive Team I ever seen
That Piston team was loaded and very very skilled, Sheed, Billups and Wallace ... Lakers had no shot man !!!!
Before the finals, I only saw Billups in a Reebok commercial with Van Exel. Next thing you know he is hitting all his shots in the Finals. I never saw anything like it.
Biggest NBA Finals upset ever!! Go Pistons 🙌🏾
They lost that series cause of Kobe. He got tired of Shaq getting finals MVP and wanted to make his mark
It wasn't Kobe. Detroit was just a better team
Shaq lost the next year 04-05 season on the heat with wade to the pistons .. lemme guess that’s Kobe fault too right ?
Gary Payton has such a realistic view in the NBA!! I just wish Vlad would ask him did u try to trip Jason Williams (white chocolate) when he crossed u over and scored
We had game 4 but a few questionable calls went their way (probably afraid to anger Sheed lol) so they made sure Detroit won
Yeah right sore loser
Thats funny 😂😂😂 You heard what Glove said Theres No Way We Were Gonna Beat This Team 💪💯U Talkin game 4 wen dey smacked dem 3 game's Str8💯
miss those pistons perfect line-up --- billups, hamilton, b. wallace, r. wallace and prince.
Pistons was way too hype for them, Ben Wallace was Eating Shaq up….Kobe Tried to make him get in shape
Ben Wallace never ate Shaq up. Kobe shot them out of the Finals.
Kobe always said right up until the end that he did not think about the 5 rings he won but rather the two *(in 2004 and 2008)* that he did not win.
R.I.P. BLACK MAMBA
I loved that Detriot team they dominated the East in the mid 2000s.
The way the mailman was busting Yao Ming ass … good gosh
Much respect to Larry Brown they doubled the ball applied a lot of pressure on Kobe with tyshawn Prince rip Hamilton(made the shot clock go faster) Rick fox was hurt , karl malone was hurt, are outside shooters was trash and they let Shaq get his buckets
Kobe should’ve dumped the ball every time. Kobe was bricking and being selfish.
good video
Detroit was the real deal y’all were just a stacked team on paper
They also held the Nets (with Jason Kidd) to 56 points in a playoff game. That's probably the most amazing thing that I've seen in my life watching sports.
Then I'm sure you didn't watch game 3 of the 98 finals
I was at the Palace Game 3 w/ my Darko Milicic jersey on 😂🤣
Oh hell yeah representin!!
Reggie Miller said it too. Whoever came out of the east that year in 2004 (Piston, Pacers) was gonna be the champion because the Pistons and Pacers were the best defensive teams
KOBE FUCKED UP THAT SERIES TRYNA BE JORDAN💯 SHOULDVE FLOWED THRU SHAQ HE WAS DOMINANT
Kobe Bryant averaged 22.6 points, 4.4 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 5 games versus the Pistons in the playoffs in his career
Chauncy Billups made Gary Peyton look like a mitten instead of being known as the glove in this series
'04 pistons one of the best teams ever up there with '01-'02 kings, '06 heat, '08 Celtics
Kings were so fun, but you have to be a champ to be up in rarified air. 86 Celtics were insane.
One of my biggest shockers ever watching a NBA Finals. I thought Shaq lost a step and didnt play great, and Kobe’s mind definitely wasn’t into it. 01-02 Lakers would have ran the Pistons out of the gym but Shaq/Kobe werent the same.
Doubt that too
I said it to if they had their 01- 02 roster easily W cause they had a mix of shooters and defenders and moved the ball around and didn't rely on kobe iso which is what killed them vs Detroit
Shaq actually played very well in this entire series. He got worn down in the latter part of the games and the rest of the team struggled. Although Kobe had decent point totals, his shooting percentage struggled.
@@djbministryrewatch the series it was all Kobe fault
2004 Pistons should be inducted as a team lol