The 2004 Detroit Pistons and the greatest upset in Finals history
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- Опубликовано: 25 дек 2023
- In the 2004 NBA Finals, the Detroit Pistons met the Los Angeles Lakers. The Pistons victory against the Kobe-Shaq Lakers - by almost any metric - is the biggest upset in the history of the NBA.
How'd that happen?
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Thanks to Nic (the real GOAT) for the thumbnail: nicstelter.com
Twitter: / claytoncrowley
Patreon: / claytoncrowley 
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Watching this now as the Pistons are on a 26 game losing streak is like listening to grandpa talk about his youthful years.
*27
@@404ever Probably gonna be 28 in 2 days because it would take a 2004 finals effort for the 2-28 Pistons to beat the 23-6 Celtics lol
The 04 PISTONS IS THE BEST DEFENSIVE TEAM IN SPORTS HISTORY| they had the most games keeping the opposition team below 70 points
they broke the record lmaoo
Look at the Pistons before Isiah. 60+ loss seasons. Just need that next part.
What most people tend to forget about this Pistons team is how they nearly did it again in '05 against the Spurs with a prime Tim Duncan, taking them to a really close 7 game series
That Robert f'n Horry in game 6 deflated the Pistons
nah. lakers cheating with refs stopped spurs 3-peat.
I still hate that man till this day lol.
Don’t leave Bob open.
@@BrocuzgodlocdunfamdogsonSheed made the worst possible decision in that moment when he left Horry’s side
A reupload at least means I can relive the glory of my Detroit Pistons twice!
its about the only enjoyment pistons fan will get for a while
Your?
Relive history today too
yall need it lately 😭😭
Wake up to reality 2-27.
Just to add to Tayshaun Prince, He has a record that might never be broken. He scored more total points in the playoffs versus the regular season back in 2003.
Damn how tf is that even possible
That’s insane
TF did he do in the Regular Season ?
That's when we started actually using him he would have had more points if we knew how good he was going to be
@@kwkylewilliams462 Prince was a late first rounder playing for a championship caliber team. Pistons barely ever used him in the regular season. Then, come playoffs, they face Tracy Mcgrady and his Magic and he was torching their asses and led the series 3-1. Then Pistons decided as a last resort to put young rookie Prince on Mcgrady. Prince proceeded to put Mcgrady in a jail, locking him up as Piston went on to win the series 4-3. Prince then became undisputed starter for them
I feel like the Miami teams from the past few years are kinda like a spiritual successor to this Pistons team
Only if they win the title. But realistically the Pistons are unique compared to the current heat teams because Jimmy is a typical all-star. The Pistons had been Wallace that year...but he was a very non typical all star.
@@tonywong8134rasheed. He was an all star prior to detroit.
@@lancethedragonmaster8562 im saying during that year. Ben wallace was their only all star and he was one of thw few all stars to average under 10 points. You might even say he was their best player. No other modern era team can say that who won the title.
Absolutely agree!
Definitely gives me similar vibes
2004 was 20 years ago! I still can't get over that!😮
The finals wasn’t quite 20 years ago. But it will be this June. I’ll be 21 (born in ‘03).
@tromboneman4517 shoooooo ⏲️ sure does 🪁🕊 waa a freshmen my worst year in school around that time back when I was a sports fanatic and into sport games now im 35 years old
I always like to remind people these Pistons didn’t just beat the Lakers-they gentleman swept them, with home court disadvantage. They were 1 Kobe three away from outright sweeping them!
To think this dominant victory could’ve been even more dominant is just mind blowing.
The Pistons really should have swept them. They were up 6 with under a minute left in Game 2 and kind of blew it. And none of those three games in Detroit were all that close. The Lakers were falling apart and thrashing around in the water, and the Pistons threw them an anvil.
Kobe threw that series
If Casell hadn't gotten hurt in playoffs MN had a shot at knocking the Lakers off in the WCF. I doubt they'd have beaten Detroit but I think it could have gone to seven
We called it the 5 game sweep
Going into the series I was depressed the Lakers were going to win again. After game 2 I knew the series was over. The Pistons played terrible in game 2 and the Lakers barely won. It is the most confident I've ever been in a team after watching them lose.
The epitome of early 2000’s basketball. Gritty defense, excellent ball movement, uniting as a team under a coach with an old school mindset. Even as a Lakers fan, you have to appreciate how that team came together to pull off the unthinkable!
Imagine how we’d react if someone averaged their defensive stats today.
@fortynights1513 The NBA would do everything in it's power to stop Detroit from dominating with that type of defense.
@@fortynights1513they couldn’t get away with that kinda defense today lol
@@itz.deerius4152 the NBA doesn't want defense anymore. They made a conscious decision to limit defensive play in favor of higher scoring.
The NBA theorized that they would increase their revenue that way
Its a shame, for many people (myself included) the best part of basketball is ironclad defense because it forces players to work as a team to defeat it.
Basketball regressed away from a team sport after 2004 and quickly became SOLEY about superstars. Its unbelievably boring to watch now
@HakeemTheDream616
Yeah because people didn't watch it.
The ratings were down. Blame the consumer.
rip hamilton was my favorite on that 2004 squad... he just kept running around, finding seams in the defense, and then just kicked the opposing team in the teeth with his catch-and-shoot midrange jumpers...
He was off the court as well. He would talk to kids all the time locally and he really was a great for the community.
@@Michael-qg1gh an all around great guy, for sure...
Rip Hamilton is criminally underrated
Rip legend...😢
@@PinoyGuitaristDad i think you're misunderstanding rip as "rest in peace", bud... rip is his nickname, not his current status...
This is great to watch as a Pistons fan especially in the middle of the longest losing streak in North American professional sports history
A small detail that often goes overlooked with this team is how ahead of the curve their players were at each position. Especially when you see that they had two spread bigs. (Sheed and Okur) who were not only valuable size of offense but could space the floor opening to more ball movement and room to play.
And 6th Man of the Year Darko Milicic providing the much-needed spark off the bench
Sheed has always been mad underrated.
And they had Ben Wallace, he still be hooping
@@billblaski9523you mean 16th man of the year...
@Detroitraised Sheed is one of those players who was a clear level below Duncan, KG, Dirk, and even Webber, Pau, & Stoudemire... but he was able to play up to their level on any given night. No one gave Duncan a harder time than Sheed.
It’s a shame how that era of Pistons ball ended due to age, coaching disagreements and not really building for the future continuously knowing what they are now. The most underrated era by a franchise in the history of the NBA
I mean, they *tried* to build for the future. Unfortunately after Joe struck gold with Ben and Chauncey (not to mention Rip, Okur and being gifted Rasheed Wallace) the karma gods decided that was enough good fortune for a while and the Pistons have spent the last 15 years failing in *every* way possible
- Horrendous drafts (Darko; Monroe over PG and Hayward - although that was defensible at the time; Kennard over Mitchell and Bam; Killian over Haliburton and Vassell)
- Keeping players until they no longer had trade value (Rodney Stuckey, Amir Johnson, DJ White, Austin Daye, Andre Drummond, Tayshaun Prince, Rip)
- Giving up on the wrong players too soon (Afflalo, Middleton, KCP, Dinwiddie, Bruce Brown)
- Disastrous FA signings (Ben Gordon, Charlie V, Josh Smith)
- Awful trades (Tobias for Blake, Chauncey for AI)
- Bad coaching hires (Curry, Kuester, Cheeks, Monty, SVG as coach/GM)
- And throw in some bad draft lottery luck for good measure
@@michaelahurt it’s unfortunate as hell, because as a kid, I could never understand why they had became so bad overnight until I got older. Franchise just might be cursed
@@michaelahurtThe Pistons also could’ve been on the upside from one of the most one sided trades ever if Kobe Bryant hadn’t decided to use his no trade clause.
In 2007’s offseason they offered the Lakers Rip Hamilton, Tayshawn Prince, Amir Johnson, and a first round pick for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers front office accepted it.
Not saying Kobe would’ve fit what they were doing, but they’d have probably liked to have had him in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s.
@@fortynights1513 I'm not sure that would've changed anything unless Gasol, Odom, Bynum and Phil came with him. The Lakers were a trainwreck from 2014-19 and Kobe was struggling to make the playoffs the three years without an All-NBA big man next to him
But, yeah, he's a top 15 player ever (or higher for a lot of people) so I suppose that's bad luck of one kind or another
@@michaelahurtTrue, and I’m not saying they get a title with Kobe or anything like that, but he could’ve helped the Pistons finish with a better record than they did in reality in the early 2010’s at the very least.
We also may have seen Kobe vs LeBron in the Eastern conference playoffs in one of those years. Also, those last three years of his career was post injury I believe.
Ben Wallace is one of my all-time favorite players. He was an absolute beast on defense and dominated during this season with his superb shot-blocking and rebounding capabilities. He'd eventually play his way into the Hall of Fame deservedly so.
facts
“Like a cigarette around my drunk mom” 😂😂😂 caught me of guard for some reason
Pistons: Go against the script in 04
NBA: Aight bet..
19… years… later….
Chill bro😂😂
Tell the NBA to keep its grubby paws off Clayton!!!
What did they do to him?
@@fortynights1513 I think he’s talking about how this is a reupload, why the OG video was taken down idk
Chauncey definitely wasn't a top 5-ish guy -- certainly not in 2004 -- but, like Reggie Miller, he was *WAAAAYYY* better and way closer to that than we thought at the time. We really favored aesthetics over results back then. And didn't understand which results mattered. (Although to be fair, Chauncey was a late bloomer who was still figuring it out; and kind of did in that series. It'd be like if Jokic had won in 2020 *just* as he was beginning his ascent.)
There's an argument he was the best guard in the NBA from about 2004 - 08. He was an excellent defender, great three point shooter, had a monster FT rate (and didn't miss FT), and didn't turn the ball over. He was more efficient than Kobe, a better defender than Nash, and a better shooter than AI or T-Mac or Kidd or Wade. His only real weakness was finishing but he got fouled so much it kind of didn't matter.
Advanced metrics peg him as an All-NBA level guy from 2003 - 2009 and an MVP-level player in his best seasons. (He actually did finish as high as 5th and 6th.) But it's not an accident that his similarity scores on basketball reference are: Steph, Wade, Westbrook, Gervin, Nash, Payton, Drexler, Frazier, McGrady, Lillard. He's one of the most underrated players of all time.
Billups might’ve been the most well rounded player at the 1 or 2 in the 2000’s.
You mentioned finishing fifth in the MVP vote (which he did in 2005-06); all the guards you named (Kobe, McGrady, Iverson, Wade, Kidd, Nash) also finished top five in an MVP vote at least once each. Though he didn’t do so until the first half of the 2010’s, Tony Parker too.
Two other players who were also relatively in prime in that generation who weren’t able to do that are Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.
@fortynights1513 Billups and Kidd are easily the 2 best well rounded PGs from the 2000s. It's not even a debate. 2 way basketball they are the best of of their era. They use to spank everyone night in night out. I watched chauncey get torch Nash CP3 and even Steph when chauncey was an old man. He was get MVPs and first ballot hall of famers benched.
One more thing to add is that Chauncey was also a very good passer in the same sentence as Nash or Kidd. He wasn’t as flashy as them, but he was on their level. It’s no surprising that the pistons were one of the top teams in fewest turnovers.
@@AgentJ2007 Yeah I'm not going that far. That's actually a ridiculous statement if I'm being honest. He wasn't remotely close to their level as a playmaker. You just named two of the five best passers in league history. That's like saying Chauncey was as good a shooter as Steph. What made those guys great is they made the hard passes that led to layups for their teammates. They created *SOOO* many scoring chances for their teams. Chauncey didn't quite do that. He didn't have that kind of vision.
But he was a dependable facilitator who made really good decisions and was an accurate passer. He's closer to Chris Paul as a passer -- and overall player -- than people would think.
@@michaelahurtdie hard Det fan and I agree 💯. Wasn't in their league lol ,but few were. Not an insult just the facts. Ur talking all time greats at their position. But clutch, and much better defense ! Didn't have to be them, he was what Det needed at the right time!
F the tube for demonetizing this. Best basketball content online. Love this video.
Yet they pay total fools like FlightMike and AM Hoops
That starting 5 was amazing. 4 all stars and the guy who never made an all star game WAS good enough to win a gold medal with team USA. That is depth.
I had a photo up on my wall as a kid of Sheed, Ben, Billups, and Rip all sitting on the scorers table waiting to sub in at the All-Star game. It's one of my favorite sports photos of all time.
Their team was a hallmark of mid 00’s culture
As a young lakers fan during this era, looking back this Detroit team is one of my favorites to have ever witnessed. Real hustlers, great team basketball. Inspirational.
hands down my favorite basketball page on youtube, fantastic storytelling, very articulate speaking, in depth research, and the most captivating basketball talk on youtube. Clayton is as outstanding of an orator as they come.
Thanks for an awesome video. I watched with my 19yr old son and 13yr old daughter and they loved it. We miss those days for sure!
As a Spurs fan, seeing the Pistons dominate in the finals that year soothed my aching heart after the Derek Fisher 0.4 shot. And the next year going and facing them in the finals was I one of the few times I remember feeling a truely deep respect for the other guys on the court. They fought us hard and played the right way for sure.
Those Finals were weird because the first 4 games were blowouts but then the final 3 were close and intense as hell. I was disappointed but if the Pistons had to lose at least it was to a team like the Spurs and not the goddamned Lakers.
That was a hell of series. They were pretty evenly matched. Don't think the pistons had the hunger they had year before.
Damn you robert horry
@@dougvuillemot8670Yeah, plus their bench in 2005 wasn’t as good as in 2004. They lost Corliss Williamson, Mike James and Mehmet Okur, and replaced them with past prime Antonio McDyess.
Yeah I'm a Spurs fan, and watched that game where Duncan hit what should have been the game winner, and then Fisher hits that shot. Shot should never have counted, but it's the Lakers. It has been determined for years now, and is in the rule book, that you can not make a turn around shot with .4 seconds left. Not possible to do with that little time. You pretty much have to try and tip the ball in with no more time left than that
it was a privilege to have been a fan of this team.... the most intense defensive squad that may have ever existed..... and Rasheed Wallace will always be under appreciated, and under respected, but he will always also be a champion. Ball don't lie!
Remember the streak they had of keeping teams under 80 points? I can’t remember how many games it was in a row, but it was absolutely crazy
i do, and my favorite part was that when New Jersey finally broke the streak, they fouled us several times at the end of the game to get more chances, and then celebrated like they had won, even though they lost by like 20..... and rasheed went to half court and applauded them.@@playdiscgolf1546
I know nobody made 1st team All NBA in 2004 from the Pistons but Ben Wallace was 2nd team All NBA, 7th in MVP voting , & had 2 of his 4 DPOYS in the bag before Rasheed got there 😎
All-NBA teams don't matter. The players who made those teams back then were ballhogs like Iverson, Kobe, McGrady, etc. Everybody knew Hamilton and Billups were just as good as any guard in the league in their primes.
@@ZenigundamI’d say those guys you named could score pretty well, but they probably weren’t as well rounded
@@Zenigundamnahhhh
@@ZenigundamBut Ben wasn’t a scorer so that makes it more impressive
But ben Wallace was never a top 5 player or even top 10 player.
Was just talking about how this team is a prime example of how strong team chemistry and defense can get you anywhere.
Not anymore. At least on defense. Stern changed the defensive rules because he didn’t like seeing 87-75 games. The pistons held teams under 100 points for 25 straight games. A record that will never be broke.
My favourite fact about the 2004 NBA championship is how closely it mirrors the 2004 Euro Cup in soccer. A tough, gritty, defensively minded team playing their sport the right way, defying the odds and dethroning superstars to win it all in decisive fashion, thanks to an extremely smart coach. That's no-name Greece not allowing a single goal in three consecutive matches, not even against a Portuguese team loaded with offensive firepower, Nuno, Cristiano and Figo. Tt was like the Greeks had built a wall instead of hiring a goalkeeper. That was the only thing that Greek team was really good at, defense, and playing as a team. They had turned the sport into a war of attrition. And when the Greeks finally scored the single, only goal they needed off a set play with a header from a corner kick, an entire country erupted in cheering so loud it could be felt like an earthquake. No one except the Greeks liked that outcome. Journalists came out and called it "ugly". "They ruined the beautiful sport!" were words actually uttered by real people in the following days. Too many people lost a lot of money betting on that game. You can still find the articles they wrote about it. It's one of my favourite stories in sports. The Greek team was happy just to be there, none of them had even planned to make it past the group stage. They shouldn't have. Their journey included matches against the biggest names in the sport at the time, and they were nobodies. This was Greece's second appearance in any Euro ever.
Beating Portugal 2-1 already at the group stage during the opening of the tournament was considered a massive overachievement, but then by some miracle they managed to draw against Spain and send themselves to the knockout stage. Then, in the football equivalent to Operation Unthinkable, facing none other than defending euro champion and former world champion France, the Greeks held the line. 1-0. Makelele and Zidane couldn't combine for a single goal against the wall the Greeks had built. At the semi finals, the Greeks should have finally met their match. A Czech team so offensively powerful, they HAD to be able to break down the Greek defenses. They beat Denmark 3-0 for God's sake. Instead, the Greeks went the distance, all of regulation without a single goal from either team. Then, in Overtime, the only Silver Goal in the history of UEFA soccer, the first and last time this rule was ever used before it was changed probably precisely because of this upset. Then, in the 2004 Finals facing the very first team they played at the start of the tournament, the Greeks could only cheer, knowing the inconceivable was about to happen. "We'll beat Brazil next!" the fans cheered as Charisteas headed the ball into the net.
Greece enjoyed some time contending for a while after this massive series of upsets, but a short 10 or so years later they were struggling just to qualify. The Greek football dynasty was not to be, but 2004 is remembered fondly all the same.
2004 was indeed a crazy year filled with upsets and crazy underdog stories in football. Porto winning the UCL, Arsenal going INVINCIBLE, weirder Bremen and Valencia winning bundesliga and La liga respectively, and obviously Greece winning the euros.
Not football related but red Sox ending the drought aswell.
I love your Dojo CC. Thanks for shining light on some history of the game. Much needed to counter the 24/7 talking head news cycle that dominates sports media.
I'm just here to give the like that I gave for the original video. Thank you Clayton for coming through at Christmas!
This video is outstanding! Thank you for sharing
I remember the brawl that year what a year to be a pistons fan
That was
The
Next season.
The reason the brawl happened the next year was due to tension built during these playoffs.
@alwillk the next season but both in 2004 so lay off
Beautifully done..Bravo! As a 20+ year old at the time that grew up watching this actually happen. Living in Detroit by the way…You captured it all🥹
Ah damn what went wrong with the first upload? Guess I’ll have to watch this video again… 😂 Hope this vid still does well despite the reupload 💪
Such a great video. So well done. I'm a pacers fan but have the utmost respect for the Pistons history and all three of their chips, this one perhaps most of all.
Wow... What a wonderful video! For a real basketball fan like myself it gave me goose bumps and almost brought me to tears. I remember rooting so hard for these Pistons against the Lakers and being completly in awe when they won, as almost as if their victory meant that there is justice and good in this world. Thank you!
Love the video as always, but have to comment, Clayton, you are one *_hell_* of a story teller, keep this good, no great, content coming!
Thank you for the re-upload
Why?
Don't think I've seen one of your videos before... deserved sub right off the bat. Fantastic work!!
Great video! I like it even better the second time. Thanks for all you do.
Great video, thank you! Keep making these, pistons are one of the most fascinating sports teams ever.
The 2004 Pistons are easily my favorite team ever. A total defensive juggernaut and completely unselfish. I love it and we will never see a team like that again.
FANTASTIC VIDEO, nice work
Great video, really brought me back. Was 21 years old and at all of the home games this run. Such a great time.
As a kid watching that Finials I was mad Kobe wasn’t wining. But even in the moment I couldn’t help but appreciate how in sync The Pistons were on both ends. They really were a special group.
Great video, much enjoyment.
Where does Dallas knocking over the Heat rank in NBA Finals upsets? Any other notable Finals upsets?
This was a fantastic video. Much love.
Dude. You are too good.
Keep goin’… we are thankful for your hard work!
Detroit can single handily thank Kobe Bryant's ego, hero ball mentality & his atrocious play toward winning a FMVP (in single coverage schemes) is what imploded this team. You can't win a series when your team leader in FG attempts (23 per game to average 23 ppg) shoots 37%., leads the team in turnovers (nearly 4 per game) & has the pathetic offensive rating of Luke Walton (90). This was all about Prince locking Kobe down as the Pistons knew Kobe would force bad shots & it worked...
You know the entire Lakers team played like trash right outside of Shaq who had 2 great games and Kobe had the great Game 2.
DFisch was the Lakers 3rd leading scorer at 6PPG on 30%FG while GPayton and KMalone both averaged 4PPG each on 33%FG but sure it was all Kobe
Not really. The Pistons did play good D all the way around, but making excuses won't hide the facts/truth:
Shaq was the best player in the series between both teams & averaged 27/11/2/0/1 on 63% from the field. Shaq scored 20 MORE total points than Kobe on 30 LESS FGA's which is 27 ppg on 17 FGA's per game. Kobe took as many shots as the next 4 players Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Derek Fisher & Devean George COMBINED!! How could anyone else have ever got into a groove or played well with Kobe bombing up bricks & hogging the ball?? You pointing out DF as their 3rd leading scorer with 6 per game is easy to explain: no on else got any looks. The 4 of them combined only averaged 5.5 FGA's per game. Kobe didn't try an pass the ball when he wasn't hitting shots or look for better looks, he just forced it whether or not the outcome was good or bad. Anyone that watched the series or knows NBA Finals history knows Kobe melted down. It's just a fact. He wasn't bad, he was abysmal. Him & Payton/Fisher also allowed Hamilton/Billups to both average 21 per game. Shaq did his part, was the best player in the series, les the entire series in both Win Shares & Win Shares per 48 mins, but you can't outplay a teammate forcing such bad looks in a series where 2/4 losses were only a difference of 3 possessions.
@@davis2k1234
@@acason4 Malone was hurt if he was healthy might been a different series and those players shot in low 30% range while being after thoughts behind Shaq and Kobe in terms of defensive focus they choked idc how many shots they did didn’t take when they did shot it they missed.
And the Lakers got blown out in 3 of there 4 loses with the only game they won Kobe was the best player on the court 38PTs buzzer beater 3PT. Kobe’s bad shooting cost them 1 single game were it was close and Shaq had a great game think it was Game 4.
Shaq had a game we’re he lead the team in shots and had 14Pts
I’m not saying Kobe didn’t have a off shooting bad Finals but the Pistons were by far then better TEAM period it’s in the discussion for best Defensive team of All Time and were a GW Horry shot from going back to back in 2005 and won 65 games in 2006 with 4 All Stars
You're just clueless....
The Lakers lost 1/4 game by 8 pts & two games by roughly 10-12 pts, the ONLY "blowout" was Game 3 at Detroit where the Lakers lost by 20. & I don't care how many points Shaq had in "one game", he was the best player in the entire 5 game series. "One game" is a NON SEQUITUR, I evaluated the entirety of the series because that's what actually matters!! Kobe didn't just have an "off" shooting series, he was absolute trash on both ends of the floor & for the record Kobe's career shooting % in the Finals is a pathetic 40%. He was basically who he always was in the Finals shooting % wise. The Pistons were NOT the better team, Kobe melted down & let an inferior opponent beat them because he played hero ball & the other players didn't have any chance to score or get in a rhythm because Kobe was busy bombing up bricks & turning the ball over. I love how you want to appeal to a single game where Kobe played well as if the series is one game. Another delusional dick riding Kobe fan. I outlined the facts for you & facts don't care about your feelings. You've been wrong now multiple times & I've had to correct you. They lost the series because of Kobe both directly & indirectly. This is a well known fact & I provided all the evidence you want to just hand waive away to point to the one game he showed up. Typical bias & motivated reasoning. The Pistons weren't that great, the Lakers were a 3 peat team with 4 HOF's, 2 of which were right in the middle of their prime & one of which was the best player in the series. If Kobe isn't absolute trash at worst they go 7 games & at best they win in 6, but because he was busy chasing personal accolades they lost. End of discussion.
Obviously no player is completely responsible for the entire series loss, but Kobe's to blame for over 75%-80% of that team's failure. He had 3 titles & ZERO FMVP's & they weren't winning another title unless he was FMVP. He was going to shoot until it went in, regardless of what happened. Just watch the interview with Gary Payton or Billups & they'll tell you their plan was to let Kobe bomb up bricks.@@davis2k1234
Kobe deserves a statue in Detroit for that
First off, FANTASTIC VIDEO on my favorite team of all time! The most beautiful defense I've ever seen. All 5 simultaneously rotating as a single unit to cover for each other? Gives me goosebumps. Coaches should be forced to study them...
Second, it wasn't an upset. Like, at ALL! I had season tickets that year. I can tell you that EVERYONE in Detroit still gets mad when people still call it an "upset". Everyone here knew Lakers had zero chance going in. The Championship party had already begun.
I understand why outsiders call B.S. on that. Hold that thought - Proof in a sec - but how do you think we got to the Finals?? That year the Pistons set EVERY conceivable Defensive Record in the shot-clock era. We rampaged thru everyone! Lakers were just the final victim. In playoff Rrd1 the Bucks had a game with 12 shot clock violations! They couldn't even get a shot off! Gone in 5. Next, the Nets who were held to 56pts in gm1 (a record), and in the close out gm, LOST to a Pistons team that only scored 69. The ECF was our toughest Rd against Pacers, who we beat in 6, and held UNDER 70pts in 3 of those games (a record in a series). Finally, game 1 against Lakers, we won 87-75 - like we EXPECTED to (Shaq/Kobe-60pt, team-15pts). After Kobe miracle shot won gm 2, Lakers were held in gm 3 to just 68pts (a Finals record)!!!! That was it. Series was done. We did to Lakers what we did to everyone else. No lame excuses.
Oh yeah, proof we knew? (This is crazy) Look at the "final scores" in game results, specifically from Feb 19th, when we got Sheed, until end of the season. Just look below, you will see it...
www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DET/2004_games.html
Out of curiosity given that you say it wasn’t exactly an upset, were the Lakers the second best team that year?
And was your team expected to beat Indiana given that was closer?
@@fortynights1513 Those Pacers 100% would've smashed the Lakers in 5 or less too. They were our carbon copies, a swarm on defense. They had our old coach, and similar type players, Dawgs 1-10. It came down to Artest lost his cool, hit Rip in the face(mask) and we won on his free throws. We barely survived. The next year the Pacers were by far the best team in the league, but... Malice at the Palace happened about 15-20 games in.
@@nathanlawson313 as a fellow Michigander/Pistons fan at that time - I 100% agree with you... in '05 there wasn't a single one of us who was sad that the Pacers team got destroyed by suspensions, that was their year & they would have beaten the shit out of us & everyone else.
And either that year or 05 we broke the record for most consecutive games holding opponents under 70 points... Game 1 was during my senior all night party. Good times.
Very chilled and interesting video; loved it!
That was a beautiful story from before my time as an NBA fan. Thank you for telling it.
I'm a Detroiter....
And during this finals, I told my family and friends in LA, that if the pistons win Game 1, it's a wrap for the Lakers...
And......look what happened.
Deeeeeeeeeeeeetroiiiiittttt Basketballllllllllllll
Ben Wallace was a legend at my school during these years (thousands of miles away from Detroit at a small school in northern Saskatchewan)
Awesome video Clayton - just awesome.
I wanted this topic from you for so long! Thanks for the time you put into it. Also sorry you had me to reupload
They're actually pretty similar to the last Knicks championship teams roster from 1970.
Frazier - Billups / Earl the Pearl - Rip Hamilton / Willis Reed - Ben Wallace / Dave Debusschere - Rasheed Wallace / Dick Barnett - Tayshaun Prince. Funny enough they beat the Lakers in the Finals as underdogs again a duo of a 2 and a 5, Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West lol. The Knicks roster is definitely a better roster, but they focused on moving the ball rather than having anyone dominate 1 on 1 and played staunch defense.
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One of my favorite NBA teams ever
Great video. Good story telling!
This a amazing video and touching. I agree with you 100%.
This team is my favorite ever. The grit and team spirit were amazing.
Ben Wallace is also my favorite player ever. When you are ridiculously undersized to be a center and your nickname is "Big Ben" the big is about the amount of toughness and heart. Being able to guard Shaq mostly one on one is incredible. I saw Ben once block Dirk Nowitzki twice in 3 seconds. I appreciate you increasing my knowledge of just how special Ben and the whole team (except Darko) was.
I will never forgive them for not taking Carmelo in the draft.
I think he was called big ben due to his massive size. No, he wasn't extremely tall, but he was a very big and strong guy, with huge muscles. That's what made up for his lack of height, plus athleticism and will power
@@PhoenixAscendingHe was small by the standards of NBA centers in both height and weight. Against Shaq he was giving up 4 to 6 inches and 60+ pounds. He was extremely strong and muscular, but for a center of his era he was literally "undersized". Charles Oakley was an early mentor of Ben.
Here is what Charles Oakley said of of Ben Wallace when he was in college:
Wallace turned to Oakley for guidance, and Oak placed a call to his former coach at Virginia Union, Dave Robbins.
“I would always ask Charles, I’d say, Charles, if you run across a young fella that can play, let me know,” Robbins says. “Charles never recommended a player. Never would recommend me a player.
“So one day… I get this call, and he said, ‘Coach, I think I might have you a player.’ I always ask Charles to find me a big man, a post player. I said, ‘Well, is he a big man?’ And Charles says, ‘Well, he’s not real big, but he sure is a man.’”
Wallace was basically a slightly slower, much stronger, tougher, much more disciplined version of Dennis Rodman. Best of all Wallace was also sane. Wallace might have been an inch taller than Rodman, and was 30 pounds heavier. Ben Wallace's listed height of 6'9" is probably an exaggeration of one or two inches.
@@davidrichardson7466that’s still a massive height 6’7.75-6’8 is pretty big and that’s like power forward height or large small forward
@TheCosmosAwaits are you short? You mentioned he's the size of a SF or PF, are you forgetting that he was a center? He was LITERALLY UNDERSIZED for an NBA center. He huge compared to normal humans but wasn't drafted because he was short for an NBA center.
The 04 Pistons made me love basketball!
I was 5 when this happened, still remember it happening. Since then I am cursed to support this franchise. Through the heartbreaks of Horry, Lebron Boston, to not drafting Paul George, Kawhi and Dame and even Haliburton, Bane and Maxey , through the promises of drafting Drummond, Monroe, Daye Ellenson, Stanimal Sekou and Killian Hayes. Through Josh Smith, Trading Chauncey for the corpse of Allen Iverson, the corpse of TMac, Ben Gordon and Charlie V. Through Stan Van giving us empty promises and giving away our entire future for 1 glorious year of MVP Blake. I believed when Troy said giving Bruce Brown, Reggie and Andre away for nothing was a good idea, i believed in trading saddiq for a d league player. I believed in Monty and Troy and Tellem. I am about to witness my favourite NBA team break the record most consecutive loses in NBA history on the day after christmas. Joe Dumars made a deal with the devil when he sacrificed 30 years of the Pistons franchise for one ring in 04. I hate everything this franchise has been these past 15 years but I am still here and I still will support these goddamn losers.
This video was amazing!!
Love the content!! Keep it up
That win in 04 was the best basketball Ive ever seen that pistons team was one of theall time greats.
That Chip winning team was built over a 3 year span. Starting with Chucky Atkins and Big Ben. That early core was held together by Michael Curry until the torch was passed. The team continues to grow by Joe Dumars great drafts and moving on from Rick Carlisle. The Pistons finally trade for Sheed. Same way the 89 team traded for Mark Aguire to add the final piece
Great video and all of that was true well done
I've never liked watching the NBA but I loved this Pistons team/era because they were so different - no ego and all hard work, defense, and teamwork. Those type of teams are so rare and a true treasure to watch.
If you think about it Ben Wallace was the only real superstar on that team. Sure his offence was atrocious, but his overall defence is top 10 all time for centers, he was unstoppable defensively in his prime
Another brilliant video
Awesome video. Thanks.
Dope thumbnail
Lol TF you doin here goob man? Welp, can you make a video on Jimmy butler he's my favourite player in the nba
i love you nbagoober
That’s another knock on Kobe he lost with SHAQ against the PISTONS 😳and the 3 RINGS with SHAQ he won SHAQ was FINALS MVP for all 3 of them.. and the same year the MAVS beat Miami from LEFLOP CHOKING in 2011..the same MAVS SWEPT the LAKERS in the Western conference finals to get to the finals 😳
Best basketball youtuber since the beginning. Keep it pushing
Great video!
People often forget that this iteration of the Pistons averaged something like 12 turnovers per game for the entire era. Chauncey just did not turn the ball over and very few mistakes were made. Darko really gave us that emotional boost off the bench too, LOL!
His assist to turnover ratio was awesome in that stretch
So why did a group of "outcasts" beat a "star studded" lakers team... cause there's ONLY 1 BALL IN PLAY AT A TIME.... and 5 different EGOS couldn't work together as a unit..... but the pistons did
Nice video Clayton
Ur the most underrated content creator at the moment
That Detroit team wins more titles with Either Melo or Wade as their pick instead of Darko.
No they don’t.Carmelo wasn’t a team player.
Larry Brown didn't like playing rookies in general. He'd have had problems with Melo just like Iverson and unlike Iverson he wouldn't have tolerated it. Wade wouldn't get any playing time at all.
@@CrazyxEnigmahow wouldn’t wade get playing time
@@jasonmoukala8909 Because he's a rookie in this scenario for one and two he'd be playing behind Rip Hamilton who was that teams third best player at worst. Stars played more minutes on average then they do today.
I know it's twenty years ago and either you don't remember or never watched ball back then but this was well known at the time.
Imagine watching this video and reading that the current Detroit pistons are 2-28 😂
Great video
@claytoncrowley Just had a whole flashback to my life back in 03-04… dare I say inspired now?! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Feel your Big Ben description is very dismissive of the player he was by 04( already 2x defensive player of year @ this point) , I get it fits the narrative but this team had endured years of building up to this point, & you’re non mention of the quality of depth of the bench is kinda criminal too, when you have guys like Okur, Corliss, Elden, Mike James & Lindsey Hunter would come in & pick up full court against second unit ball handlers, chucky atkins gave quality minutes at one point, Darvin Ham gave great wing minutes on defense, & darko the human victory cigar lol, so I guess to say “that was the 04 pistons” sounds great, but doesn’t explain this team at all as someone who watched them all year, also they held 11 opponents to under 70 pts in a game, including 5 games in a row, that’s the 2004 pistons the best defense of all time & and an absolute loaded deep roster, but appreciate your narrative
I feel like Richard Hamilton was the best player on that team
Mid range God
Billups was finals MVP
He was gonna get at least 20 a night. One of my favorite players
@quehustle2289 yeah they played really well but the lakers, Miami, and Boston wanted it more. Defense was down and in 08 they could of beat the Celtics
great video, got a sandlot ending type of nice vibe to it
Do you think if the Spurs would have advanced (as they should have) they would have beaten the Pistons?
They played in the NBA Finals the next year and the Spurs won in a tight game 7, so maybe the Spurs would have won in 04 but it still would have been a tough series that the Pistons also could have won.
@@kurtpittman7225Miami is what happened faster and they basically made extra passes
Ben had a bigger impact than shaq, rasheed could play up to the level of duncan and garnett and dirk whenever he was motivated and they were both tremendous defenders. Tayshaun is also great defensively, and billups and hamilton were killing payton and kobe couldn’t guard them both. The 2004 finals are what happens when you listen to media narrative instead of watching the games.
Facts!
The latest evidence of this is the sweep by Denver to LA this year. Every day after the loss the media would talk about how well LeBron did and that the Lakers have Denver's number. Then they get swept and people like Nick Wright are calling it a close sweep and the toughest challenge Denver had in the West. Despite Denver themselves saying Minnesota actually put up the hardest fight. Over even Phoenix who won two games over the Nuggets
Is this... a CHRISTMAS MIRACLE?!?!?! A new Clayton video?!
LFG!
Amazing video
Lol what a terrible take. You really went out of your way to downplay the players Detroit had. Yes, they didn’t have a superstar, but they had a collection of all stars. Chauncey Billups was no longer a *journey man bust*, he was named Mr. Big Shot prior to that season for a reason. Richard Hamilton was one of the best SG’s in the league. He was the Ray Allen of midrange. Just running around screens for 20 seconds until he was open. Yes Rasheed was a head case, but he was a multi time all star prior to the acquisition. Calling Ben Wallace an “Undrafted Specialist” is misleading considering he might be the greatest at the skill he was a specialist in, defense. He was already a b2b DPOY, and acquired it two more times after the chip. Put some respect on Detroit. This notion that the lakers got beat by nobodies is ridiculous.
The lakers were the nbas darlings and the pistons had no marketable superstars which the nba likes. Secondly the pistons won with defense in a league that David stern wanted games to be 150-145. Pistons went 25 straight games holding teams under 100 points. A record that will never be broken.
Not an upset Detroit was better if you were alive during that time lol
another banger as expected
Everyone in Detroit knew that we were going to win. We had been making it one step closer since 2000. And adding Sheed was the topping on the cake. We were so hyped up at being labeled the underdog and a big one at that. Ask any fan from the era. We knew we were not the underdog in that series.
Beautiful video
This is the series that got me into basketball. My uncle was going for the Pistons since he hated the Lakers and got me a Rip jersey. Wild that was back in the 2nd grade lol.
My dad moved from India in his early 20’s in ‘87 to start at Wayne State and was in the midst of the bad boys era. Made me a die hard Detroit sports fan to this day and bonding with my pops watching the pistons in ‘04 & ‘05 bonding over a hard-nosed gritty team was a genuine highlight of my entire childhood
This is the most underrated team thar won the championship. The starting 5, can score and defend.
I still love watching my Pistons, but back then, I would look foward to it. Went to game 5 with my kids. What a day. Wish our owner cares enough like Bill Davidson did.
Detroit vs Everybody
i was a pistons fan growing up and still am to this day and i got to watch them win this championship back when i was in middle school and one of my teachers was a lakers fan so i got someone to smack talk with then eventually brag to about my team