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In memory of the 2004 world champion Detroit Pistons

By Travis Gibbs

WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 29: Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons takes a jumper in a game against the Washington Wizards on December 29, 2004 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2004 NBAE (Photo by Mitchell Layton/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 29: Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons takes a jumper in a game against the Washington Wizards on December 29, 2004 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2004 NBAE (Photo by Mitchell Layton/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons /

The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers will meet for the fourth consecutive season in the NBA Finals. Let’s take a look back at the last time the Detroit Pistons were crowned NBA champions.

It’s been 14 years since the last time the Detroit Pistons won an NBA championship. To a lot of fans, it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long.

That finals match-up could be compared to this year’s NBA finals. Everybody is counting out Cleveland against Golden State. In 2004, everyone counted out Detroit against the Lakers.

How can you blame everyone that counted out Detroit? That Lakers team featured Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton.

The worst champion we’ve seen since 2001?

Matt Moore from CBS Sports created a bracket that seeded out every NBA team that has won a championship since 2001. Here’s what he had to say about the 2004 Detroit Pistons.

"“the 2004 Pistons fall to the end. Look, I’m not counting out a team with the defense that squad had, along with Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. But the Hall of Fame entrants here are few compared to the other champions on this list.”"

That same season, the Detroit Pistons won 54 games in the regular season but didn’t manage to win their respective division. They didn’t exactly cruise through opponents on the way to the finals that season.

The Pistons weren’t all glamour. They thrived on the defensive end of the floor. Nothing was pretty about what they did on the basketball court. It was all about the “Goin’ to work” mentality.

If you think about it, there have been a lot of talented teams to win the NBA finals during that span from 2001-2017. It’s easier to understand why the Pistons didn’t get any love in Moore’s article.

There’s one team to make an argument against in this bracket. The 2004 Pistons were better than the 2011 Dallas Mavericks that found a way to beat LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

2004 Detroit Pistons season review

This Detroit Pistons team finally felt good about what they had coming into the season. They were good, not great.

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This team had question marks. Ben Wallace was really the only proven guy in their starting lineup going into the regular season.

Chauncey Billups floated around before Detroit finally became his home. Tayshaun Prince was unproven to this point.

Offensively, they finished in the bottom half of the league in points per game and offensive rating. Defensively, they were top five in points given up and defensive rating.

The Pistons were just ten games above the .500 mark in February. They acquired Rasheed Wallace and the team absolutely took off. The Pistons won 20 of their last 24 games going into the postseason.

The 2004 playoff run

They went into the playoffs as a three seed and rolled past the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round in just five games.

Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson, and the New Jersey Nets gave them a heck of a battle in the second round of the playoffs.

The Pistons were facing elimination after losing in overtime in game five. The resiliency of this team showed in the next two games as they advanced to the Eastern Conference finals to face the Indiana Pacers.

People like to talk about LeBron’s block against Andre Iguodala in the 2016 NBA finals. Pistons fans will never forget this one.

The Pistons defeated their division rival in six games on their way to the 2004 NBA finals. The star-powered Los Angeles Lakers we’re heavily favored and the Pistons had other plans.

The Pistons threw bodies at Shaq. Prince locked down Kobe. It was one of the most dominating defensive performances in NBA history. The Pistons sucked the life out of the Lakers.

By game five, the Lakers were completely diminished. The Detroit Pistons were NBA champions for the first time since the Bad Boys that went back to back in 1989 and 1990.

The moral of the story

The Detroit Pistons didn’t have star power. They weren’t pretty by any means. They had their flaws and that was all okay. This Pistons team came together to achieve a goal much bigger than themselves.

When players know their role and trust the system that is in place, great things can happen. The 2004 Detroit Pistons are the product of that logic.

Let’s hope that new management can work toward bringing another NBA championship back to Detroit sooner rather than later.

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