There are a few players that are so special they strike fear into their opponents. Among the top of that list lies Kobe Bryant. His ‘Mamba Mentality’ registered every opposing player as his prey. Bryant’s prowess was so overwhelming that ahead of the 2004 NBA Finals, even Pistons guard Chauncy Billups’ wife had no faith in her husband’s team because of Kobe.
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Billups joined ESPN analysts, Marc Spears and Jay Harris to discuss the Finals series against the Lakers. Although Billups was confident, the person in his corner wasn’t on his side. He said,
“Before the series started, I told my wife we were going to beat them. My wife was like ‘Man what? They got [Kobe Bryant].'”
Billups’ wife wasn’t the only one who doubted the Pistons. Detroit were heavy underdogs against the Lakers. The betting odds had the Lakers as -700 favorites. She was justified in her belief since historically all the signs pointed that the Lakers would prevail.
At the time, Detroit hadn’t won a championship since 1990. On the other hand, the Lakers won three in a row from 2000-2002. Their dominance was on full display as they only lost five games entering the Finals.
However, Billups didn’t let his wife’s words deter the mindset which he carried.
“I felt like we could guard them. They had the better players obviously, but they didn’t have a better team,” Billups said.
Detroit only had one All-Star representative in Ben Wallace. The Lakers had two in Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe. Additionally, the Lakers made key moves in the offseason to sign NBA legends, Gary Payton and Karl Malone.
The Pistons weren’t fazed by the big names on the Lakers roster and fell back on their identity of a blue-collar defensive unit. They hoisted the second-best defense behind the Spurs with a defensive rating of 95.4.
Their ability to match up with the Lakers was apparent. Los Angeles had no answer and the Pistons went on to dominate that series winning the championship in five games. Billups went on to win Finals MVP with averages of 21.0 points, 5.2 assists and 1,2 steals on 50.1% shooting from the field.
Impact the 2004 Finals loss had on the Lakers
The 2003-04 Lakers were unlike other championship contenders. At the time, they already proved they were capable of winning with their core. However, existing internal problems grew astronomically following the Finals loss.
Tensions flared between the Lakers dynamic superstars, Shaq and Kobe. Their conflict of interest became too much to overcome. As a result, the Lakers traded Shaq to the Heat ahead of the 2004-05 season. O’Neal maintains to this day that this was more so a financial move by the Lakers front office than one fueled by interpersonal relationships but it’s clear that Kobe and Shaq would’ve imploded if left alone for another season.
Malone retired following the season and Payton joined the Celtics in free agency. Their championship roster was decimated in the span of a few months.
It wasn’t until 2008 that the Lakers would reach the status of championship contenders once more. The franchise eventually won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.
However, if the Lakers won the 2004 Finals, the trajectory of their organization’s future could’ve potentially panned out much differently.
