[1] Despite a solid year the previous season, the Pistons received the second overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft, which they obtained from the Memphis Grizzlies.
At midseason, the team acquired All-Star forward Rasheed Wallace from the Atlanta Hawks after playing just one game for them.
[2] With the addition of Wallace, the Pistons won 16 of their final 19 games, finishing second in the Central Division with a 54–28 record.
In the Finals, the Pistons would pull off one of the greatest upsets in NBA history by defeating the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers four games to one, winning their third overall championship and first since 1990.
The Finals were played using a 2–3–2 site format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with home court advantage.
[4] The Lakers had a lineup of stars such as Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal – their offensive capability was expected to overpower Detroit's defensive-based gameplan.
Considered to be a stunning upset by most of the NBA world, the Detroit Pistons managed to defeat the Lakers with imposing defense.
O'Neal's foul trouble furthered the scoring gap, with the Pistons leading by 13 points early in the fourth quarter.
The Pistons beat Los Angeles by 20 in their first NBA Finals appearance together at The Palace of Auburn Hills since 1989[8] to take a 2–1 lead in the series.
The game saw the end of Phil Jackson's first run as the coach (he returned for the 2005–06 season), and saw O'Neal, Payton, and Malone's last games in Laker uniforms (O'Neal and Payton were both acquired by the soon-to-be NBA Champions Miami Heat and Malone retired).