Although the Lakers, headed by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, were considered the heavy favorites,[1] the underdog Pistons handily won the series in five games.
The series ultimately featured the perceived underdog Pistons[1] dominating a Lakers team that included four future Hall of Famers.
The Lakers had won three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002 but lost to the eventual champions, the San Antonio Spurs, in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2003 to end their streak at three.
[2] The Lakers breezed past their first-round opponent, the Houston Rockets, headlining a matchup between Shaquille O'Neal and a young Yao Ming.
In his place, Dumars hired legendary coach Larry Brown, who had most recently led the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2001 against the Lakers.
Lindsey Hunter would rejoin the Pistons a week later after being waived by the Celtics and be partnered with Mike James to create a formidable guard tandem off the bench dubbed "The Pit Bulls".
[9] They became the first team in NBA history to hold five consecutive opponents under 70 points, and finished the season with a 54–28 record and the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
With Detroit clinging to a 69–67 lead with under 30 seconds to play, Billups recovered the basketball after a Jermaine O'Neal blocked shot of Rasheed Wallace.
Jamaal Tinsley stripped Billups and found Reggie Miller open down the court for what appeared to be the tying lay-up.
Hamilton would make three free throws in the game's final 15 seconds to seal the victory 72–67 and tie the series.
This was the first Finals series to be played on a Sunday–Tuesday–Thursday rotation since 1990, the last year CBS had the NBA's national television contract.
[3] The Lakers had a lineup of Stars such as Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal—their offensive capability was expected to overpower Detroit's defensive-based game plan.
[15] Considered to be a stunning upset by most of the NBA world, the Detroit Pistons managed to defeat the Lakers with imposing defense.
Kobe Bryant's 3-point shot with 2.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter would force overtime, where the Pistons would make only one two-point field goal (compared to Los Angeles scoring ten points).
The Pistons beat Los Angeles by 20 in their first NBA Finals appearance together at The Palace of Auburn Hills since 1989 to take a 2–1 lead in the series.
This was the first of two NBA Finals assignments for Michaels, better known as the voice of Monday Night Football at the time, while Rivers departed the booth after the series to become head coach of the Boston Celtics.
In Canada, Leafs TV and RDS (in French) simulcast ABC, and Azteca 13 broadcast the Finals in Mexico.
Head coach Phil Jackson abruptly resigned, Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat, where he eventually won a championship in 2006; Gary Payton was dealt to the Celtics, and Karl Malone was left unsigned, which subsequently resulted in Malone's retirement following the start of 2004–05 NBA season.
Jackson returned to the Lakers in the following offseason; despite penning a book dubiously entitled: The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul, in which he voiced disdain for Kobe Bryant; calling him 'uncoachable'.
Jackson and Bryant would quickly bury the hatchet once the season began; the duo, in the ensuing years would appear in three more NBA Finals in 2008, 2009, and 2010, winning the latter two.
The next postseason matchup involving both cities would not come until the 2023 NFC Wild Card Round between the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League.