2004 NBA Finals

The 2004 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2003–04 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. This season's NBA Finals was contested between the Western Conference playoff champion Los Angeles Lakers and the Eastern Conference playoff champion Detroit Pistons. The Lakers held home court advantage, and the series was played under a best-of-seven format.

This was the third NBA Finals matchup in the history of the Lakers-Pistons rivalry. Although the Lakers, headed by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, were considered the heavy favorites, the underdog Pistons handily won the series in five games. The series is commonly referred to as a "five-game sweep" because Detroit dominated in each of their four wins while the Lakers barely managed to win Game 2 in overtime. This marked the Pistons' third NBA championship and their first since their back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990. The series ultimately featured the perceived underdog Pistons dominating a Lakers team that included four future Hall of Famers. Pistons owner William Davidson became the first owner in American sports history to win two championships in one calendar year; eight days earlier, his Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Calgary Flames to win the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals in seven games.

As of 2026, this is the most recent major professional sports championship to be won by a Detroit-based team at their home venue.

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. The Spurs beat the Lakers in 6 games.

In the 2003 offseason, the Lakers made major changes with initially varying results. Needing to find a point guard and a power forward to defend against Tim Duncan and the Spurs, the Lakers signed veteran stars Gary Payton and Karl Malone for well below market value; they also hoped to give both veterans their first championship ring. The Lakers were afterwards considered the favorites to win the NBA title.

During the regular season, after starting the season 18–3, the Lakers were afflicted by numerous injuries and stumbled to a 56–26 record to finish the season with the second seed in the Western Conference.

The Lakers breezed past their first-round opponent, the Houston Rockets, headlining a matchup between Shaquille O'Neal and a young Yao Ming. They defeated the squad 4–1 but then lost the first two games in their series against the Spurs before a dramatic comeback on Derek Fisher's 0.4 shot in Game 5 that saw them win the game and the series, 4–2. They then faced the Minnesota Timberwolves and league MVP Kevin Garnett. The Lakers won the series 4–2 to advance to the Finals.

The Pistons won two back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990, but with retirements and departures of several stars, they faded from relevance. The team hired former star Joe Dumars as general manager of the team in 2000, and he began stockpiling draft picks and trading players. He landed defensive stalwart Ben Wallace and guard Richard Hamilton by trading established stars in controversial trades, signed Chauncey Billups who was considered an underachiever, and drafted Tayshaun Prince with the 23rd pick in the 2002 draft. He was named the NBA Executive of the Year in 2003 for returning the Pistons to prominence.