2003-04_Los_Angeles_Lakers_season

2003–04 Los Angeles Lakers season

2003–04 Los Angeles Lakers season

NBA professional basketball team season


The 2003–04 NBA season was the Lakers' 56th season in the National Basketball Association and 44th in the city of Los Angeles.[1]

Quick Facts Los Angeles Lakers season, Head coach ...
Horace Grant battles for a jump ball versus future Laker Pau Gasol in November 2003.

The Lakers entered the season following a disappointing second-round loss to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs in the 2003 playoffs. During the offseason, the Lakers signed star free agents Karl Malone and Gary Payton and re-signed free agent power forward Horace Grant.[2][3] Following these acquisitions, the Lakers became the instant favorites to win the NBA title.[4][5]

Despite major acquisitions, key moves, and becoming overnight title favorites, the Lakers would run into major setbacks to begin the season. During the 2003 off-season, superstar guard Kobe Bryant had been accused of sexual assault in Colorado. Media attention surrounding the case would prove to be an ongoing distraction for the team, and Bryant missed games during his trial. In addition, Bryant's feud with superstar center Shaquille O'Neal reached a peak during the season, as both players criticized each other in the media.[6] Payton struggled with coach Phil Jackson's triangle offense, and Malone missed significant time due to injuries.[7][8][9]

Despite the setbacks, the Lakers finished the season with a 56–26 overall record, good enough to clinch the second seed in the Western Conference en route to the playoffs.[10] In the playoffs, they defeated the Houston Rockets, the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, and the Minnesota Timberwolves to earn the franchise its 28th appearance in the NBA Finals. The Lakers entered the Finals against the Detroit Pistons as favorites.[11][12] This was the third meeting between the Lakers and the Pistons in the NBA Finals, after both franchises met in 1988 and 1989. However, the underdog Pistons' strong defense and teamwork propelled them to their third championship in franchise history, and the star-studded Lakers would collapse in five games.[13][14] After the season, Jackson and the team mutually agree to part ways[15] and O'Neal (who requested a trade) was dealt to the Miami Heat.[16]

Draft picks

More information Round, Pick ...

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...

Regular season

Season standings

By division

More information W, L ...

By conference

More information #, Team ...

Record vs. opponents

More information Team, ATL ...

Game log

Pre-season

More information 2003 preseason game log Total: 3–5, Game ...

Regular season

More information 2003–04 game log Total: 56–26 (home: 34–7; road: 22-19), Game ...

Playoffs

More information 2004 playoff game log Total: 13–9 (home: 10–1; road: 3–8), Game ...
The Lakers playing against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the 2004 Western Conference Semi-finals at the SBC Center.

NBA Finals

Series summary

More information Team/Game, 2 (OT) ...
  • (OT) denotes a game that required overtime.

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. This is only used in the Finals, all other playoff games are held in a 2-2-1-1-1 format (the team with home court advantage starts).[17]

Background

The Lakers had a star-studded lineup that included offseason acquisitions Karl Malone and Gary Payton as well as mainstays Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Malone and Payton were perennial All-Stars; Payton had led the Seattle SuperSonics to the Finals in 1996, while Malone's Utah Jazz reached the Finals in 1997 and 1998.[18] However, both had been defeated by Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. By 2003, Malone and Payton were in the latter stages of their respective careers and were no longer playing on championship-contending teams.[18][19] Both Malone and Payton took pay cuts to sign with the Lakers in an effort to win a championship.[20]

Game One

Sunday, June 6, 2004, 14:30 at the Staples Center.

Considered to be a stunning upset by most of the NBA world, the Detroit Pistons managed to defeat the Lakers with imposing defense.[21] Defensively clamping down on everyone but Bryant and O'Neal, the Pistons managed to hold everyone else to a total of 16 points.

The Pistons trailed the Lakers 41–40 at halftime, but a 10–4 surge capped by Billups's 3-pointer gave the Pistons the lead. O'Neal's foul trouble furthered the scoring gap, with the Pistons leading by 13 points early in the fourth quarter.

Box Score

More information Team, 1st Qt. ...

Game Two

Tuesday, June 8, 2004, 15:04 at the Staples Center.

The second game was close throughout the first half, but in the third quarter Detroit would score 30 points, cutting the deficit 68–66. However, at the end of the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant's 3-point shot at 2.1 seconds left tied the game at 89–89. The Lakers outscored the Pistons 10–2 in overtime.


More information Team, 1st Qt. ...

Game Three

Thursday, June 10, 2004, 14:31 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Pistons beat Los Angeles by 20 in their first NBA Finals appearance together at The Palace of Auburn Hills since 1989[22] to take a 2–1 lead in the series. The 68 points scored by the Lakers set a franchise record for the fewest points scored in a playoff game. Previous night, a group of overzealous Pistons fans made it difficult for the Lakers to get their rest by harassing them until 4 am at their hotel in nearby Birmingham. Fans were screaming outside the building until management at the hotel called the police.[23]


More information Team, 1st Qt. ...

Game Four

Sunday, June 13, 2004, 14:49 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Again, the Pistons defeated the Lakers, although this time by eight, to take a 3–1 series advantage. Shaquille O'Neal scored 36 points on 16/21 shooting and grabbed 20 rebounds, but the rest of the Lakers team shot 17/57 from the field. [24]


More information Team, 1st Qt. ...

Game Five

Tuesday, June 15, 2004, 14:32 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

In Game 5, the Pistons won their first championship since 1990, and Larry Brown finally won his title. The Pistons defense had overcome the high-scoring Laker offense, winning the game by 13, winning the series 4-1, and also ending a long Laker dynasty that lasted for many years. 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).


More information Team, 1st Qt. ...

Player stats

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Regular season

More information Player, GP ...

Playoffs

More information Player, GP ...

Award winners

Transactions


References

  1. "2003-04 Los Angeles Lakers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  2. "Lakers Sign Free Agents Gary Payton and Karl Malone". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. July 16, 2003. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  3. Wise, Mike (October 4, 2003). "Pro Basketball; With Bryant Absent, Lakers Begin Practicing". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  4. May, Peter (October 28, 2003). "Lakers are a lock -- for turmoil". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  5. Buerge, Daniel. "A Complete Timeline of the Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant Feud". Lakers Nation. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  6. DuPree, David (May 4, 2004). "Changing of guard not easy". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 18, 2014.
  7. Adande, J. A. (November 6, 2012). "West Side: Mike Brown's O is working". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012.
  8. Brown, Tim. "Malone Out for a While". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 29, 2004.
  9. "Bryant, Lakers on the Rise". Los Angeles Times. April 15, 2004.
  10. "Youth and Defense Should Be Lakers' Mantra". Los Angeles Times. June 17, 2004.
  11. Winderman, Ira. "PISTONS ARE A REAL CHAMPIONSHIP T-E-A-M". Sun-Sentinel.com.
  12. "Coach could move to another Lakers job". ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved June 21, 2004.
  13. "Kobe remains with Lakers". ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved July 16, 2004.
  14. "Basketball: NBA Playoffs 2007 preview". betinf.com. Retrieved September 3, 2007.
  15. "Utah Jazz". CBS Sports. Retrieved September 4, 2007.
  16. "Seattle Supersonics". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on August 26, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2007.
  17. "Lakers deal Payton, Fox to Celtics". Deseret News. Associated Press. August 7, 2004.
  18. "Billups, Pistons Swipe Home-Court Advantage". NBA. Retrieved September 4, 2007. Led by their trademark daunting defense
  19. "DETROIT PISTONS HISTORY". Basketball Tickets. Archived from the original on August 6, 2007. Retrieved September 3, 2007.
  20. "Lakers Facing Uphill Battle". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 13, 2004. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  21. "2004 NBA Finals Game 4: Lakers vs Pistons, June 13, 2004". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 9, 2023.

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