On Sunday, Little Caesars Arena was dotted with jerseys from the past, including those of Wallace, Hamilton and Billups.
It's been more than a decade since the players last wore Detroit Pistons uniforms, but they still drew the loudest cheers of the afternoon.
It's been 20 years, yes, 20 years since the Pistons last won in 2004. The organization celebrated the “Goin' to Work” era before and during the team's 104-101 loss to the Miami Heat. Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace and others walked the blue carpet in the arena concourse before the game and signed autographs.
Ten players were present at the halftime ceremony: Billups, Wallace, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Darvin Hamm, Mehmet Okur, Elden Campbell, Mike James, Lindsey Hunter and Tremaine Foulkes. and current Pistons GM George David. Assistant GM Scott Perry, trainers Ernie Kander and Mike Abdenner, and others.
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Former head coach Larry Brown and team president Joe Dumars were not in attendance, but sent congratulatory video messages that were broadcast on the Jumbotron at the game.
“When you walk into that room and you hear the way Lindsey Hunter speaks and the jokes he makes, the jokes he was doing today were the same ones he was doing 20 years ago. You're immediately pulled back into the locker room. “Let's do it all over again. '' Hamilton said before the game. “When I talk to players, especially when they retire and start their lives, especially the second half of their lives, what they always say is they miss being in the locker room. Being back together with the guys. , it's great to laugh and joke and tell those stories.”
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The 2004 Pistons' starting five — Billups, Hamilton, Prince, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace — were dubbed “The Best Five Alive.” They pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NBA history, defeating the highly anticipated Los Angeles Lakers, led by Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, in five games.
They were known for their stifling defense, holding teams to an NBA-worst 83.5 points per game during the regular season. They hold the NBA record for 11 teams scoring less than 70 points, an immeasurable feat in today's offense-happy league.
Billups and four-time Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace are recognized as two of the best players of their era, but they did it without a textbook superstar on their roster. Ta.
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“We didn't do that, and we were actually proud of that,” Billups said Sunday. “It's not like we didn't have superstars, I agree with that. We had All-Stars, but superstars are different. Most teams that win it all usually have one or two of those players. We could have done without that. But we had players who could dominate the game night in and night out, and we still don't think that way.
“We were never upset about that. I know personally we weren't. We didn't have superstars, but we had All-Stars and we were a great team.”
Although these Pistons thrived in a different era when hand checks were allowed and teams took far fewer 3-point shots, Hamilton believes the 2004 team still thrives today. He noted that the Pistons' starting frontcourt had two players who could protect the perimeter. Also, the 3-point shot was Rashid's specialty.
“I think so too,” Hamilton said. “I think we did really well, because if you remember our team, and you look at the team right now, it's all about whether the bigs can guard the 1-5. “That's a big part. . And Ben and Rashid could be replaced by LeBron James. LeBron is the greatest player currently playing basketball. He's probably still a top-five player in the league. On our team, the way we played, Seed was a pick-and-pop guy. People always say you need to get into the post, you need to get into the block. In other words, he was before his time. He will be a perfect fit for today's game. ”
While this championship group may not get together as often, Hamilton said they all still keep in regular contact. Billups and Hamm are the head coaches of the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers, respectively, while Prince is the assistant general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies.
“By the way, we were supposed to play golf every month, but he keeps avoiding me because he doesn't want me to see his true handicap,” Hamilton said. “Durbin, we see Durbin all the time in Los Angeles. Elden, we talked on the phone about his real estate endeavors. So we still talk a lot. The guy we played basketball with. It wasn’t just us. We were more like a family.”
This family dynamic, and the team's representation of Detroit's hardworking culture, are the main reasons for the team's continued popularity two decades later.
“It will never die,” Billups said. “You can never undo what we did. We had a lot of success. We only won one championship, but I felt like we should have won more and we had more. I felt like we should have gotten it. But we won it. I always say this, it's never going to be the way it was before, personnel, personnel, salary cap and all that stuff. We won it. We love it. We talk about it all the time. We were proud of it.”
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com.follow him @Omari Sankofa.
