The future Tim Duncan was looking forward to shattered before the next season even began.
The NBA finals in the 02-03 season were ultimately played between the Detroit Pistons and the San Antonio Spurs, which was a decent outco for Shaq.
At least Roger hadn’t made it to the finals, nor had Kobe.
Although he only went a round, at least Roger and Kobe hadn’t left him behind again.
After leaving Shaq, Kobe also lost to Tim Duncan in the Western Conference Finals; the Lakers’ offense was very strong, but their defense was terribly weak, having no one inside capable of curbing Duncan.
The Lakers’ interior defense was on par with the Warriors, and Tim Duncan, who doesn’t care much about stats, could average 32 points in the Western Conference Finals.
Plus, with the Spurs’ already excellent defense throttling the Lakers’ offensive lifeline, the Lakers lost 1-4.
Kobe initially thought he had picked up Roger’s script, believing that after leaving Shaq, he could instantly win the championship and sweep that fat guy right into the trash heap.
However, facts once again proved that Roger’s script isn’t for everyone.
At this point, the resu of San Antonio’s number 21 this season can be deed perfect. He broke Roger’s three-year consecutive MVP monopoly in the regular season and took out Roger’s Warriors and the Lakers, who had dominated the West for years, in the playoffs.
Everything pointed to one conclusion—Tim Duncan was going to make it to the top and take the championship for the second ti in Roger’s era!
Almost everyone thought so, and this season would beco a career-defining season for a superstar.
But the Detroit Pistons, with the league’s strongest defense and the ruthless score of gentlemanly sweep, told Tim Duncan, "The future is yours."
The Detroit Pistons had always been very strong; last season, they gave the Dynasty Eagles a lot of trouble in the Eastern Conference Finals. This season, with the addition of Chauncey Billups, the Pistons’ strength undoubtedly reached a higher level.
Only because their style of play was extrely unattractive and with no superstars in the team, they had been overlooked as a championship favorite.
Fans had always known the Pistons were strong; it wasn’t until they defeated the Spurs 4-1 in the finals that people truly realized how strong the Pistons were.
In the original tiline, the Spurs could win against the Pistons in the 05 NBA finals due to two main reasons.
First, Manu Ginobili’s elusive breaks caused the Pistons’ stronghold significant trouble.
Second, Robert Horry repeatedly delivered superstar-level performances in crucial monts, helping the Spurs reverse their fate.
But now, in 2003, Manu the Demon Blade wasn’t sharp enough, and Robert Horry hadn’t joined the team yet.
On the other hand, with Ron Artest, this modest Pistons team was even stronger than the Pistons in the original tiline.
Thus, the Spurs had no chance of winning.
Tim Duncan, who averaged 32 points in the Western Conference Finals, was held to an average of 10 points less under the strict defense of the Double Wallace with a shooting rate of only 42%.
The Admiral averaged 15 points, but it wasn’t enough to quench the thirst.
Chauncey Billups, with an average of 20 points, 5 assists, and 6 rebounds, beca the Finals MVP, the first player in NBA history to win FMVP without ever having made it to the All-Star.
It’s hard to imagine that before this season, Billups was drifting between teams, abandoned by many, forced to change four teams in five years. When he first joined the Pistons, the dia predicted a 91% chance that he’d be traded again.
He eventually transford himself brilliantly through hard work.
However, Chauncey Billups didn’t consider himself the FMVP. In his acceptance speech, he told the host, "We don’t have an FMVP, or rather, everyone on our team is FMVP."
This statent likely expressed the style and spirit of the Detroit Pistons.
For Pistons fans, this season was extraordinarily blissful. After the brilliance of the late ’80s, the Detroit Pistons finally had a rebirth.
Moreover, this was quite an inspirational championship; the Detroit Pistons had no superstars, no top-five MVP candidates.
Yet, through teamwork and tough defense, embodying Detroit’s blue-collar spirit, they claid the most unique championship.
It’s as if telling the world, championships aren’t the exclusive domain of the lofty chosen ones.
Since the battle between Magic and Bird in the ’80s, to the ’90s when Michael Jordan and Roger pushed superstar fa to its peak, no modest team had ever succeeded in this era of stars’ wild jubilation.
Even the ’99 Heat had Alonzo Mourning, who was among the top three in MVP standings at the ti. And even then, they did not achieve ultimate glory.
This marked the end of the era of superstars by a modest team, as described by Pistons General Manager Joe Dumars: "We brought basketball back to its essence!"
So inspiring, so unforgettable.
Yet, on the podium, David Stern’s face was pale.
If he could say one thing to Joe Dumars, it would surely be: I beg you, please don’t bring basketball back to its essence!
This year’s finals were a nightmare for David Stern, with the TV ratings plumting dramatically, directly back to 1981 levels.
It’s important to know that in those days, NBA live broadcasts were still a novelty, and the perception of NBA players was as a bunch of brawlers and drug users. The overall reputation of the NBA league was nowhere near what it is now.
So, it’s really hard to imagine that in 2003, the NBA ratings could revert to the sa level as 1981.
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