June 15, 2004: Larry Brown's "Double" Shocks the L.A. "Superteam"

Left to right: Larry Brown, Rip Hamilton,

Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace

June 15, 2004, 20 years ago: The NBA Championship is awarded to the best team in the league. Not the best collection of players, but the best team.

From 1972 to 2010, Larry Brown coached 10 different ABA or NBA teams (a record), and also coached 3 different college basketball teams. He took UCLA to the 1980 NCAA Final, and the University of Kansas to the Final Four in 1986 and 1988, winning the National Championship in 1988.

Brown was from Long Island, New York. As a teenager, he was a camp counselor there, and one of his students was Tony Kornheiser, later a great sportswriter and, with Michael Wilbon, co-host of the ESPN show Pardon the Interruption. A lifelong friendship was formed.

Here's how Kornheiser once described Brown's genius for coaching: "He took the Clippers to the Playoffs! Nobody takes the Clippers to the Playoffs!" From 1976, when the Los Angeles Clippers were still known as the Buffalo Braves, until 2012, when a change in management made them a perennial Playoff team, the only coaches to take them to the Playoffs were Larry Brown in 1992 and 1993, Bill Fitch in 1997, and Mike Dunleavy in 2006. That's it: 4 times, and Brown provided 2 of them.

And it wasn't just the Clippers: He took the NBA's other "little brother team," the New Jersey Nets, to the Playoffs in 1982. That was the good news. The bad news is that he never seemed to stay in one place too long. He either didn't like the job, or he angered somebody in management. But somebody was always willing to hire him. He got the Denver Nuggets to the last ABA Finals in 1976, and the Western Conference Finals in 1978; the Indiana Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1993 and 1994; and the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2001.

But Brown and the Sixers' top player, Allen Iverson, couldn't co-exist. So, in 2003, Brown resigned, and took the head job with the Detroit Pistons. Despite this, in 2005, Iverson admitted, "I love him as a man. The coach, that's totally different. Yeah, I like him as a coach. He's the best coach in the world. I can't say it enough. He's the best in the world."

Joe Dumars, the guard who had led the Pistons' defense in their "Motor City Bad Boys" period -- losing the Finals to the Lakers in 7 games in 1988, then winning back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990 -- was now the general manager. He had built a team with guards Chauncey Billups, Richard "Rip" Hamilton and Lindsey Hunter; forwards Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince and Corliss Williamson; and center Ben Wallace.

The Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1st round of the Playoffs, the New Jersey Nets in the next round, and the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Finals. Now, the NBA Finals were in front of them. Standing between them and glory: The Los Angeles Lakers.

Coached by Phil Jackson, and led by center Shaquille O'Neal and guard Kobe Bryant, the Lakers had won 3 straight NBA Championships: 2000, 2001 and 2002. There had been discussion of the Lakers getting favorable, but incorrect, calls from referees, especially in the Playoffs.

In 2003, the Lakers lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals. Their general manager, former Laker forward Mitch Kupchak, was determined to get the title back. He decided to build a "superteam." He signed 3 free agents: Karl Malone, who built a career as one of the all-time great power forwards with the Utah Jazz; Gary Payton, who had been a superstar point guard with the Seattle SuperSonics; and forward Horace Grant, who had helped Jackson win 3 titles as a forward with the Chicago Bulls, and teamed with O'Neal to get the Orlando Magic to the 1995 Finals.

Everything pointed to the Lakers going through the league like a hot knife through butter. But first, Bryant needed knee surgery in the off-season. He went to Colorado to get it. At his hotel, he was accused of sexually assaulting a female employee. The case was dropped, and, eventually, NBA fans decided, pretty much the way baseball fans did with David Ortiz and his steroid cheating, that it simply never happened, and that the man in question was a wonderful guy.

Eventually. But not in the 2003-04 season. Bryant heard it from fans all over the league, and he missed a few games. While the Lakers' record of 56-26 was enough to win the Pacific Division, it was not historically notable, and they only finished 2nd overall in the Western Conference to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

They knew they would truly be measured by what they did in the Playoffs, and they did raise their game: They beat the Houston Rockets in the 1st round, the Spurs in the next round, and the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, to set up the Finals matchup with the Pistons.

Few people gave the Pistons the chance. The Lakers were considered a team of destiny. They forgot that a collection of players can be beaten by a team. The Pistons won Game 1 in Los Angeles, 87-75, despite 34 points from Shaq, and the basketball world was stunned. They pushed the Lakers to overtime in Game 2, with the Lakers winning 99-91, with Kobe scoring 33.

But getting a split in L.A. energized the Pistons. At The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan, the Lakers never had a chance. The Pistons won Game 3, 88-68. The Lakers were never in the game. Shaq had 36 points and 17 rebounds in Game 4. But Rasheed Wallace had 26, and he and Ben Wallace (no relation) each had 13 rebounds. The Pistons won, 88-80. Malone did not play in Game 5, and he retired after the Finals, so this was the last game for "The Mailman."

Game 5 was played at The Palace on June 15. The Pistons led 25-24 after the 1st quarter, but pulled away in the 2nd, pulled away further in the 3rd, and the Lakers simply couldn't come back. The Pistons won, 100-87, and the World Champions were, as the chant echoing through Auburn Hills said, "DEE-troit BAS-ket-BALL!"

The Pistons had done this despite not having a single player on their roster who was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame until Ben Wallace was elected in 2021. Billups was named the Most Valuable Player of the Finals. Brown finally had his 1st NBA Championship, as either a player or a coach, at the age of 63. (He had won the 1969 ABA Championship while playing for the Oakland Oaks.) He remains the only head coach to win championships in both the NCAA and the NBA.

The Lakers? They were now the biggest flop in NBA history -- or, at least, since their 1969 edition, when Wilt Chamberlain was added to Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Gail Goodrich, and lost Game 7 of the Finals at home.

And after the season, Bryant told the team's owner, Dr. Jerry Buss, that he could no longer coexist with either O'Neal or Jackson. Jackson told Buss that Bryant was "uncoachable." So Buss told Kupchak to appease Bryant. He did: O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat. And Jackson resigned.

With Bryant as "The Man," The Lakers fell apart. And Shaq, along with Dwyane Wade, helped the Miami Heat win the 2006 NBA Championship. In 2007, the Lakers got knocked out by the Phoenix Suns in the 1st round. Shaq was recorded rapping in a nightclub, saying, "Kobe, tell me how my ass taste!" (The implication was not that Kobe could kiss Shaq's ass, but that he already had.)

Sportswriter Dave Zirin wrote, "Kobe did to the Lakers what Jimmy Hoffa did to the Teamsters: Both made them a national force & ruined them forever." (Ironically, when Hoffa disappeared, it was in the northern suburbs of Detroit, at a restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, then Machus' Red Fox, now named Andiamo, just 14 miles from where The Palace would be built.)

Well, not forever, as it turned out. Shaq's teasing was the wakeup call that Bryant needed. He made peace with Jackson, who returned. The Lakers got Pau Gasol. Together, they got back to the Finals in 2008, and won the title in 2009 and 2010. Meanwhile, O'Neal never won another. The final total: Bryant 6 titles, O'Neal 5; separately, Kobe 2, Shaq 1.

Kobe and Shaq made peace with each other before Kobe's death in a helicopter crash in 2020.

Seattle's 10 Greatest Athletes

This week, the Yankees are hosting the Seattle Mariners.

Seattle's 10 Greatest Athletes

Remember: These performers are being measured only by what they did with Seattle teams. Some of them, had they spent their entire careers in the Emerald City, would rank considerably higher.

Honorable Mention to Seattle Seahawks Hall-of-Famers, who are not otherwise in the Top 10:
Kenny Easley, Cortez Kennedy and Walter Jones. Shaun Alexander should be allowed to join them.

Honorable Mention to Seattle SuperSonics Hall-of-Famers, who are not otherwise in the Top 10: Lenny Wilkens (also the coach of their 1979 NBA Champions), Spencer Haywood, Dennis Johnson and Ray Allen.

Honorable Mention to Lauren Jackson, forward, Seattle Storm, 2001-12. A 3-time WNBA Most Valuable Player and 2-time WNBA Champion, she also won 4 MVPs in her native Australia. The Storm retired her Number 15, and she was named to the WNBA's 20th Anniversary Team.

Honorable Mention to Jack Walker and Frank Foyston, members of the Hockey Hall of Fame, who helped the Seattle Metropolitans become the 1st American-based team to win the Stanley Cup, in 1917.

Honorable Mention to members of the original Seattle Sounders, 1974-83, who were, admittedly, typical of North American Soccer League players in that they were well past their best: Bobby Moore, Mike England, Alan Hudson and Roger Davies.

10. Edgar Martinez, designated hitter, Seattle Mariners, 1987-2004. He had a .312 lifetime batting average, was a 7-time All-Star, and led the American League in batting average in 1992 and 1995, and in RBIs in 2000. The Mariners have never reached the postseason without him; with him, they did so in 1995, 1997, 2000 and 2001.

The M's have retired his Number 11, and named him to their team Hall of Fame. Their fans believe he should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. But his career numbers don't hold up: He collected only 2,247 hits, and only 309 of them were home runs. He was not a good runner. He was not a fielder at all. He was a one-dimensional player.

9. Clint Dempsey, forward, Seattle Sounders, 2013-present. Perhaps the greatest American soccer player ever, he has now played longer with the Sounders than with any other team, scoring 128 of his 467 professional goals for them. He helped them win the Supporters' Shield and the U.S. Open Cup in 2014, and the MLS Cup in 2016.

8. Harry "Hap" Holmes, goaltender, Seattle Metropolitans, 1915-17, with a return 1918-24. He and Jack Marshall, a teammate on the 1914 Toronto Blueshirts and a fellow member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, are the only 2 men to have won the Stanley Cup with 4 different teams.

Holmes, along with Georges Vezina for whom the annual award for best goaltender in the NHL is named, was 1 of the top 2 goaltenders of the 1910s. He won the Cup in 1914 with Toronto, then helped the Metros become the 1st American-based team to win the Cup, in 1917. He joined the brand-new NHL in the 1917-18 season, and won the League's 1st title and another Stanley Cup, with the Toronto Arenas, the team that became the Maple Leafs.

After just that 1 season away, he returned to the West Coast to play out his career. He helped the Metros win the Pacific Coast Hockey Association title again in 1919 and 1920. He won another Cup in 1925 with the Victoria Cougars, the last team from outside the NHL to win the Cup. This team, sort of, moved to Detroit in 1926, and eventually became the Red Wings. He was posthumously elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

7. Russell Wilson, quarterback, Seattle Seahawks, 2012-present. He's been in the NFL 6 seasons, and has reached the Pro Bowl in 4 of them. He was NFL Rookie of the Year in 2012, and on February 2, 2014, at the Meadowlands here in New Jersey, he led the 'Hawks to fulfill their destiny, winning Super Bowl XLVIII.

He got them back into the Super Bowl the next year, and made a mistake: He should have disobeyed head coach Pete Carroll and done a Bart Starr-style quarterback sneak. Had he done so, he'd have back-to-back titles, and be Seattle sports' greatest hero. He still might become that, as he doesn't turn 30 until this coming November, and could lead them to a 2nd World Championship, something no other Seattle sports team has (unless you count the Storm). Oh yes, he's also married to singer Ciara.

6. Gary Payton, guard, Seattle SuperSonics, 1990-2003. A 9-time NBA All-Star, all with the Sonics, "the Glove" led them to the 1996 Western Conference Championship, being named Defensive Player of the Year. Unfortunately for Seattle fans, he didn't win an NBA Championship until 2006, with the Miami Heat.

He is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, and, while this has nothing to do with the Sonics, he won Olympic Gold Medals with the U.S. teams at Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000. He has been working to get the NBA back to Seattle, stating that he doesn't want his Number 20 to be retired by the Oklahoma City Thunder. To their credit, they have not reissued it since the 2008 move. His son Gary Payton II now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.

5. Sue Bird, guard, Seattle Storm, 2002-present. The native of Syosset, Long Island, New York has led the Storm to the 2004 and 2010 WNBA Championships, and is the league's all-time assists leader. She is a 10-time WNBA All-Star, including last season, which ended with her turning 37. She was named to the WNBA's 20th Anniversary All-Time Team. Presuming the Storm survive, they will almost certainly retire her Number 10.

4. Steve Largent, wide receiver, Seattle Seahawks, 1976-89. A 7-time Pro Bowler, he helped the Seahawks to their 1st Playoff berth, reaching the AFC Championship Game for the 1983 season, a feat they wouldn't achieve again for 22 years (by which point they were in the NFC). His 819 catches, 13,089 receiving yards and 100 receiving touchdowns were all records, since surpassed.

The Seahawks retired his Number 80, and named him to their Ring of Honor. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, and The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999, ranking 46th. Oddly, he was not named to the NFL Network's 100 Greatest Players in 2010.

In 1994, he was elected to Congress from his home district in Oklahoma. He was re-elected until 2002, when he decided to run for Governor, getting the Republican nomination, but losing by less than 7,000 votes.

3. Randy Johnson, pitcher, Seattle Mariners, 1989-98. He might be the last pitcher ever to win 300 games (303, 130 with the M's). He's the all-time strikeout leader among lefthanders with 4,875 (2,162), had a career WHIP of just 1.171 (1.250), an ERA+ of 135 (128), made 10 All-Star teams (5), won 5 Cy Young Awards (just 1 in Seattle), led the league in strikeouts 9 times (4) and ERA 4 times (once).

He reached the postseason with the Mariners in 1995 and '97. He pitched 2 no-hitters, 1 with the Mariners. He became the 1st AL lefthander to strike out 19 batters in a game, then did it again, then became the 1st lefty in either league to strike out 20 in a game.

He was one of the all-time great Yankee Killers, due to his performances in the 1995 ALDS with Seattle, the 2001 World Series with Arizona, and the 2005 and '06 ALDS with… the Yankees. He has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Mariners have not yet officially retired his Number 51. They may be waiting for a dual ceremony with...

2. Ichiro Suzuki, right field, Seattle Mariners, 2001-12, with a brief return in 2018. After 9 seasons with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan, he came to America and set the baseball world on fire with his bat and his arm, winning the American League's Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards. (Despite his being 27 years old and it being his 10th season of top-flight baseball, he still met MLB's definition of a "rookie.")

In 2004, he set a new major league record with 262 hits in a season. He reached the postseason with the 2001 Mariners and the 2012 Yankees, but never won a Pennant. He retired earlier this season, with 3,089 hits. Counting his 1,278 in Japan, that's 4,367, more than Pete Rose, but neither MLB, nor the Elias Sports Bureau, nor the Hall of Fame counts it that way.

The Mariners will almost certainly retire his Number 51, although they may do it for both him and Randy Johnson. Barring doing something stupid like Rose or a revelation that he was once caught using PEDs, he's going to the Hall of Fame, probably in his 1st year of eligibility, which will now be 2024.

1. Ken Griffey Jr., center field, Seattle Mariners, 1989-99, with a return in 2009-10. In 1999, while not yet 30 years old, "Junior" was selected by The Sporting News as one of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and by fan balloting for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. He batted .284 lifetime (.292 with the Mariners), with a 136 OPS+ (144), 2,781 hits (1,843) including 630 home runs (417) -- 4th all-time among honest men, including the 2nd half of back-to-back jacks with his father on the 1990 Mariners -- and 1,836 RBIs (1,216), including 8 100+ seasons (7).

He was a 13-time All-Star (10), a 10-time Gold Glove winner (all in Seattle), the 1997 American League Most Valuable Player, and, in 1995, told the Mariners to "Jump on my back," and he carried them all the way to the AL Championship Series, probably convincing voters to approve the funding for what became Safeco Field, and saving Major League Baseball in the Northwest.

Ironically, the new ballpark was, unlike the homer-happy Kingdome, a pitcher's park, and it's one of the reasons he left. In 8 seasons in his adopted hometown of Cincinnati (Number 24 had been retired for Tony Perez, so he switched to his father's number, 30), he and the Reds never made the Playoffs, and they traded him to the Chicago White Sox, and he helped them win the AL Central Division, after 2 AL West titles in Seattle. But he never appeared in a World Series, giving him more career home runs than anyone who didn't.

He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his 1st year of eligibility, with a record 99.32 percent of the vote. The Mariners retired his Number 24, and both they and the Reds elected him to their team Halls of Fame.