Lakers News: Detroit Fashion Entrepreneur Recalls LA's Epic 2004 Finals Fail

Perhaps your Los Angeles Lakers' second-most infamous NBA Finals defeat (after Jack Kent Cooke's "Balloongate" fail in LA's 1969 series against the Boston Celtics) was a five-game defeat at the hands of defense-first upstart Detroit Pistons club in 2004. An LA club loaded with future Hall of Famers Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton and Karl Malone fell flat against a Pistons club led by future Hall of Famer (and four-time Defensive Player of the Year) Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, eventual Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, and Rip Hamilton.

The defeat was such a disaster for Los Angeles that it permanently splintered the team, causing GM Mitch Kupchak to flip O'Neal to the Miami Heat that ensuing summer. Malone retired, Payton reached a different stage in his career (eventually winning his title as a Heat backup), head coach Phil Jackson retired (for a year) and wrote a scathing tell-all bestseller, and Bryant, even at the peak of his powers, missed the playoffs the following season.

Almost 20 years later, that Pistons club continues to resonate with its fans who, lt's face it, haven't exactly had much success for the last 15 seasons or so.

The Mopkins Group fashion/lifestyle brand entrepreneur Ty Mopkins recently chatted with Bovada's Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson about how that championship Pistons team deserves its flowers, much like Detroit fashion.

From the Pistons to fashion, Detroit’s been treated as an underdog forever and @TyMopkins has got something to say! Check out this clip from his chat with @ScoopB 🗣️🎙️ pic.twitter.com/nM02wwqIMq
— Bovada Casino (@Bovada_Casino) July 21, 2023

"The whole team was disrespected," Mopkins opined. "So it wasn't even given the chance, like they [the Lakers] played Ben [Wallace] like he was a junior varsity scrub or something like that. But these boys balled for the last two years, you've got to imagine, I think we did [the] Eastern Conference Finals what, five years in a row, six years in a row [it was six], and went to two Finals [in 2004 and 2005]. Should have been back-to-back [titles] if it wasn't for that Robert Horry shot [in '05], but that's okay."

"But you know, the whole team, that's just how they treat Detroit in general, even when it comes to fashion. They don't check for us when it comes to fashion."

Lakers fans will know better than to look past the next upstart Pistons franchise that stands between their team and a championship.

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