yeah, it’s just kinda funny/ironic with Houston…two or 3 years later they had Hakeem, Barkley, and drexler…3 hall of fame players…kinda a superstar trio before lebron, wade, bosh(granted a lot older)…and that Houston team couldn’t even make it to the finals, but the Houston team with Hakeem and really good role players won it all
It's also a one in ten shot basically.
The team with the best record that year, the Sonics, who had a superstar PG, and a very good All-Star in Kemp, choked themselves and lost in the first round. The Rockets had a hell of a series against Phoenix, but pulled it out in the end. They then manhandled Malone & Stockton in the WCF (the Jazz had become fairly well known for failing in the playoffs at this point). In the Finals, the Rockets played a team similar to theirs. Patrick Ewing and then John Starks only All-Star appearance. And it ended up a 7 game series battle.
Of course this can be said for a lot of champions, but 9/10 times a champion has a superstar and then another All-Star, if not two.
The 2004 Pistons are really the weakest team to ever win a title in terms of star power that particular season. Billups and Hamilton would later make All-Star teams, but they didn't that particular year or even the next year when DET returned to the Finals.
The only other team to win a title without a super star since the ABA merger was the 1979 Sonics who had Jack Sikma and Dennis Johnson as their All-Stars. Lesser stars for sure.
That's why I always hated it when Bulls fans would use the 04 Pistons as proof that something like them can happen. Yeah, they happened. It happened a whole 1 time in the NBA. It hasn't happened again since.
And for technical purposes, the 2014 Spurs only star that year was Tony Parker, but Kawhi certainly had his superstar coming out party in the NBA Finals.
