We all have those formative experiences that shape our sports-viewing lives, almost always occurring during impressionable periods. In my case, one of them happened to come with the 2003/2004 NBA season, a season that I (and I think a lot of people) will always remember. So much happened during that season; whether it was good, bad or a mix of the two is entirely subjective.

The 2003 free agency period was one of the most tumultuous in recent memory, featuring an assortment of signings both big and small along with some drastic trades. The rest of the summer saw Kobe Bryant get accused of rape and LeBron James, among his many other talented classmates, prepare for life in the NBA.

The season itself saw a resurgence within what many thought to be a weak Eastern conference, with the Indiana Pacers scorching the league en route to a 61-win season and the Detroit Pistons playing some of the best defense in the last decade. Out west, things were equally exciting, with Kevin Garnett?s Timberwolves playing as well as they ever would, the Lakers having four future Hall of Famers and the Spurs looking as scary as they always do. The playoffs, albeit partially marred by injuries to Jamaal Tinsley and Sam Cassell, saw more excitement until finally, the adrenaline ebbed. Then T-Mac was traded.

Without further ado, then, let?s take a look at why the 2003/2004 NBA season is one we?ll always remember:

Free Agency 2003: Big Names, Big Deals

Coming off of a season where a lot of players were playing for contracts and the illustrious 1999 draft class was entering restricted free agency, there was naturally a lot of commotion. The Clippers alone had an entire starting line-up of free agents (Andre Miller, Corey Maggette, Lamar Odom, Elton Brand, Michael Olowokandi) and the wily Pat Riley-driven Heat had the cap space to tempt those players, while the defending champion Spurs also had cap space (which is unheard of). The Lakers still had Kobe and Shaq, making them a very attractive designation for prospective ring-hoppers.

Whether it resulted in a ring or not, and it didn?t most of the time, there was a lot of hopping. The Heat opened the period by extending a maximum-salary free agent offer to Brand, which was promptly matched; they countered by offering nearly as much to Odom, who Riley had professed to have wanted since draft day ?99. Gary Payton and Karl Malone joined the Lakers, which made some declare them NBA champions before the season, and Rasho Nesterovic signed a massive contract with San Antonio that still pays him well.

A couple of signings that turned out oddly in retrospect were Olowokandi to Minnesota and Elden Campbell to Detroit. I had predicted big things from both, I?ll admit; their results could not have been more disparate, with Olowokandi flaming out after his one promising season in LA (12.3PPG, 9.1RPG, 2.2BPG) and Campbell providing the toughness and experience the Pistons needed in the playoffs. Of course, erratic post play wasn?t the most shocking thing that season?

The Lakers? Many Trials

It?s sad to say but with all the pro athletes committing crimes these days, whether that?s exaggerated by the media or not, it wasn?t surprising to hear that a NBA player had been accused of rape. What was surprising was that it was Kobe.

I?d always thought of Kobe as the guy who threw down flashy dunks, appeared in heart-warming McDonald?s commercials and was ready to smile whenever a camera was there. I suppose I still do but I was scratching my head there for a second. Whether he committed a crime on that fateful day in Eagle, Colorado is something that will probably never cease to be contested but it?s indubitable that he lost some corporate reputation as well as his previously clean image.

Not to be cynical, but the Kobe trial wasn?t the biggest of their problems. Gary Payton, at first thought to be a great veteran complement to Bryant and Shaquille O?Neal, ended up struggling to fit in while recording the second-lowest assist average of his career up to that point (5.5 per game). That number dipped to 5.3 in the playoffs, a shoddy campaign by his standards during which he only put up 7.8 points per game on a dismal .366 shooting percentage.

Payton also exemplified the team?s ridiculous expectations; once they?d conquered their injuries and were on a 21-3 stretch near the end of the season, he made the famous comment that ?we?re not playing well? ? you know, because the loss the Lakers sustained dropped them to something in the neighborhood of 9-1 in their last ten outings. Many opponents took the Lakers? pomp, albeit much of it created by outside influences, as a good reason to get up for the team that almost everyone except yours truly had pegged for a sure-fire ring.

Whether it was an unwelcome offseason sexual liaison, Payton?s uncertain presence in a triangle offense that clearly wasn?t designed for him or the stigma of having four all-time superstars, the Lakers ended the season as a disappointment to many despite a strong 56-26 showing and a Finals berth (the latter to be fleshed out later). Somehow, one other team managed to disappoint even more.

The Dynasty That Never Was

There have been four teams since the demise of the six-ringed Bulls that have seemed like they were right there but couldn?t finish. The 2000 Blazers, a team that could have been legendary had it not frozen solid for a quarter, were the first; the 2001 Heat didn?t even have a chance to shine with Alonzo Mourning leaving a vacancy in the middle of what was otherwise a stifling lineup at every position, spoiling Riley?s vaunted ?last phase?; the 2002 Kings suffered from one Laker dagger too many; there was another, though, in the very season that is our focus.

The Indiana Pacers hadn?t signed Lamar Odom or traded for Latrell Sprewell in a league-swirling four-way deal but they?d been busy in their own right. They had a nucleus worthy of fear that they enhanced by adding Rick Carlisle, who had never won less than fifty games in a season at that point, and they?d signed Kenny Anderson and Anthony Johnson for peanuts (the generic ones ? they didn?t even have to give up any Planters). Improvement would come from within, they said, and they sure looked right sixty-one wins later.

I?ll always look back on all the hope they had; Jermaine O?Neal was third in MVP voting, Ron Artest was a virtual consensus for Defensive Player of the Year, Jamaal Tinsley was finally getting his head in the game and their bench was deeper than a bottomless pit. Al Harrington, who?s started ever since he left, was runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year, and Reggie Miller was playing like he was twenty-five. Their offense relied on smart, timely execution and their defense was horrifyingly effective, with each of their ten rotation players able to offer something different. The pinnacle of their glory came when O?Neal had a very intriguing proclamation for a reporter?s question on the supposed weakness of the East.

REPORTER: ?When?s the next time you think an Eastern Conference team will win the NBA championship??

JO: ?This year.?

REPORTER (taken aback): ?And what team will that be??

JO: ?The Indiana Pacers.?

At that point in the season, it was tough to argue with him. At a different point, things turned out in a way very few could have seen approaching.

Night Moves

I still remember that day, waking up early to my alarm clock and hearing the sports. I was half-asleep at the time, still a while before the trade deadline, so when I heard something about Rasheed Wallace and Theo Ratliff, I was stunned. Being the basketball junkie I am, the first thing I did was go straight to NBA.com ? I even remember the headline, which I repeated above in bold.

At 3:39AM, the Portland Trailblazers and the Atlanta Hawks had completed a deal sending Wallace to Atlanta and Ratliff to Portland, along with other players (Shareef Abdur-Rahim to Portland being the most prominent one) who have since declined in importance. What news though ? Atlanta?s long-awaited fire sale was in full swing and the Blazers had just moved the malcontent who had only recently accused NBA owners of exploiting young black players. In addition to the subtraction, both teams acquired plenty of talent too. The results were favorable for both teams, those teams being the Blazers and the? Pistons?

(Interesting trivia fact: Rasheed Wallace is a career 5.0 block per game player as an Atlanta Hawk. If you don?t believe me, look it up.)

Ratliff had an immediate impact on the Blazers, recording a Spalding-crushing 4.4 blocks per game in Portland. He became the leader of the block party, a recurring event during which he would have five or more blocks and teammates Darius Miles and Ruben Patterson would get at least a couple each. Too bad the team had no one else except the flagging Abdur-Rahim and it went 41-41 on the season, missing the playoffs for the first time in over twenty years.

Wallace?s fate was far different, not to mention more gratifying. He was almost immediately shipped to Detroit in a three-way move that swapped backup point guards Chucky Atkins (to Boston) and Mike James (to Detroit) and sent Bob Sura along with a pick and a heaping pile of detritus to the Hawks. Many had anticipated a big deadline deal for Detroit, whether for Wallace, overachieving Warriors centre Erick Dampier or someone else, and this was Dumars?s big coup.

Don?t let the Pistons? fifty-four wins fool you; once Wallace arrived, they played like a team capable of winning many more than that. In fact, the New Jersey Nets once rejoiced after a game in which they lost to the Pistons by double-digits but managed to score seventy points. Just like the Western triumvirate of Wolves, Spurs and Lakers, the Pistons and Pacers eventually had to clash.

Playoff Time in the Motor City

The 2004 NBA Playoffs were some of the most epic in recent memory. The East?s first round saw the Pacers annihilate the hapless Boston Celtics in four consecutive shamings and the upstart Miami Heat kill off the last of the Hornet playoff runs behind Lamar Odom, Eddie Jones and a rookie Dwyane Wade. In the West, everyone seemed to cruise out of the first round easily enough, with the bizarre experiment in Dallas falling on its face while Minnesota?s more conventional build looked fantastic.

The second round was more compelling, with each series going at least six games. The Pacers bested the Heat in a tough-fought six-game tilt while Kevin Garnett entered into a scuffle with the Kings? Anthony Peeler, sure signs that the intensity was rising. The New Jersey Nets, two-time defending Finalists, momentarily led the Pistons before losing in seven games and the Lakers/Spurs series was the home of Derek Fisher?s defining moment, otherwise known as zero-point-four.

That left the two conference championship series, both of which faced a common issue that might have decided them: one team wasn?t playing at full strength. The Lakers/Wolves series was hampered by the absence of Cassell (19.8PPG, 7.3APG, 1.3SPG, .488FG%), who made his first All-Star Game that season at the ripe old age of 34 and led the Wolves in assists. Anyone questioning Garnett?s capabilities would do well to remember that during that championship series, three of his starting teammates were Darrick Martin, Trenton Hassell and Michael Olowokandi, and they somehow took the Lakers six games.

Even with Tinsley hobbled, the Pacers were at one point tied 2-2 with the Pistons. A testament to the defensive prowess shown on both sides, no team scored more than 85 points in any one game and the losing team was held under 70 points in four of the six games. If there was one moment that everyone was meant to remember about the 2004 playoffs, it was from that Pistons/Pacers series and it was quite fittingly a defensive play. The Pacers were poised to go up 2-0 heading into Detroit, which would have been crippling to the Pistons, when Tayshaun Prince levelled his storied block from behind on Reggie Miller on a fast break late in the game. That was all the Pistons needed to gain the momentum and eventually the crown.

The Finals themselves weren?t incredibly exciting to watch (although watching Campbell and Shaq shake the floor was interesting) but they represented something greater. It was an upset to some, an inevitability to others, and it was certainly a triumph of team chemistry over an amalgamation of big names. It was the only championship since 1990 not won by any of Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan or Shaq ? the last since the other Pistons champions, the Bad Boys.

It was a fitting end to a season that had seen teamwork prevail. Kevin Garnett found that he could only get an MVP when teamed up with another All-Star in Sam Cassell; Tim Duncan had to live with a second-round exit after the retirement of his mentor, David Robinson; the Heat rose from 0-7 to take home-court advantage despite having no one payer score more than 17.3 points per game; the Pacers were at their best during the only year when it seemed like the injuries and infighting weren?t killing them; and the Pistons won it all after acquiring their final piece.

Honorable Mentions

Obviously, not all of such a monumental season?s events can be condensed into a single article. Let?s recall some of the many others.

July 2003: The four-way trade happened that sent Sprewell to Minnesota, Glenn Robinson to Philadelphia, Keith Van Horn to New York and expiring contracts to Atlanta. Well, the whole thing seemed important at the time?

December 2003: The Toronto Raptors and the Chicago Bulls made a trade sending Jalen Rose, Donyell Marshall and Lonny Baxter to Toronto for Antonio Davis, Jerome Williams and Chris Jefferies. Oddly, only one of those players (Marshall) still has a meaningful role on a team?s roster. The trade did almost take the Raptors back to the playoffs though, Rose?s broken hand leading to a pathetic 8-24 flameout after a passable 25-25 start.

April 2004: The Memphis Grizzlies made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history? and paid dearly for it. They haven?t won a playoff game to this day.

Also, the Knicks made their only playoff appearance so far under the Isiah Thomas regime. It didn?t end much better.

In news related to teams that didn?t get swept, Francisco Elson called Garnett ?gay? after an altercation, the seven-foot Dutchman indicating that the MVP had ?touched [him] in [his] private parts?. Gay rights groups were mortified.

June 2004:Tracy McGrady?s trade request was finally honored on the heels of an embarrassing 21-61 season that saw the Magic play no defense and quite possibly without heart. General manager John Weisbrod, who acquired Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato in the deal, received death threats shortly thereafter.

It was an amazing season, wasn?t it?

Feedback can be sent to gord9690@wlu.ca.