Legendary Kobe-stopper reveals secrets to his defensive masterclass against the Mamba in 2004 Finals: "Perfect setup"
During the early 2000s, Kobe Bryant was one of the NBA's top superstars. Twenty years after the Pistons' upset of the Lakers to win the NBA championship, one player discussed defending the Hall of Famer on the game's biggest stage.
In 2004, the LA Lakers were in the NBA Finals, looking to win a fourth championship in five years. The final team to beat was a ragtag Detroit Pistons squad. Heading into that series, veteran forward Tayshaun Prince found himself with the task of having to defend the Lakers' superstar guard.
During a recent appearance on the "Knuckleheads" podcast, Prince reflected on matching up with Kobe Bryant during that series. Being a California native, he felt it was the perfect situation for him and his career.
"It was a perfect setup for my career," Prince. "I'm from Cali, and Kobe was two years older than us. We looked up to him. He was that dude. I was in high school watching the Lakers, so it was set up perfect."
He then discussed what the gameplan was for Bryant, stating that his primary goal was to try and force him to have to take tough shots.
"I just tried to force him to mid-range jump shots and contest them. I knew if I could just make him take tough, contested shots, I could live with that. And that's what I was able to do throughout that series."
Thanks to Prince's defense and many other factors, the Pistons were able to take down the Lakers in that series and win the first championship since the "Bad Boys" era in 1990.
How did Kobe Bryant perform in the 2004 NBA Finals?
The 2004 season marked the early stages of Kobe Bryant's prime. In the regular season, he finished top-five in MVP voting after averaging 24.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists. The future Hall of Famer carried this level of production into the playoffs until he ran into the Detroit Pistons.
In the semifinal round, Bryant averaged 26.3 points on 46.2% shooting against the San Antonio Spurs. He followed that up by averaging 24.3 points on 41.4% shooting against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western conference finals.
In the finals, Bryant saw his offensive numbers trending in the wrong direction. During the five-game series, he averaged 22.6 points and only shot 38.1% from the field.
As a star-level player, the Pistons expected Bryant to have some big games. However, as Tayshaun Prince said, the goal was to make life difficult for him. The plan worked when in Game 3, Bryant notched 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting. In the fifth and final game, the LA Lakers star scored 24 points on 21 field goal attempts.
Even when Shaquille O'Neal was still near the peak of his career, Bryant's struggles were too much to overcome. Executing the game plan nearly to perfection, the Pistons were able to pull off one of the biggest upsets in finals history.