The 2004 Detroit Pistons are an outlier team for tens of reasons. They won a title in an era defined by elite center play, with theirs as the third- or fourth-best player on the team. Their roster was comprised, in no small part, of mercenary stars who had bounced around the league. Most importantly, they did not have any of the top-five or even top-ten players in the NBA at the time.
For the Indiana Pacers to win a title in an era that equally prioritizes top-end talent over well-balanced rosters, they will need to pull off the same challenge.
Both the Pistons and Pacers face similar styles of opposition. The early Cleveland Cavaliers are similar to the Los Angeles Lakers today, with Luka Dončić, a singular superstar, carrying a subpar roster with one co-star. The D-Wade Miami Heat are remarkably aligned with the Minnesota Timberwolves, with Anthony Edwards; both are led by young stars so good, so fast that the teams went all in on 23-year-olds.
Some may argue that those modern equivalents are not contenders, but it is completely fair to say that either of those options and any of the other fringe contenders are there because they can claim to have a top player.
While the Pacers are not alone in that pursuit, they would be the first team since those Pistons to pull that off.
Here's how their predecessors did it.
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The Pistons era of Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed, and Ben Wallace lasted longer than most would've thought and shorter than most have remembered. Following Rasheed's acquisition in the 2003-04 season, the stars were held together until Ben left in free agency in 2007.
Over four seasons, they reached four straight conference finals, made two Finals appearances, and won one title. Their ring came not because they had a higher ceiling than any other team, but because they had less drama and outlasted their opponents.
Here's what that means.
Despite frequently having the best record in the East, the Pistons were rarely seen as the best team in their conference. Their first conference finals appearance came against the New Jersey Nets in '03, when Jason Kidd was likely the best point guard in the league.
When they made the Finals for the first time, they were universally expected to lose to the Shaq-and-Kobe Lakers. Instead, they won while the Lakers had a locker room dustup.
Detroit won one ring in six straight conference finals appearances. That one ring came only when their opponents took themselves out.
It's a ring regardless, and no one in Indiana would mind winning one in that way as well.
They were not the best team. They were not the most star-laden. But they were by far the most capable at not getting in their own way and at sticking around long enough for luck to play in.
The Pacers don't need to have a top-five player, but they do need to be good enough to make deep playoff runs for as long as possible. They're off to a good start, with one Finals run and two appearances in the ECF.
When they made those Finals against the OKC Thunder, they were on the wrong side of some bad luck with Tyrese Haliburton's Achilles injury.
If they make it back, the hope is that next time it will break the other way.
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