The Detroit Pistons completed the biggest upset in NBA Finals history, toppling the mighty Los Angeles Lakers with a victory built on team-work rather than individual brilliance.
In front of a raucous and unrelenting sell-out crowd at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit closed out the best of seven series in five games for their first title in 14 years.
Leading the way was Larry Brown, the nomadic coach who led a group of cast-offs and convinced them that they could overcome tremendous odds by playing "the right way".
Working for his seventh NBA team, Brown finally broke through, becoming the first coach to win championships on the pro and college levels.
The Pistons limited the Lakers to an average of 81.8 points in the series, turning counterpart Phil Jackson's vaunted triangle offense into a new, disfigured shape.
"They do play the right way, and I'm very proud of them," Brown said.
And, while the Lakers leaned too hard on superstars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, the Pistons shared the ball and the spotlight.
In fact, guard Chauncey Billups was named MVP despite having little impact in the clinching game.
Fittingly, Detroit's leading man was centre Ben Wallace, who baited O'Neal into early foul trouble from which Los Angeles never recovered.
The Pistons ended the five-year stranglehold the Lakers and San Antonio Spurs had held on the league and became the first champion from the east since Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in 1998.
PA