The 2004-05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It began on November 2, 2004 and ended April 20, 2005. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs defeating defending champion Detroit Pistons 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
Notable occurrences
- The NBA makes its return to Charlotte as the Charlotte Bobcats become the league's 30th franchise. They play their first season at the Charlotte Coliseum.
- This season also makes the first year of the NBA's new divisional alignments, separating the league into six divisions of five teams instead of the previous four divisions of varying numbers of teams.
- The NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2005 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, with the East winning 125-115. Philadelphia's Allen Iverson was named the MVP of the game.
- During All-Star Weekend Quentin Richardson won the Three-point Shootout, Steve Nash won the Skills Challenge, and Diana Taurasi, Dan Majerle and Shawn Marion won the Shooting Stars competition -- all Phoenix Suns victories. Amare Stoudemire made it to the final round of the Slam Dunk Contest but failed to complete the sweep for the Suns.
- Prior to the start of this season, Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat after his reported fallout with former Laker teammate Kobe Bryant. Fans sensed this, along with the Pistons championship, as a possible end of dominance by the Western Conference.
- The Memphis Grizzlies play their first game at the FedEx Forum.
- An early regular season game between Detroit and Indiana at The Palace of Auburn Hills was disrupted with 45.9 seconds to go as a major riot broke out between players and fans. This resulted in record breaking suspensions, most notable of which was Ron Artest who received the longest suspension in NBA history (73 games). The NBA also overhauled its security policy league-wide.
Final standings
z - Conference Champion
y - Division Champion
x - Qualified for Playoffs
C - NBA Champions
NBA awards
- Most Valuable Player: Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
- Rookie of the Year: Emeka Okafor, Charlotte Bobcats
- Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons
- Sixth Man of the Year: Ben Gordon, Chicago Bulls
- Most Improved Player: Bobby Simmons, Los Angeles Clippers
- Coach of the Year: Mike D'Antoni, Phoenix Suns
- All-NBA First Team:
- All-NBA Second Team:
- All-NBA Third Team
- All-NBA Defensive First Team
- C - Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons
- F - Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves
- G - Bruce Bowen, San Antonio Spurs
- F - Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
- G - Larry Hughes, Washington Wizards
- '''All-NBA Defensive Second Team
- All-NBA Rookie First Team:
- All-NBA Rookie Second Team:
See also
2005 in basketball | National Basketball Association seasons | The NBA on ESPN | The NBA on ABC
"2004-05 NBA season"