Fans of the Detroit Pistons must find it hard to forget the 2005 NBA Finals. It’s not an easy task watching your team lose, especially when your hopes were high after a win against a team like the ’05 Miami Heat. The team that had Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade on it. But all that work only to be defeated by San Antonio Spurs in the Finals. And reliving the experience was ex-Pistons star Tayshaun Prince on a recent episode of the Knuckleheads Podcast.

Appearing on the show, Prince was asked whether his ’04 Pistons believed strongly enough in their defense to repeat their success in the 2005 season. The ex-NBA star stated his team understood, as the defending champions, they had a target on their back. But the team never doubted their ability to win.

“We had our ups and downs…But once we got through some bumps in the road…And start getting our stride right before playoffs come…We were still that same Detroit team that won a championship,” he stated on the Knuckleheads Podcast. Notably, three teams from the ’05 conference standings had a better regular season win percentage than the Pistons, which were the Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, and the eventual champions, San Antonio Spurs. Even Prince highlighted his team’s battle against Dwyane Wade’s top-seeded Heat.

This explains why show co-host Quentin Richardson labeled ’05, “a bad year,” in the middle of the podcast. He told Prince the fans and media did not want Spurs vs. Pistons in the Finals but Heat vs. Suns. “Everybody wanted to see us play…They wanted the destination cities…They wanted Phoenix and Miami…” he said. But as destiny would have it, the Spurs defeated the Suns and eventually the Pistons as well.

This was despite the fact that the Pistons did not face many injury issues on their team, as stated by Tayshaun. “Continue to repeat, man, it’s so tough, man…” he added, highlighting how some big names from his team got into foul trouble in Game 7. “Whatever the case may be…We had the ultimate team that could go back to back…Just a little bit of luck here and there. Or one momentum swing here and there can change everything…” Prince said. However, his former teammate Rasheed Wallace had a different conspiracy-based theory.

Rasheed Wallace alleged rigged officiating in the 2005 Finals cost the Pistons the championship

Sheed had a theory about the ’05 NBA Finals that might even have surprised some fans. According to the former Pistons star, the league didn’t want his team to secure back-to-back championships after their 2004 victory. He seemed convinced that the referees played a decisive role in steering the trophy away from Detroit and handing it to the San Antonio Spurs.

During an appearance on the Underdog NBA podcast, Wallace didn’t hold back on this opinion. Reflecting on the intense seven-game series, he insisted the officials showed heavy bias. To him, it was obvious from the way fouls were called against his team, tipping the balance in favor of the Spurs in Game 7.

The 4x All-Star recalled how he, Ben Wallace, and Antonio McDyess, all found themselves in foul trouble. He shared specific numbers to support his claim. He had 5 fouls in just 27 minutes, McDyess had 4 in 23, and Ben Wallace ended up with 5 in 37 minutes. In stark contrast, Tim Duncan, who played 41 minutes, was called for only two fouls.

The ex-Pistons forward suggested that referee Danny Crawford was quick to penalize his team, with a little help from fellow officials Eddie Rush, Dick Bavetta, and Joe Crawford. Wallace believes that the league, under former commissioner David Stern, was determined to make the NBA a more marketable product. And Detroit wasn’t a part of that vision. However, some may wonder if that was the case, why even let the Pistons win against Dwyane Wade’s Heat in the conference finals?

Stay tuned for more such updates. And join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.