In the 2003-2004 season, although the final championship of that year was taken away by the Detroit Pistons of the "civilian lineup", no one will forget that if one person were to determine the season, it would undoubtedly be Kevin Garnett. After seven consecutive seasons of playoff first-round exits, management recruited Sam Cassel and Spreeville, the Madman, to form the most powerful "trio" combination in Timberwolves history. It was also this season that the team, led by these three stars, played the best record in the history of the team with 58 wins and 24 losses, ranking first in the West.
In the playoffs, Garnett finally ushered in a breakthrough, the team went all the way through the barriers, defeated the Nuggets led by rookie Anthony at the time, and the Kings led by Chris Webber to reach the Western Conference Finals. However, they still lost to the Lakers led by "F4" and missed the finals. However, that year Garnett redefined the big forward and perfectly interpreted what MVP is. And the top few stars at the bottom of the MVP list, each with good strength, is more than enough to explain Garnett's greatness, the following to take stock of these stars who lost to Garnett.
5th and 6th places: Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal
The 03-04 season was the last season of the "OK" combination cooperation, during which too many complicated situations occurred, resulting in a gap between the two people, and has reached the point where it is impossible to adjust and water and fire are intolerable. As the second boss in the "triple crown" period, Kobe Bryant is no longer satisfied with his team status and has launched a strong impact on Big Brother. This season, due to off-court disputes, Kobe Bryant has been constantly running back and forth between the court and the courtroom, sometimes even rushing to the beginning of the game.
But it still contributed 24 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists. O'Neal, who had already begun to decline a bit, was still the league's best center at the time, and could also contribute to the team's top performance of 21.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. What is more dramatic is that although the two look at each other off the field, they can still play for the team conscientiously on the field, even if they are not happy with each other, it is difficult not to admit that they are the most tacit partners with each other. "F4" seems to have gathered 4 Hall of Fame superstars, in fact, Malone is old, Payton is difficult to integrate into the Zen Master's "triangle attack" system, coupled with the average strength of the bench, in fact, that year's Lakers still moved forward under the leadership of "OK", and finally achieved a record of 56 wins and 26 losses, ranking second in the West after the Timberwolves.
Kobe Bryant and O'Neal, their strength and role in the team, are no less than Garnett, and even they beat the Timberwolves in the playoffs that year. However, it is precisely because the two have equal roles that it is difficult to distinguish between Bo Zhong, and the second year of Garnett did perform too dazzlingly, so it is reasonable to lose to Garnett in the MVP selection.
4th place: Peja Stojakovich
As the core player of the last "Princeton System" Kings, Peja played the best performance of his career this season. He averaged 24.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, shooting a terrifying 48 percent and 43.3 percent from three-point range, and made it to the "180" club and rose to the top scorers. Plagued by injuries, the Kings' well-deserved boss, Chris Webb, played just 23 games that season and was in marked decline.
And when someone needed to replace him, Peja stepped forward. Accurate three-pointers, steady open shots, and unparalleled running ability impressed Rick Adelman and decided to make Peja the new tactical core. Peja also proved to be worthy of the trust of Coach Adelman, and in the absence of Weber most of the time, the team still played a record of 55 wins and 27 losses. However, peja played an aberration in the playoffs despite a chance to be a superstar, and the team also lost to the Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals, so it is not so strange to be no longer at number 4 on the MVP list.
3rd place: Jermaine O'Neill
The top three MVP lists that year were dominated by the three best big forwards in the league. And the third place was Jemaine O'Neal, who was making rapid progress in the Pacers at the time. The Pacers that season had a league-best 61-21 record, while O'Neal Jr. contributed top interior stats of 20.1 points, 10 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. The team has young players such as Artest, Al Harrington, Jamal Tinsley, etc., in addition, the team's legendary star Reggie Miller can still save the team at key moments, while the team's bench on the bench Jeff Foster, Kenny Anderson also performed well, under the tutelage of Coach Rick Carlisle, the team's defense has been greatly improved.
It is precisely because of this that O'Neal Jr. is very successful in the Pacers' tactical system, and the offensive end can not only shoot outside the box, but also be able to withstand the opponent's inner line and force into the box. At the time, in the low technical ability, O'Neal Jr. could even be ranked in the top three of the league. He entered the NBA after graduating from high school, and he has the physical talent that does not lose to Garnett, and Coach Carlisle also takes advantage of this to maximize the value of O'Neal Jr. on the defensive end, his assistant defense is fast, the strength and confrontation are also the league's first-class, and the defensive awareness is the top of the league. Therefore, O'Neill Jr. rarely eats the opponent's fake moves, and constantly applies pressure while defending, thus cutting off the opponent's attack. However, compared with Garnett, O'Neill Jr. is still lacking in key moments, and his psychological quality is also poor, and once he falls into foul trouble, it is difficult to adjust his state. And this is also a big reason, O'Neal Jr. maintained a high level for a few seasons, and then disappeared from the crowd.
2nd place: Tim Duncan
Duncan can be said to be Garnett's "lifelong enemy", when "Postman" Carl Malone almost locked the throne of his first major striker in history, but after Garnett and Duncan landed in the league, Malone was constantly surpassed by these two young people.
Speaking of Duncan, before the 03-04 season, he had won two consecutive regular-season MVPs in the previous two seasons, and in the season he lost to Garnett, he was still able to play 22.3 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocks — almost the same as his two MVP seasons. Perhaps, it is precisely because Duncan's data is so "monotonous" that when it comes to judging, it is already accustomed to his performance. If Garnett hadn't had such a brilliant performance this season, duncan would most likely have continued to win the MVP trophy, just like his nickname "Big Basics", his performance throughout his career has been so similar, but it is also in this way that Duncan's greatness can be highlighted.
As for who is the number one striker in history, this topic has basically disappeared after Duncan's retirement. Among the latecomers, it may be difficult to have a player of the phenomenal level of Duncan again.