The 2003-04 Los Angeles Lakers saw one of the greatest collections of talent on a single team in NBA history. With a roster led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, the Lakers added Gary Payton and Karl Malone, while retaining role players Rick Fox, Derek Fisher and Horace Grant.
Despite Payton and Malone being over 35 years of age, the two were still great contributors on both ends of the court. The team would finish 56-26, good enough for the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed.
The Lakers wound up back in the NBA Finals where they took on the Detroit Pistons.