Pistons stun Lakers for NBA glory, Jack Nicklaus makes history
June 15 is a momentous sporting date that the Detroit Pistons and their fans will not forget in a hurry.
Sixteen years ago on this day, the team earned an emphatic 4-1 win over favourites the Los Angeles Lakers to seal glory in the NBA Finals.
This date also represents the 40-year anniversary of a famous day in golfing history, when Jack Nicklaus broke a record at the U.S. Open.
We look back at some of the top moments to occur on June 15 in the world of sport.
2004 – Pistons top Lakers 4-1 in NBA Finals
The Pistons sealed a stunning 4-1 series win over the Lakers on this day in 2004, with a 100-87 win in Game 5 ensuring they secured glory in Michigan.
Richard Hamilton top-scored with 21 points, Ben Wallace starred with 22 rebounds and Chauncey Billups had a game-high six assists.
Billups was named Finals MVP as coach Larry Brown savoured his first championship, his underdog team having won three straight after going down to an overtime loss in Game 2.
Game 5 was notable as the last game for Shaquille O’Neal, Karl Malone and Gary Payton for the Lakers, who had won previously three straight titles between 2000 and 2002.
This remains the Pistons’ most recent NBA title, as they lost a thrilling Finals series 4-3 to the San Antonio Spurs the following year and have not returned since.
The Lakers, meanwhile, reached three straight Finals when coach Phil Jackson returned to the team later in the decade, winning two, including their last triumph in 2010.
Kobe Bryant top-scored with 24 points in a losing effort against the Pistons in Game 5.
He would go on to be named NBA Finals MVP in each of their 2009 and 2010 successes, moving on to five rings in the process.
1980 – Nicklaus sets record in U.S. Open triumph
Jack Nicklaus’ fourth and final U.S. Open victory was a special one in 1980.
The American set a new tournament scoring record with an eight-under par score of 272 to win his fourth title at the event, finishing two shots clear of Japanese challenger Isao Aoki.
Nicklaus had started the week with a magnificent 63 to take a share of the first-round lead, and led by two after a more steady effort of 71 on day two.
After moving day, he was in a share of the lead with Aoki while four other players, including Tom Watson, were within two shots.
A thrilling finale was in store for June 15 and Nicklaus delivered with a 68 to claim his 16th major, 18 years after winning his first U.S. Open.
He romped to US PGA glory later that year, before his 18th and final major arrived six years later at the 1986 Masters.
1974 – Evert wins first of seven French Opens
American Chris Evert holds the women’s singles record with an astonishing seven French Open titles.
She won the first of her Paris crowns on this day in 1974, emphatically defeating the third seed, Russian Olga Morozova, 6-1 6-2.
In the absence of Margaret Court, who had beaten her in a three-set thriller in the previous year’s final, top seed Evert thrived.
She went through the whole tournament without losing a set, with German Helga Masthoff, the fourth seed, seen off in the semi-finals in a tougher test than she ended up having in the showpiece.
Evert also won Wimbledon that year as part of a sensational 55-match winning streak.
She successfully defended her French Open title the following year, and her third success in 1979 started a streak of five wins in the space of five years.