"We was trying to figure out how to score more than 80 points" – Gilbert Arenas on how insanely tough the 2004 Detroit Pistons' defense was

One of the oldest sayings in basketball is, “Offense may win games, but defense wins championships.” This was proven specifically true during the 2003-2004 NBA season when the Detroit Pistons surprised everyone by winning the championship with a convincing victory in the NBA Finals over the stacked Los Angeles Lakers.

Three-time All-Star Gilbert Arenas , one of the league's most explosive scorers before injuries derailed his career, recently talked about how tough it was to score against that Pistons squad, stressing how much of an accomplishment it already was if a team scored 80 points against them.

The Pistons played a defense unlike any other

Much like the Pistons team that won back-to-back titles in the late 80s, the 2004 squad played an aggressive defense with opponents shaking in their shoes long before the game tipped off. But according to Arenas, unlike those “Bad Boys,” the 2004 Pistons didn't resort to cheap shots and dirty tactics. Instead, they relied on their strong team chemistry and defensive strategy to shut down even the most talented offenses in the league.

“When people talk about physical and real defense, the 2004 Pistons—I never seen nothing like it. It was a defense where there was nobody dirty on that team, man. They weren't clotheslining ni***s. They went in there and locked your ass down,” Gil said of the Larry Brown-coached squad that held opponents to 84.3 points per game on 41.3 percent shooting.

Led by four-time Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace, the Pistons didn’t terrorize opposing teams with brute tactics or flashy individual performances. Instead, they relied on a cohesive team defense that stifled the league’s most talented players like Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and Jason Kidd.

Apart from “Big Ben,” Detroit’s frontcourt included veteran power forward Rasheed Wallace and long-limbed defender Tayshaun Prince. The team’s backcourt included gritty guards Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups, also known as “Mr. Big Shot.”

“They were holding teams to 70 points. That is the best defensive team. You're not going to tell nobody who played against them in that era and say cap. I don't give a fu** what era you go through,” Arenas emphasized. “There's no team like them.”

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Scoring points against Detroit was a chore

The Pistons thrived in an era where low-scoring ballgames were the norm. In fact, Gil revealed that his team back then, the Washington Wizards, often targeted just scoring 80 points against Detroit. However, it was a feat that was easier said than done.

“We were trying to figure out how to score more than 80 points just to try to win the game. Like, we knew they weren't going to score that many points. We were trying to figure out, 'Alright, how are we going to generate points, y'all? They shut everybody the fu** down,” the former Arizona standout said.

That everybody included the Lakers—a team that had Kobe, Shaquille O’Neal, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton. Despite having four Hall of Famers on their squad, the Lakers couldn’t figure out the Pistons’ ferocious defense and scored 81.8 points per game, making only 41.6 percent of their shots in the five-game series loss in the NBA Finals.

Related: Tayshaun Prince on how many championships the Detroit Pistons would've won if they drafted Carmelo Anthony: "If you take Melo, we got a guy"