All-21st Century: Michigan's top squads over the past 25 years — Meet the best of the best
This is the final piece in a 10-part series from the Free Press celebrating the top players, teams and moments over the first 25 years of the 21st century. Go to freep.com/sports to catch up on any you missed.
Welcome to the Free Press’ All-21st Century countdown of the 25 greatest teams from the state of Michigan over the past 25 years!
These are the college and pro teams that have made the biggest impact in Michigan over the 21st century, whether they were national champions, local heroes or simply a memorable group of players and coaches.
Here are the absolute best teams that have called Michigan their home in the new millennium:
The series
Honorable mentions: A pair of playoff wipeouts in 2005-06.
Nos. 21-25: Roses and wild-card berths abound.
Nos. 16-20: Runners-up galore in Ann Arbor and Detroit.
Nos. 11-15: Magglio's moment for the top Tigers team.
Nos. 6-10: U-M's diamond dominators — and a couple of hockey crowns.
Nos. 1-5: A trio of hoops titles — and the Hockey Gods.
5. 2003 Shock
The record: 25-9, won WNBA Finals.
It might be difficult to believe considering the team’s dynasty over a six-year stretch – a run that included three WNBA titles as well as a loss in the 2007 Finals – but 2003 was the first season above .500 for the franchise since its creation in 1998. But the Shock didn't just finish above .500 — they absolutely dominated.
With 2003 WNBA Rookie of the Year Cheryl Ford on board, the Shock led the WNBA with 25 wins and a franchise-best .735 winning percentage. They carried that dominance into the playoffs, as well, losing only two games in eight playoff games (though their title required a rally in the Finals, with the Shock taking down the Los Angeles Sparks in a winner-take-all Game 3). It was a celebratory moment for women’s basketball in metro Detroit (and their only title consummated at The Palace of Auburn Hills), one that will almost certainly be remembered warmly when the WNBA returns in 2029. But above all, it was the start of the city’s most successful pro dynasty of the 21st century.
4. 1999-2000 Michigan State basketball
The record: 32-7, won NCAA Tournament.
Should a team that began play in the 20th century count for a 21st-century list? Since they cut the nets in April 2000, we’ll make this one exception.
It’s hard to remember a time when Michigan State basketball wasn’t a national powerhouse. Tom Izzo rebuilt the Spartans as a force, setting a school record for wins (33) in the 1998-99 season and taking MSU to its first Final Four in 20 years. (You remember that 1978-79 team, right? Led by a sophomore guard with a funny nickname?)
The 1999-2000 Spartans didn’t have that kind of star power (though they did feature a freshman star in Jason Richardson), but senior captains Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson cemented a pathway from Flint to East Lansing as they helped deliver the program’s only championship in the Izzo era. And most impressively, they made it look easy — winning each of their six NCAA tournament games by at least double digits, including an 89-76 win over the Florida Gators in Indianapolis – still the most recent Big Ten team to reign in March Madness.
3. 2023 Michigan football
The record: 15-0, won CFP championship.
Will history remember the 2023 Wolverines as Michigan football's greatest team? Maybe. But the most talked-about team? That’s a lock.
The Wolverines began their march to glory by becoming the first college program to win 1,000 games, with a 21-13 win over Maryland on Nov. 18, 2023; that doesn’t come close to the top-five stories from that season. There was a three-game suspension for coach Jim Harbaugh, for a recruiting violation during the coronavirus pandemic, to open the season. The Connor Stalions saga, which brought another three-game ban for Harbaugh. Another win over Ohio State (ranked No. 2 at the time). One of the greatest games in Rose Bowl history. And, of course, the decisive CFP victory over Washington in Houston that made the Wolverines champions for the first time since the 1997 season.
Trying to fit everything that happened in that historic year would be too much for this exercise, but the feelings are no less strong. We’ll imagine this team will be talked about just as breathlessly over the next 25 years as the last 25.
2. 2003-04 Pistons
The record: 54-28, won NBA Finals.
Perhaps no other hoops squad has demonstrated “defense wins championships” like these "Goin' to Work" Pistons. When the Pistons talked about “Goin’ to Work,” it wasn’t about scoring. It was about blocks, rebounds, screens and the grunt work that gets overlooked in the box score. It was about playing off teammates – Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace, all at their peak – in a way that overwhelmed a star-studded Los Angeles Lakers team – in a so-called "five-game sweep" – with four future Hall of Famers in the NBA Finals.
But mostly for the Pistons, it was about showing up to win, then doing it again the next day, then doing it again over and over until there were no more games left to play. And they knew the work was finished only when the Larry O’Brien Trophy was in their possession.
1. 2001-02 Red Wings
The record: 51-17-10-4, won Stanley Cup Final.
Are the 2001-02 Red Wings the greatest NHL team ever? They certainly have a case for most talented team ever, with 11 players playing in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, nine future Hall of Famers on the ice (plus another behind the bench, in coach Scotty Bowman) and four career 500-goal scorers on the same team. It was almost certainly the greatest collection of talent in Red Wings history, even if a few other Red Wings teams have them beaten on points percentage.
The 2001-02 Red Wings won just about everything that could have been won, including the team’s third Presidents' Trophy and 10th Stanley Cup. Five players were named All-Stars, while Nicklas Lidström won the Norris Trophy (as the league's top defenseman) and the Conn Smythe Trophy (as playoff MVP, the first European so honored) and a Russian rookie named Pavel Datsyuk got his first NHL shifts.
And after a brutal seven-game series against the hated Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference finals – in which they were finally able to bid a certain goalie "Au Rev-Roy" – to return to the Cup Final for the first time since 1998, the Red Wings left no doubt with a five-game victory over the Carolina Hurricanes to lift the trophy ... and become Michigan’s greatest team of the 21st century.
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com
At the quarter-turn
June 1: Tigers.
June 8: Lions offense and defense.
June 15: MSU basketball.
June 22: U-M basketball.
June 29: MSU football offense and defense.
July 6: U-M football offense and defense.
July 13: Pistons.
July 20: Red Wings.
July 27: The best players.
Aug. 3: The best teams.