All-21st Century: Meet Michigan's best teams of the last 25 years
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.
So without further ado, let's start the countdown with some honorable mentions that just missed the cut:
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.
Honorable mention: 2005-06 Red Wings (58-16-8, lost first round)
The Red Wings' 58 wins from the 2005-06 season are the second-most in franchise history, while their 124 points basically lapped the field. But their first-round loss to the eighth-seeded .500 Edmonton Oilers? That itself makes it as much a season worth forgetting as it is worth celebrating.
Honorable mention: 2005-06 Pistons (64-18, lost conference finals)
Turns out, the Pistons had a similar season as the Red Wings in 2005-06, setting the franchise record for wins (64, also leading the NBA) while bowing out to the Miami Heat in the conference finals.
Honorable mention: 2018-19 Michigan State basketball (32-7, lost Final Four)
Compared to other Tom Izzo-led teams, the 2018-19 Spartans had relatively little star power. But the team’s 32 wins are tied for the second-most in program history as Michigan State made it all the way to the Final Four, eventually falling to Texas Tech in Minneapolis.
Honorable mention: 2023-24 Oakland basketball (24-12, lost NCAA second round)
Fun fact: Oakland Grizzlies men’s basketball has won only one NCAA tournament game in the program’s history. But ask any college basketball fan, and they’ll tell you how unforgettable it truly was.
Honorable mention: 2024-25 Pistons (44-38, lost first round)
In the grand scheme of things, a 44-38 Pistons team that lost in the first round of the playoffs may not seem worth celebrating. But considering this team had a 30-win improvement from the year before, it made for a surprisingly wonderful season of DEEETROIT BAAAAAASKETBAAAALLLLL.
25. 2011 Lions (10-6, lost wild-card round)
It can be hard to imagine nowadays, but the 2011 Detroit Lions were one of the most historic teams in franchise history, with their first winning season since 2000 and their first 10-win season since 1995.
24. 2024 Tigers (86-76, lost ALDS)
The 2024 Tigers went 34-19 in August and September, including a 15-3 stretch in the final month that vaulted them into a surprise playoff berth and an even more surprising Al wild-card series win over the Houston Astros.
23. 2014 Lions (11-5, lost wild-card round)
The 2011 Lions were a fun surprise, but the 2014 Lions under first-year coach Jim Caldwell were legitimately great, with the best run defense in the NFL and a bevy of talent that clinched the team’s second playoff berth in four years.
22. 2013 Michigan State football (13-1, won Rose Bowl)
There’s an argument to be made about the two-loss 2015 Michigan State team, the only Spartans team to make the College Football Playoff. But the 2013 team had just a bit more magic, and even finished with a higher ranking at No. 3 in the coaches poll.
21. 2011 Tigers (95-67, lost ALCS)
The 2011 season, the Tigers' first division title since 1987, was marked by highs (pitcher Justin Verlander’s AL Cy Young and MVP season), lows (remembering former manager Sparky Anderson, who died in November 2010) and events that defy traditional baseball wisdom (the legend of Don Kelly).
20. 2022 Michigan football (13-1, lost CFP semifinal)
If the 2021 season was Michigan’s return to prominence, the 2022 season was the one that promised the program’s first national title under coach Jim Harbaugh. And though it didn’t quite end that way for the Wolverines, it was only the start of the team’s best stretch in recent memory.
19. 2024 Lions (15-2, lost divisional round)
The 2024 Lions were the first Lions team in many fans' memory that came into the season with legitimate Super Bowl expectations, and they delivered the greatest regular season in franchise history.
18. 2017-18 Michigan basketball (33-8, lost national final)
Michigan rattled off five straight wins to finish the regular season, won the 2018 Big Ten Tournament (as a 5-seed) and then five NCAA Tournament wins later found themselves in the title game, losing 79-62 to a Villanova team lifting their second championship trophy in three years.
17. 2012 Tigers (88-74, lost World Series)
The Tigers in 2012 had the American League MVP in Miguel Cabrera, three current or future Cy Young winners in Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello, and a new middle-of-the-order masher in Prince Fielder stationed at first base. Is it really a surprise that they made it to the World Series?
16. 2012-13 Michigan basketball (31-8, lost national final)
With a backcourt duo of future NBA stars Tre Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr., along with a bevy of other freshmen and future NBA'ers, the 2012-13 team was one of the best in school history, at one point 20-1 and ranked No. 1 in the nation.
15. 2004-05 Pistons (54-28, lost NBA Finals)
The Pistons came within one win of a second back-to-back championship run, losing an 81-74 defensive brawl in Game 7 of the 2005 NBA Finals to the San Antonio Spurs, who were in the middle of their own mid-2000s dynastic run.
14. 2008-09 Red Wings (51-20-10, lost Stanley Cup Final)
The Red Wings would remain good for a few more years, but that 2008-09 team was arguably the last truly great Red Wings team. Detroit has finished atop its division only once since then (2010-11) and has won only three playoff series since, never advancing past the conference semifinals.
13. 2006 Tigers (95-67, lost World Series)
Only three years removed from a then AL-record 119 losses, the 2006 Tigers turned a 24-win improvement into an AL wild-card berth, a four-game win over the Yankees in the bbest-of-five ALDS and a Magg-ical four-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS.
12. 2008 Detroit Shock (22-12, won WNBA Finals)
The 2008 Shock won the WNBA title, their third in six years in their next-to-last season in metro Detroit. Needless to say, it was a strange two years for Detroit’s most decorated franchise of the 2000s.
11. 2024-25 Western Michigan hockey (34-7-1, won NCAA championship)
The Broncos finished atop the NCHC for the first time ever, then rattled off four wins in the NCAA tournament, most impressively with a 3-2 double-overtime victory over defending champions Denver in the semifinal before a 6-2 shellacking over Boston University in the final.
10. 2005 Michigan softball (65-7, won NCAA championship)
The 2005 Michigan softball team unquestionably the most accomplished softball team in the history of the state, with 2005 USA Softball Player of the Year Jennie Ritter setting the program’s single-season record for pitcher wins (38).
9. 2023 Detroit Lions (12-5, lost NFC title game)
2023 was the year the Lions graduated from a fun story to a legitimate NFL contender, behind third-year GM Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell.
8. 2006 Detroit Shock (23-11, won WNBA Finals)
This team’s calling card was its defense, with Deanna Nolan and Cheryl Ford both making the WNBA’s All-Defensive second team as Detroit finished second in the league in defensive net rating. A balanced offense paired with a solid defense added up to the team’s second WNBA title, with one more on the way.
7. 2006-07 Michigan State hockey (26-13-3, won NCAA championship)
Michigan State trounced Boston University 5-1 in the first round before beating CCHA champions Notre Dame in the regional finals, sending the Spartans to their first Frozen Four since 2001. And behind goals from future NHL'ers Justin Abdelkader and Chris Mueller in a 3-1 win over Boston College in the final, the Spartans won their first hockey title since the 1985-86 season.
6. 2007-08 Red Wings (54-21-7, won Stanley Cup Final)
The winner of the Presidents’ Trophy has won the Stanley Cup only four times in the last 25 years. Two of those are courtesy of the Red Wings, most recently in the 2007-08 season, which was the last time an NHL team won both trophies in an 82-game season.
5. 2003 Shock (25-9, won WNBA Finals)
It might be difficult to believe considering the team’s dynastic dominance over a six-year stretch, but the 2003 season was the first winning year for the Shock since the franchise's creation in 1998. But calling it a “winning” season is underselling it — the Shock absolutely dominated.
4. 1999-2000 Michigan State basketball (32-7, won NCAA championship)
The 1999-2000 Spartans didn’t have big star power (though they did feature a freshman star in Jason Richardson), but senior captains Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson became local legends in their own right, helping deliver the program’s only championship in the Izzo era.
3. 2023 Michigan football (15-0, won CFP national championship)
Trying to fit everything that happened to the 2023 Wolverines would be too much for this exercise, but the feelings are no less strong. We imagine this team will be talked about just as breathlessly over the next 25 years.
2. 2003-04 Pistons (54-28, won NBA Finals)
Perhaps no team in the history of basketball has demonstrated the adage of “defense wins championships.” For the record, that’s not explicitly true, especially in such an offensively-minded league like the NBA. But for the 2003-04 Pistons, it was certainly the case.
1. 2001-02 Red Wings (51-17-10-4, won Stanley Cup Final)
The 2001-02 Red Wings, aka the "Hockey Gods" won just about everything that could have been won, including the team’s third Presidents' Trophy, fourth conference championship and 10th Stanley Cup.
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.