While the rest of the NBA world celebrates Kobe Bryant's 40th birthday, the Detroit Pistons reminded The Black Mamba of perhaps the most embarrassing stumbling block of his NBA career — losing to them in the 2004 NBA Finals.

The level of petty goes off the scale here, as not only did the Pistons win this championship 14 years ago, but they did so in June, rather than August, making this as purposeful a dig as it can get in social media.

https://twitter.com/DetroitPistons/status/1032639458854748160

Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers were massively favored to win the title over the hopeful Pistons, boasting not only the dynamic duo of Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, but future Hall of Famers in Gary Payton and Karl Malone, along with a proven veteran in Rick Fox.

The Pistons were an unexpected third seed in the East after acquiring Rasheed Wallace via trade, but put the clamps on the rest of the Eastern Conference to get to the NBA Finals with the best defender in the league in Ben Wallace and a rising talent in Tayshaun Prince.

Couple that with a locked-in Rip Hamilton and an inspired Chauncey Billups, who won the Finals MVP, and the Pistons had themselves a clear contender for the Larry O'Brien trophy.

There was a large sentiment that the Lakers have more than enough offense to overpower a defensive team like the Pistons and after a road stunner at Staples Center, the Lakers quickly tied things up in Game 2, heading into three games at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Back then, all other playoff series were held in a 2–2–1–1–1 format, with The Finals being the only one to sport a simpler 2-3-2 format. This was an advantage that played right at the Pistons' hands, with a rabid fan base and a team that fed off the support — winning the last three games by a margin of 13.7 points per game.

Sadly for Kobe, who averaged 22.6 points per game in the series, this would be the first championship denied at the NBA Finals, failing to reach it again until 2008, this time falling to the Kevin Garnett-led Boston Celtics.