Who Is The All-Time Greatest NBA Champion?
1983 Champs…vastly underrated
If the Boston Celtics win the NBA Championship in June, the team of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett will be considered one of the greatest title teams ever assembled.
With that thought in mind; who do you consider the Greatest NBA Championship Team in your lifetime. Is it the 1996 Chicago Bulls who went 72-10 or was it the 1986 Boston Celtics, the 1985 Lakers or the 1989 Bad Boys of Detroit. Maybe it was my favorite the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers.
Let the debate begin…
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May 19th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
“If the Boston Celtics win the NBA Championship in June, the team of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett will be considered one of the greatest title teams ever assembled”
I don’t have an opinion about whose the greatest team, but I know I disagree with that sentence. LOL
May 19th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
The 1996 Chicago bulls are the greatest team of all time…………why you ask?
Because if a team can win the championship and win 72 games with the cheapest owner in the NBA (Reinsdorf) and one of the most incompetent GMs in all of sports (Krause).
Then you got to be the greatest team of all-time.
And not only that you can argue that MJ was and is the greatest player of all time because of the same reasons.
Its like if Kobe went to the Clippers with their cheap @ss owner and won 6 rings.
Crazy!!!!!
May 19th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Trust me neither do I, but I know the MSM will constantly throw that label around.
May 19th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
The cletics team can’t be considered one of the greatest teams of all because of their not great playoff games.
Its like the lakers team with shaq and kobe. The first championship team struggled very similiar to this Celtics team.
But the second championship team ran right through the playoffs. Even though they didn’t win 67 games like the first championship lakers team.
May 19th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
You know somebody from New York’s gotta come on here and put the 69-70 Knicks on record, Willis Reed hobbling out of the tunnel and all that.
So there, now I’ve done it.
Actually, I like the 72-73 Knicks better, even though Clyde and Holzman flat out refused to let Black Jesus walk on water… but that team was clearly flawed and cannot be considered among the best ever.
May 19th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
TLP-I was waitin’ on you to come through for your Knicks!
May 19th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Not the ‘83 Sixers. As great as that team was, I’d have loved to see what might have happened against a healthy Laker squad. Norm Nixon, Bob McAdoo…out. James Worthy (broken leg). Moses Malone was the absolute truth but each of those games was a replay of the first. The Lakers were either competitive or leading until the second half.
Philly pulled away in the 2nd half of every game as their superior depth became a critical factor in the series. That Laker team was excellent and while Philly was on a mission, that sweep was the result of injuries. I can’t say the Lakers would’ve won that series, but losing McAdoo, Nixon and Worthy was too much to overcome.
I suggest putting another picture up there. Someone might think y’all are on some home town bias isht!
May 19th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
They might be on some hometown bias ish. I say wear it on your sleeve proudly!
May 19th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
I gotta go with Ron…buy hey…I’m Philly biased. Moses, Doc, Cheeks and Andrew Toney made the all star squad…Doc MVP…with a sick azz boof on Artis Gilmore.
One of my favorite all star games…and it just wasn’t because of the Sixers for Marvin killed it.
I thought this team was going to win 70 but Billy Cunningham pulled off the throttle at the end of the season. They didn’t lose back to back until very late in the year.
Adding Moses pretty much guaranteed a championship even with Magic and Bird trying to run away and cement their legacies.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Hey man hey…leave the Iladelph outta this
I think that team would have smashed the Lakers regardless..they lost that one game to the Bucks late…fo five fo.
With that ark..Macadoo’s missed jumpers would have padded Doc’s stats..He led the league in dunks that year.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I agree with CoCo. This Celtic team isn’t even in the conversation unless they start BLOWING PEOPLE OUT on a regular. Seven games in consecutive series against seriously deficient teams is a sign of trouble. For me, they’d need to beat Detroit in 5 - by about 15 to 20 in every game — and do the same to the Lakers (or Hornets or Spurs). I’d be most impressed, though, if they did it to the Lakers because of their size, depth and relative youth.
This Celtic team, from a personnel standpoint, is grossly deficient with respect to personnel. Garnett could have started for any of the elite championship teams (including the Celtics and Lakers) - but that’s not the point. I don’t know that he would have been on the floor at the end of games because of his offensive reticence. Closers like Worthy and McHale would probably have him riding the pine. (Worthy often played the 3 - but did his best offensive work on the baseline (spin moves anyone?) and on the wings with that mid-range jumper.
Ray Allen would not have started for the Bulls or Pistons. He probably would have started ahead of Danny Ainge in Boston (I hope so) and ahead of Byron Scott in LA…but, I suspect that Michael Cooper would’ve snatched those minutes come clutch time in LA. His defense and deep shooting would render Ray secondary.
I guess Paul Pierce would make out okay. Strictly bench in Boston, Chicago. Possible pine rider in Detroit with elite scorers like Aguirre in the fold - but Pierce’s defense might get him some love from Chuck Daly. Aguirre still sneezes when he hears the word. He’d have been pressed for minutes in LA too - with Worthy often playing the 3 - a position he inherited from Jamaal Wilkes…and Silk was the real deal. Young guns might not remember that the Lakers and Magic didn’t “make” him. He came to LA with a ring won under the strong leadership of Al Attles in GS.
So, this Celtic team may have won a ton of games, but the post-season is not proving to be an affirmation of their talents. To quote Joe Namath, they are “strugg-u-liiiing!” With no Suzy Kolber to kiss, and no bar to drown their sorrows, the C’s are going to have to duke it out.
I’m not even going to discuss Rajon Rando and Kendrick Perkins or that sorry-ass bench or the coach. I cannot imagine this team facing those 1980’s frontlines in Boston or LA — let alone the 3 guard rotation of the Pistons or the nightmare of Jordan and Pippen.
Damn - and I actually like them.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Temple - I am definately on some hometown bias ish. When the Flyers lost last night, that brought the number of seasons in Philly since the last championship to 100!
You better believe I’m biased
May 19th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
If I recall correctly, Nixon was injured in Game 3. McAdoo and Worthy missed the entire series. Not sure. I don’t know how you can discount those three players. In terms of production, that would be like taking Maurice Cheeks off the team — and the rest of it isn’t even comparable because that Philly team didn’t have big men who scored like McAdoo and Worthy.
The glow of a ring makes mediocrity invisible. Clemon Johnson, Earl Cureton, Marc Iavaroni, Mark McNamara. You gotta be kidding me!
Andrew Toney and Moses killed the Lakers. They had no answers and without their depth, they couldn’t match the firepower of that team - and still, most of those games were very competitive.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Philly Crew:
I ain’t mad at y’all. What are you supposed to do? Concede the point? Hell no. Fight for yours. Big up!
That still don’t change a thing. One hunnit and countin’ - damn!!
May 19th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Those shorts are tooooo short. It’s a little disconcerting.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
“One hunnit and countin’ - damn!!”
OUCH!
It’s that damn Rocky Statue, it was built in 1983. Nuff said!
Philly’s greatest sports hero is a friggin’ tomato can!!!
May 19th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Yeah I’m squirmin’ looking at those shorts.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
TBR
You know I had to do it!
But if you really want to see some bias come out, let me point you in the direction of some more recent Knicks teams that went to the Finals but came up short: the 94 Knicks with Pat, Oak, Mase, Walker, and umm that light skinded dude who shot 2-17 and whose name I still cannot utter; and the 99 Knicks who were Black America’s team led by Spree, A Houston, and Camby.
Remember when Spree amazingly found redemption in Gotham after choking that white dude? Who has ever gotten away with choking a white man like that? I know he suffered, he left the league prematurely, and now he is reportedly broke… but for a while there, damn! Brothas could actually choke the shit outta whitefolk and live to tell about it!
That’s got to be worth a GOAT vote or two!
May 19th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Philly has problems. I know y’all know, but the idea of permanently memorializing a mythical “white” boxer in a city that has been home to so many legends (Black and white) is simply absurd - and it illustrates the depth of the city’s inferiority complex.
Stuck right between New York and Washtington - no longer the political or economic center of the nation - and stuck with a large immigrant population characterized by their venom and their unwillingness to move on - geographically or ideologically.
During the primary, some of the demographers talked about how Pennsylvanians who are born in the state tend to stay in the state (work and live and die) more than any other state in the union. I’m not entirely hating on Philly - after all, I went to high school outside of Philly. I recognize that Philly has some incredible unique characteristics that are worthy of national notoriety.
Philly always gets the short end of the stick - and part of that is because they’re “authentic” champions are always eclipsed by someone else. Wilt was eclipsed by Russell. Frazier was eclipsed by Ali. Even Pete Rose had his greatest moments in Cincinnati. Moses was an import - and didn’t stay long. Doc was Philly - but he was also New York and New Jersey.
Aside from Villanova and Rocky, it’s been a long, hard walk.
Perhaps the hockey teams have been the best embodiment of the city. The Broad Street Bullies symbolized the city - and when Philly hoped for a rebirth with those huge front lines led by Eric Lindros, they were routinely bitch slapped by Scott Stevens and the New Jersey Devils.
I do feel your pain. I can’t say it’s going to get better…but I feel it. It won’t get any better until Philly learns to do better by its native sons - starting with lots of unconditional love for Maurice Cheeks. We’ll see. You probably get it when you deserve it…or you could just make a deal with the devil like we do in New York.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Tell me how you made the deal!!!!!(Rubbing hands feverishly, grinning like Tyrone Biggums) Cause quite frankly, I’m out of answers
May 19th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
The scary part is fans are starting to adopt this generation of coming thisclose as some badge of honor.
I look at how they look at the Cubs fans and America’s heart goes out to those guys.
They look at us and it’s like “Yeah they deserve it.”
Philadelphia Sports Fans - America’s stepchild!
May 19th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Burn Rockywood Burn (not the city, just the statue).
May 19th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
da pistons, 02, words.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Funny how everybody forgets to mention Marc Ivaroni in that ‘83 starting line-up… but moving on!:
Keep your Phile bias… Right City, wrong team: The 66-67 Sixers. Wilt had real teammates and he drastically adjusted his game. Wilt probably put together the most dominant all-around season by averaged 24 points, 24 rebounds, and 7.8 assists (no misprint) while shooting a ridiculous 68%. Hal Greer… Chet Walker… and a young Billy Cunningham coming off the bench… In the semifinals they dethroned the Boston Dynasty in 5 games as Wilt averaged 22 points, 32 rebounds, and 10 assists.
While they won 68 games, they had to face the 60-win Celtics and 9 other teams nine times each. The 72 win Bulls were a product of a super light eastern conference where they faced each team 4 times at most and the tougher west teams only 2 times each.
May 20th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
I know about the 66-67 76ers, I was born 6 years later; so it would really be hometown bias if I chose them. But by most accounts that I’ve heard that team is arguably the greatest.
May 21st, 2008 at 6:58 am
I’ve been beating the drum over on the Eagles’ message board that having that Rocky statue is nothing but bad karma for all the Philly pro teams and athletes. Even Smarty Jones couldn’t pull it off when leading in the third race of the Triple Crown in ‘04, the Eagles by three to Pats that same year, and even the Sixers being the only team to even notch a win against the Lakers a couple of years before that. Keep the statue if it makes some mooks proud but put up memorials to Doc, Michael Jack Schmidt, Wilt the Stilt and Smokin’ Joe too and the karma will turn.
To quote Miss Celie: Until you do right by me…
May 21st, 2008 at 11:56 am
I did a piece somewhere on the whole Rocky Statue thing. HD, I’m going to revisit my thoughts on this thing.
It’s sad when the hopes of a major city with 4 major sports teams looks to a horse to boost fan morale.
May 21st, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I love debates like these. But are we talking about the most dominant champion of a particular season, or like I was thinking the championship team that would win a series against all the others? If so I think the 66-67 76ers would get annihilated by more recent teams. Some teams I was thinking would be ‘77 Blazers (one of the most well-rounded teams ever) though they would probably lose, ‘83 Sixers who were legit beasts, ‘86 Celtics (greatest front court of all time w/Bird, McHale, Parish, Walton) ‘89 Pistons (greatest back court of all time w/Thomas, Dumars, Johnson) or maybe the ‘01 Lakers. But if I had a gun to my head I would choose one of those early-90s Bulls teams. MJ at his absolute prime and a highly-underrated supporting cast.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:35 am
i’ve seen them all since the bucks in 71 and let me say first that if you could move the bulls of the 90’s back 10 years into the 80’s, i don’t believe they’d win more than 1 ring. if that.
i can’t pick just one but here’s my top 3. 83 sixers, 86 celtics, 87 lakers.
June 1st, 2008 at 7:22 pm
http://www.nba.com/playoffs2004/challenge_bracket.html
true that
June 18th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
The 2008 Celtics would be top 5 easy!
The teams from the 50’s 60’s and 70’s wouldnt have the speed or strength to compete today. If you took those teams and applied modern technology to their training and defence it may be a different story.
The lakers, Celtics and 76ers from the 80’s would also struggle. Again I doubt these teams could keep up or score against todays celtics.
Jordans Bulls (any of them) never had to face defence like the 2008 Celtics play. Pippen would be invisible and Jordan would be lucky to score 25 per game. Boston also has much more depth in their roster. The Bulls had Jordan and Pippen - that is it. The celtics have 3 superstars plus a really strong bench!
Kobe and shaq’s Lakers would also get smashed. They dont have the scoring depth or defence. Phile Jackson had no ansers this series! Remember what happened to the Lakers against a Detroit team with great defence? They got smashed 4-1! And Boston is much better than that Detroit team.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
If Moses Malone more than held his own against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar what do you think he would do to Kevin Garnett who doesn’t play half as physical as Moses did.
Back to the basket - Garnett is no match for BIg Mo!
June 19th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
These Celtics in the top 5. Hell no! They wouln’t have beaten teams that haven’t even won titles. Besides they played horrible at times from the first round on. I don’t think that can be said about any other NBA champion. They were blown out too many times.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
The NBA playoffs were a huge disappointment this year with all of the poor road play and blow outs. Elite teams of the past did not get blown out in the first round. They were doing the blowing out and keeping it movin.
June 19th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
True the Celtics were pretty average in the first two rounds, but they were never in danger of losing a series. Jordans Bulls were often pushed in many first and second round series.
June 19th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Dale,
Being pushed and getting blown out on the road are two diffferent things. The Celtics were blown out more then once. I can hardly put them in a conversation about greatest champions for that reason.
November 23rd, 2008 at 3:03 am
The ‘08 Celtics?? The best NBA world championship team in THE HISTORY OF PRO BASKETBALL!?! LMFAO!! What a frickin JOKE!!Whoever believes that knows absolutely NOTHING about major professional basketball or it’s history..they shouldn’t even be allowed to post if they’re that damn retarded and clueless about basketball.I would slap the person(s) who actually thought that..for my money, the best world champion in NBA history is the 1986-87 L.A. Lakers..led by NBA MVP Magic Johnson, first team All-Pro SF James Worthy, HOFer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Defensive Player of the Year, Michael Cooper, a great SG in Byron Scott, and others like A.C., Rambo, Mychal Thompson, and many MANY more….sure, they’re slightly ahead of other immortals like the ‘86 Celts, the ‘72 Lakers, the ‘83 and ‘67 Sixers, and of course the ‘96 Bulls..but if I had to absolutely pick just one, like I said, the ‘87 Lakers..end of story.
March 16th, 2009 at 9:52 am
I know this is very long after this was originally posted but I got a kick out of reading the postings and then I almost fell out of my chair when I read what Dale wrote. First of Dale, all I have to say is that the 95-96 Bulls team went 72-10 in the regular season, and 15-3 in the playoffs. So to say they were pushed to the brink of losing a series is pathetic. Not only does their record show they were the greatest team, but so does having the MVP, SCORING CHAMP, 3 NBA FIRST TEAM ALL DEFENSIVE PLAYERS, 2 NBA FIRST TEAM ALL NBA PLAYERS, NBA 6TH MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER. After looking at these stats, please tell me how the 07-08 Boston Celtics could have even come close to comparing. And for you to say that the Boston Celtics defense would have stifled the Bulls, is just ignorant, seeing as Jordan and the Bulls beat one of the best defensive PG of all time in Gary Payton. Pippen would have made minced meat out of Pierce and Jordan wouldn’t have let Allen score more then 15 points. And try telling me that Garnett would have had a great series against Rodman, who was able to defend Shaq in his PRIME!!!!! So go on and suck on a Shamrock, and then remember that the 08 Celtics aren’t even in the same league as Previous Celtics champions like the 85-86 or the true Celtics Champions that won 11 out of 13.
March 25th, 2009 at 5:21 am
You can try and argue this…however seriously, only two teams really can be argued…well…sorta, that is the 96 Bulls and the 87 Lakers (I love the 86 Celtics however they were shorter then these two teams).
However when it’s all said and done, the 1996 Bulls is the GREATEST period. If your a “stats” guy, you’ll notice that they allowed the LEAST ppg’s by the other team then any other GREATEST NBA Team. Which =’s one huge factor…their DEFENSE was absolutely dominating in comparison to any other within their respective year. Not only that, but their stats overall were better then practically almost any other NBA GREATEST TEAM.
This is a good case, because Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman would have put nails in the coffin against anyone who were trying to put any points up against them. Rodman also bringing down bus loads of rebounds down means that alot of teams who depend on the fast break like the 87 Lakers would have difficulty doing so, because rebounds take this away, and it would take like 3 Lakers from the 87 team to just equal Rodman’s average at that time, which was like 15.
Then you have Pippen…seriously, who is going to score alot against one of the GREATEST 1vs1 defensive players of all time? Arguably Top-3, if not top-2, and Pippen was an absolute monster at this time defensively as well as putting up very solid numbers in scoring as well.
However, you come down to THE G.O.A.T., Michael Jordan, and he is the absolute #1 BIGGEST FACTOR. Please don’t talk about Russell (He was BEAST), or Wilt, or Magic, or Bird, or whomever, because MJ even older here, was still schooling the Prime of the life players during that era in 96. Even in this time, nobody would be able to cover MJ, and nobody would be able to cancel MJ out period, he would still be forcing double teams or potentially more, and it’s not far fetched to say he’d be averaging 30+ ppg so he would have been the #1 biggest obstacle for any other Top NBA Team to defend against.
However again, Jordan is arguably one of the greatest, if not the greatest 1 vs 1 defenders ever (9 times I believe, only Payton ties him in this department), so he would be an absolute nightmare on other opposition whom are trying to score against him. Remember, he’s I believe #2 all time, and #3 for most steals per game…so you do the math here.
Then you have the Bull’s Bench…compare them, they shot 3-pts better then anyone, and they scored overall just AS good as anyone if not better, and they played defense incredibly well. Who’s going to stop Kukoc who was basically around his prime at this time? Who’s going to stop Kerr in racking up 3-pters. In fact, the 96 Bulls committed fewer turn overs, had more steals and rebounds per game.
The “only” weakness I could see was the Bull’s Center, however Longley wasn’t doing all that bad, considering he averaged 9.0 ppg and 5.1 rpg’s, and compare that to an 87 Kareem who averaged 14.6 and 6.0 rpg’s a game. So in comparison to one of the centers of the best NBA teams ever…is this really that bad?
Then you add the fact that during the 95-97 Season, 7 teams went over 50+ games and 3 having 60+ records, that being the Magics (60-22), Sonics (64-18) and obviously the Bulls (72-10), and you can narrowly include the Spurs which were 59-23, only one shy of 60…so yes, there was PLENTY of competition here, so I don’t want to hear “There was no good players/teams up against the Bulls.” Please…say that to a in his prime Payton, Kemp, Shaq, Hardaway, Miller, Grant Hill, and if you want, other slightly older guys in Robinson, Hawkeem, Malone, Stockton etc, etc would have to argue against you saying there was no good competition then.
However, I stand by what I said, the Bulls had a great bench, and they could score and kill you everywhere on the floor. Plus defensively, they were arguably one of, if not the best in a single season performance, and we all know that DEFENSE wins Championships, however they had plenty of offensive weapons as well…MJ alone is more then enough merit.
If you separate the bias, and look at the facts, the 72-10 Bulls were absolutely ridiculous, I would rank the Bulls #1 and the 87 Lakers #2, then after that, you could start debating either 87 Celtics or what not, however the 96 Bulls were just as stated…UNTOUCHABULL.
April 17th, 2009 at 7:08 am
Glad to see a few more comments:)
I stand by what I have said.
Comparing stats from the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s dont mean a whole lot. the games has changed so much, and the competition is different. The only comparable stats are those taken form the sme season.
Basically teams from the good old days could not physically compete with todays players. To say that they could beat the greatest defensive unit in history (08 celtics) shows a complete lack of understanding of sport in general. Maybe on the Xbox, but not in real life.
Teams from the 80’s arent even worth consideration. And lets be realistic, Jordan’s Bulls never had to take on a superpower in any of their 6 titles.
Magics Lakers: Way past their prime
Blazers: Well rounded, but really a one man show.
Suns: Couldnt defend for s#it
Sonics: Couple of good individuals, but not a great TEAM.
Jazz, good team, pushed the Bulls to the brink (words from Pippen)
The 08 Celtics will probably never be matched.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:31 am
After reading all these comments, I have come to one rational conclusion:
Whatever Dale is smoking, I sure as hell want some of that. Dale sounds like an AI system that is programmed to argue and make completely irrational arguments even when proven wrong. 08 Celtics defense?!! What defense????????????? The NBA stopped playing defense pretty much after the NBA shortened season in the late 90’s. Your sweet Celtics would not even make it through the seasons the 80’s and 90’s teams went through What a joke. Your useless bench would not even make any of those old Bulls and Celtics roster. Ahhhhhh…what is wrong with me I am arguing with artificial intelligence!!!!
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:42 am
Oh yes and one more thing, AI Dale, please stand by what you said. Spoken like a true individual who speaks broken recordness with reckless abandon. The 08 celtics….LABLAKF;ALD…Sorry I almost vomited. The great 08 celtics that went to game seven just about every series. I wonder who was worse, the 08 or 09 team. Doh!!! I am arguing with AI again. Your quick evals of Magic’s Lakers and the Bulls are laughable at best. I wouldn’t even waste any Bulls championship teams on your sorry celts, I’d sick the badboys on them. Those pistons would crush your celts mentally, physically, and then sweep their sorry whining asses everytime they felt contact, out of the NBA and into the WNBA!!!This time I stop arguing with artificial intelligence.